Pleigne
Origin of the name Pleigne
Name origin: first recorded in 1179 as « Plenna »; the old German name is « Pleen ». The etymology of the name is not explained in the sources consulted.
Founding of Pleigne
Pleigne is first recorded in 1179 and its parish in 1188; neither the founder of the village nor the circumstances of its creation are known. The area was occupied much earlier: the Löwenbourg site, within the municipality, was visited from the Middle Palaeolithic onwards for its flint. In the Middle Ages the Cistercian abbey of Lucelle, founded in 1123-1124 by the counts of Montfaucon on land belonging to the Church of Basel, just across the border (today the municipality of Lucelle, in Haut-Rhin, France), owned most of the land, forests and tithes of Pleigne. The village was one of the thirteen « free villages » of the Delémont valley, a lordship of the prince-bishopric of Basel.
History of Pleigne
Middle Palaeolithic. In the Mousterian, some 75'000 to 65'000 years ago, Neanderthals exploit the flint of the Löwenbourg site.
9000-8000 BC. At least two Epipalaeolithic knapping workshops, attributed to Homo sapiens, are set up at Löwenbourg.
Around 4000 BC. In the Neolithic, small shallow mining galleries are dug at Löwenbourg; the flint extracted is carried in particular to the lakeside settlements at the southern foot of the Jura.
10th century. Date of the oldest remains of Löwenbourg castle, built by the Löwenberg family from the Sundgau.
1123-1124. The Cistercian abbey of Lucelle, neighbouring Pleigne, is founded by the counts of Montfaucon on land belonging to the Church of Basel.
1179. First record of the village: « Plenna ».
1188. First record of the parish.
1200. The Löwenberg family adopts a lion in its coat of arms.
13th-14th centuries. Around the middle of the 13th century Löwenbourg castle passes to the count of Ferrette, then to the Habsburgs in the 14th century.
1389. The village is pledged to the counts of Thierstein.
1454. The prince-bishopric of Basel buys Pleigne back.
1526. The Basel family Münch cedes Löwenbourg to the abbey of Lucelle; the monks abandon the castle for the franche-courtine farm, which they transform and fortify.
1583-1597. Under Abbot Béat Bapst, residential and administrative buildings, a gate tower, a chapel and an enclosure wall are built at Löwenbourg.
17th century-1793. The parish of Pleigne is joined to that of Bourrignon.
1638. During the Thirty Years' War the monastery of Lucelle is destroyed; Löwenbourg serves as a refuge for the monks.
1787. The church of Saints-Pierre-et-Paul is rebuilt.
1792. The Lucelle community is dispersed; after the Revolution the Löwenbourg estate passes into private hands.
1793-1815. Pleigne belongs to the French departments of Mont-Terrible, then Haut-Rhin.
1815-1978. Pleigne belongs to the canton of Bern.
1956. The Basel-based Christoph Merian foundation acquires Löwenbourg, restores it and develops a large cattle-breeding operation there.
1959-1967. Excavation of the ruins of Löwenbourg castle.
Population of Pleigne
| 1818 | 368 |
| 1850 | 443 |
| 1900 | 418 |
| 1950 | 434 |
| 2000 | 408 |
| 2010 | 386 |
| 2025 | 368 |
Historic sites in Pleigne
Church of Saints-Pierre-et-Paul. Parish church rebuilt in 1787, with a porch tower topped by a dome of Franche-Comté type; the parish is recorded from 1188.
Löwenbourg estate. Former franche-courtine farm of the abbey of Lucelle, fortified by the monks after 1526. Abbot Béat Bapst (1583-1597) had residential and administrative buildings, a gate tower, a late Gothic chapel with a pentagonal apse and an enclosure wall built there. In the 18th century further buildings were added, including the farmer's and guests' house and a dairy, now a museum. Since 1956 the estate has belonged to the Christoph Merian foundation of Basel.
Moulin-Neuf and the Bavelier mill. The municipality includes the Moulin-Neuf inn and the former Bavelier mill, built in the early 18th century, as well as several former farms of the abbey of Lucelle.
Village farmhouses. A farming village, Pleigne preserves many low farmhouses with a devant-huis (covered forecourt).
Remains in Pleigne
Löwenbourg prehistoric site. The Kimmeridgian limestone subsoil contains flint nodules and plates. Neanderthals exploited it in the Mousterian, some 75'000 to 65'000 years ago; their carefully made tools, with many Levallois-type scrapers, make Löwenbourg the second most important site of this kind in Switzerland after Alle. At least two Epipalaeolithic workshops (9000-8000 BC) are attributed to Homo sapiens. The site was used again in the Mesolithic and Neolithic, with small mining galleries dug around 4000 BC.
Ruins of Löwenbourg castle. Castle on a rocky spur on the southern slope of the Lucelle valley. Its ruins, excavated between 1959 and 1967, date back to the 10th century. Built by the Löwenberg family, it passed to the counts of Ferrette, the Habsburgs and then the Münch family, who ceded it in 1526 to the abbey of Lucelle; the monks then abandoned it for the neighbouring fortified farm.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Pleigne » (François Kohler)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Löwenbourg » (François Schifferdecker)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Lucelle » (André Chèvre)
- Jura Trois-Lacs, « Löwenburg »
- Statistique Jura, tableau JU-T.01.01.03, population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025
- geo.admin.ch (swisstopo), recherche de lieux « Pleigne »
Other villages near Pleigne
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