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Villages / Bern / Former Moutier district / Pontenet

Pontenet

Canton of Bern · Former district: Moutier · 220 inhabitants (2014, former municipality of Pontenet, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Valbirse
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Pontenet

Pontenet appears in 1357 as « Pontenat ». The name has no known explanation.[1]

Founding of Pontenet

Pontenet grew up at the foot of the Moron, in the Tavannes valley. The abbey of Bellelay owned land here in the 14th century, and the village belonged to the provostry of Moutier-Grandval, in the prince-bishopric of Basel. For worship it belongs to the parish of Bévilard. A mixed municipality, Pontenet is now part of the municipality of Valbirse (merger of 2015). The nicknames of its inhabitants inspired « Boubétch », one of the names put forward in 2026 for the people of Valbirse.[1][3][4]

History of Pontenet

1357. The village is mentioned as « Pontenat ».[1]

1371. The abbey of Bellelay already owns land at Pontenet.[1]

1515. Bellelay grants the land as a fief to Grosjean Girod, of Loveresse.[1]

1750. A great flood of the Birse sweeps away a stone bridge and damages a sawmill and a mill.[1]

1797-1813. Pontenet belongs to the French departments of Mont-Terrible and then Haut-Rhin.[1]

1815. The village is attached to Bern, first to the bailiwick, then to the district of Moutier.[1]

1876. The Tavannes-Court section of the Biel-Sonceboz-Delémont-Basel line is opened. Watchmaking and later engineering firms then settle near the railway and the cantonal road.[1]

1918. A railway halt opens at Pontenet.[1]

2014. On 18 May the merger of Pontenet with Bévilard and Malleray is decided by popular vote.[2]

2015. On 1 January the mixed municipality of Pontenet becomes part of Valbirse.[1][4]

Population of Pontenet

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Pontenet
1818113
1850121
1900234
1920295
1950241
2000190
2010207
2014220

Historic sites in Pontenet

Pontenet halt. Halt opened in 1918 on the Biel-Sonceboz-Delémont-Basel line, near which firms set up.[1]

Remains in Pontenet

Stone bridge. A stone bridge was swept away by the Birse flood of 1750, which also damaged the sawmill and the mill.[1]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Pontenet » (Pierre-André Wyss), version du 15.01.2026
  2. Direction de l'intérieur et de la justice du canton de Berne, liste des projets de fusion de communes (état juin 2026)
  3. La Télé (ATS), « Valbirse : la population choisira le nom des habitants », 14.07.2026
  4. Commune de Valbirse, site officiel

Other villages near Pontenet

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