The Republic and Canton of Jura (french: République et canton du Jura), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( , ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. The

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

Delémont Delémont (; fc, D'lémont; german: Delsberg, ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants . History The area of the municipality was already settled in the middle Bronze Age. Fifteen urn buria ...

. It shares borders with the

canton of Basel-Landschaft Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

, the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...

, the

canton of Neuchatel Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

, the

canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (german: Kanton Solothurn rm, Chantun Soloturn french: Canton de Soleure; it, Canton Soletta) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. Hi ...

, and the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

régions of

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

and

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...

History

The

king of Burgundy The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. Kings of the Burgundians * Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 407 ...

donated much of the land that today makes up canton Jura to the

bishop of Basel The Diocese of Basel (german: Bistum Basel; la, Diœcesis Basileensis) is a Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Fürstbistum Basel). The bis ...

in 999. The area was a sovereign state within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

for more than 800 years. After the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peac ...

in 1648 the Jura had close ties with the

Swiss Confederation ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. At the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

(1815), the Jura region became part of the

. This act caused dissension. The Jura was

-speaking and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, whereas the canton of Bern was mostly

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-speaking and

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. After World War II, a separatist movement campaigned for a secession of Jura from the canton of Bern. After a long and partly militant struggle, which included some arson attacks by a youth organisation ''Les Béliers'', a constitution was accepted in 1977. In 1978, the split was made official when the Swiss people voted in favour, and in 1979, the Jura joined the Swiss Confederation as a full member. The canton celebrated its independence from the canton of Bern on 23 June. However, the southern part of the region, which is also predominantly French-speaking but has a

majority, opted not to join the newly formed canton, instead remaining part of the canton of Bern. The area is now known as

Bernese Jura Bernese Jura (french: Jura bernois, ) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten administrative divisions of the canton. Comprising the three French-speaking districts in the northern part of the ...

. The word Jura, therefore, may refer either to canton Jura, or to the combined territory of canton Jura and the Bernese Jura. Switzerland as a whole often presents the latter from a touristic standpoint with documentation easily available in

On creation, the canton adopted the title Republic and Canton of Jura. Other cantons in

using the title "Republic and Canton" are

Ticino Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, and

Neuchâtel , neighboring_municipalities= Auvernier, Boudry, Chabrey (VD), Colombier, Cressier, Cudrefin (VD), Delley-Portalban (FR), Enges, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Hauterive, Saint-Blaise, Savagnier , twintowns = Aarau (Switzerland), Besançon (France), ...

. In each case, the title refers to the autonomy of the canton and its nominal sovereignty within the Swiss Confederation. Since 1994, the question of the Jura region has again been controversial. In 2004, a federal commission proposed that the French-speaking southern Jura be united with the canton of Jura, as the language question now seems to be more important than the denominational one. A possible solution would be to create two half-cantons, as reunification with the creation of only a single canton would mean a complete restructuring of the Jura's current political system, with the cantonal capital being transferred from

Moutier Moutier () is a municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois administrative district of the canton of Bern. On 28 March 2021, the population voted to secede from the canton of Bern and join the Canton of Jura; the ...

. On 18 June 2017, the town of Moutier voted to secede from the canton of Bern and join the canton of Jura in a referendum. On 17 September 2017, the nearby municipalities of

Belprahon Belprahon () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Jura bernois (administrative district), Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking part of the canton in the ...

and

Sorvilier Sorvilier is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois''). History Sorvilier is first mentioned in 1148 as ''Sorurvilier'' ...

conversely voted to remain in the canton of Bern. The vote in Moutier was later declared invalid. On 28 March 2021, Moutier voted to secede from Bern and join Jura again in an officially sanctioned referendum. The changeover is expected to be implemented by 2026.

Geography

Canton Jura lies in the northwest of

. It consists of parts of the

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...

in the south and the Jura plateau in the north. The Jura plateau is hilly and almost entirely

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. The districts of

Ajoie The Ajoie (german: Elsgau, Franc-Comtois: ''Aidjoue'') is an historic region roughly coinciding with Porrentruy District in the canton of Jura in northwestern Switzerland. It is a part of the Jura plain, composed of six geographic areas: * the ...

and Franches-Montagnes lie in this region. The term "

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...

" is derived from the Jura Alps, strata of which give the era its name. To the north and the west of the canton lies

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The

and

Basel-Landschaft Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; german: Kanton Basel-Landschaft ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Champagna; french: Canton de Bâle-Campagne; it, Canton Basilea Campagna), is one of the 26 cantons forming ...

are to east of the canton, while the

bounds the Jura to the south. The rivers

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Birs The Birs (French: ''Birse'') is a long river in Switzerland that flows through the Jura region and ends as a tributary to the Rhine between Basel and Birsfelden. It is the most important river of the Swiss Jura. Course The Birs has its source i ...

drain the lands. The Doubs joins the

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name deri ...

and then the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

, whereas the Birs is a tributary to the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

Political subdivisions

Districts

Jura is divided into 3 districts: *

( fc, D'lémont, german: Delsberg) - capital:

Porrentruy Porrentruy (, fc, Poérreintru , german: Pruntrut) is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura. Porrentruy is home to National League team, HC Ajoie. History The first trace of human pre ...

( fc, Poérreintru, german: Pruntrut) - capital:

* Franches-Montagnes ( fc, Fraintches-Montaignes, german: Freiberge) - capital:

Saignelégier Saignelégier () is a municipality in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district of Franches-Montagnes. On 1 January 2009, the formerly independent municipalities of Goumois and Les Pommerats merged into Saignelégier. ...

