La Ferrière is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the
Jura bernois administrative district in the
canton of
Bern in
Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking
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 ...
(''Jura Bernois'').
History
Founded in 1590 as ''les Hautes Montagnes d'Erguël'' by settlers from
Valangin
Valangin () is a former municipality in the district of Val-de-Ruz in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux and Valangin merged into the municipality of Neuchâte ...
. In 1749 it was known as ''La Ferriere'' or ''Communauté des Montagnes de Saint-Imier''.
[
The village was owned by the Prince-Bishop of ]Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
and was part of the seigniory In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; french: seigneur, lit=lord; la, senior, lit=elder), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple.
''Nulle terre ...
of Erguel
Erguël is an medieval seigniory of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Basel, and under protectorate of Biel/Bienne, under military jurisdiction from 1335, in the now called valley of St.-Imier, in the now Bernese Jura, Switzerland.
The Sire of the ...
. The municipal charter
A city charter or town charter (generically, municipal charter) is a legal document ('' charter'') establishing a municipality such as a city or town. The concept developed in Europe during the Middle Ages.
Traditionally the granting of a charter ...
was created in the early 17th century and confirmed in 1623 and again in 1672. During the Thirty Years War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battl ...
the village was attacked and burned. Originally there was little land and no forests attached to the village. The lack of arable land and the resulting revenue made it very difficult for the village to meet their obligations. In 1767, the Prince-Bishop granted Erguel Castle
Erguel Castle (french: Château d'Erguel) is a ruined castle in the Sonvilier, municipality of Sonvilier in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is the best preserved castle ruin in the French-speaking Bernese Jura.
History
During the 11th centu ...
and the surrounding lands to La Ferrière to hold as a fief
A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...
. In 1806, the political municipality of La Ferrière inherited the castle and lands and in 1828 sold them to Sonvilier. After the 1797 French invasion the village became part of the parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
of Renan in the French Department of Mont-Terrible
Mont-Terrible was a department of the First French Republic, with its seat at Porrentruy.
The Mont Terrible for which the department was named is now known as , a peak of 804 metres near Courgenay (now in the canton of Jura, Switzerland). The ...
. The parish was later transferred to the Department of Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is th ...
. After Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's defeat in 1815, the region became part of the Canton of Bern, though La Ferrière remained part of the Renan parish until 1861.[
The village church was consecrated in 1864.][
During the 19th century the population grew rapidly due to watch and watch parts factories that opened in the village. Throughout the 20th century, the population has slowly declined.][
]
Geography
La Ferrière has an area of . Of this area, or 62.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 33.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 3.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.1% is unproductive land.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics]
2009 data . Retrieved 25 March 2010
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.4%. Out of the forested land, 25.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 8.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 1.6% is used for growing crops and 41.6% is pastures and 19.1% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.[
The municipality is made up of scattered settlements at an elevation of about in the north-west corner of the old District de Courtelary. It consists of the village of La Ferrière, the ]hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of La Basse-Ferrière and a number of scattered farm houses.
On 31 December 2009 District de Courtelary, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois.[Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz]
. Retrieved 4 April 2011
Coat of arms
The blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...
is ''Azure a Tower Argent gated and windowed Gules between four Linden Leaves and in a Chief wavy Or a Sun issuant Gules.''
Demographics
La Ferrière has a population () of . , 7.7% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Statistical office of the Canton of Bern]
. Retrieved 4 January 2012 Over the last 10 years (2000-2010) the population has changed at a rate of 6.2%. Migration accounted for 4.3%, while births and deaths accounted for 2.