Municipalities

There are 53 municipalities in the canton ().

Politics

Federal election results

: RDP before 2009 : "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. : Part of the canton of Bern

Demographics

The population is almost entirely

-speaking. Just one municipality is

-speaking:

Ederswiler Ederswiler is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. It is the only German-speaking municipality in the canton, where all others are French-speaking. History Ederswiler is first mentioned in 1323 as ...

. The majority of the population is

(75% ) with a small

minority (13%). The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 8,195 foreigners, or about 11.8% of the total population.

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:700 height:500 PlotArea = height:350 left: 100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:69000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:14000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:2800 start:0 Colors= id:TO value:yellowgreen legend:Total id:FR value:teal legend:French_Speaking id:GE value:green legend:German_Speaking id:PR value:lightpurple legend:Protestant id:CA value:oceanblue legend:Catholic id:SW value:red legend:Swiss PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from:start till:44921 text:"44,921" color:TO bar:1880 from:start till:52116 text:"52,116" color:TO bar:1900 from:start till:57575 text:"57,575" color:TO bar:1950 from:start till:59554 text:"59,554" color:TO bar:1970 from:start till:67325 text:"67,325" color:TO bar:2000 from:start till:68224 text:"68,224" color:TO LineData = points:(200,325)(300,339) color:FR points:(300,339)(400,346) color:FR points:(400,346)(500,370) color:FR points:(500,370)(600,401) color:FR points:(200,120)(300,127) color:GE points:(300,127)(400,131) color:GE points:(400,131)(500,119) color:GE points:(500,119)(600,105) color:GE points:(100,95)(200,109) color:PR points:(200,109)(300,126) color:PR points:(300,126)(400,143) color:PR points:(400,143)(500,142) color:PR points:(500,142)(600,133) color:PR points:(100,312)(200,334) color:CA points:(200,334)(300,345) color:CA points:(300,345)(400,336) color:CA points:(400,336)(500,376) color:CA points:(500,376)(600,349) color:CA points:(100,304)(200,333) color:SW points:(200,333)(300,353) color:SW points:(300,353)(400,378) color:SW points:(400,378)(500,389) color:SW points:(500,389)(600,392) color:SW

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

is important in canton Jura.

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

breeding is significant, but there is also

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

(the Franches-Montagnes is the last Swiss horse race). The main industries are

watch A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...

es,

textiles Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. There is a growing number of small and medium-sized businesses. In 2001, there were 3,578 people who worked in the primary economic sector. 14,109 people were employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...

and 16,513 people were employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

. In 2001, the canton produced 0.9% of the entire Swiss

national income A variety of measures of national income and output are used in economics to estimate total economic activity in a country or region, including gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), net national income (NNI), and adjusted nati ...

while it had 0.9% of the total population. In 2005, the average share of the national income per resident of the canton was 38,070 CHF, while the national average was 54,031 CHF, or about 70% of the national income per person.Regionale Disparitäten in der Schweiz - Schlüsselindikatoren
accessed 20 December 2011 Between 2003 and 2005, the average income grew at a rate of 6.4%, which was larger than the national rate of 5.3%. The average taxes in the canton are higher than in most cantons, in 2006, the tax index in the canton was 126.6 (Swiss average is 100.0). In 2006, the canton had the highest final tax rate on high wage earners (15.26% on a married couple with two children earning 150,000 CHF vs 11.6% nationally), though the tax rate was in the middle for lower-income families.

Culture

The

eau de vie An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 literally " water of life") is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light. In English-speakin ...

Damassine Damassine is a clear, fruit spirit, distilled from the red damson plum, produced exclusively in the Swiss Republic and Canton of Jura following appellation d'origine protégée (AOP) guidelines that require specific sourcing and production p ...

is one typical

produce Produce is a generalized term for many farm-produced crops, including fruits and vegetables (grains, oats, etc. are also sometimes considered ''produce''). More specifically, the term ''produce'' often implies that the products are fresh and g ...

of the

area. (se
今日のデリヘル嬢
Terroir Jura an
Accueil
Jura Infos)

Notes and references

Bibliography

* Ganguillet, Gilbert: ''Le conflit jurassien. Un cas de mobilisation ethno-régionale en Suisse'', Zürich 1986. * Harder, Hans-Joachim: ''Der Kanton Jura. Ursachen und Schritte zur Lösung eines Schweizer Minderheitenproblems'', Frankfurt am Main 1978. * Hauser, Claude: ''Aux origines intellectuelles de la Question jurassienne. Culture et politique entre la France et la Suisse romande (1910–1950)'', Diss. Fribourg 1997. * Henecka, Hans Peter: ''Die jurassischen Separatisten. Eine Studie zur Soziologie des ethnischen Konflikts und der sozialen Bewegung'', Meisenheim am Glan 1972. * Jenkins, John R.G.: ''Jura Separatism in Switzerland'', Oxford 1986. * Ruch, Christian: ''Struktur und Strukturwandel des jurassischen Separatismus zwischen 1974 und 1994'', Bern 2001. * Schwander, Marcel: ''Jura. Konfliktstoff für Jahrzehnte'', Zürich/Köln 1977. * Steppacher, Burkard: ''Die Jurafrage in der Schweiz'', München 1985.

External links

Republic and Canton of Jura
official site
Jura Tourism

Watch Valley

{{Authority control Jura 1979 establishments in Switzerland States and territories established in 1979

History

Geography

Political subdivisions

Districts

Municipalities

Politics

Federal election results

Demographics

Historic population

Economy

Culture

See also

Notes and references

Bibliography

External links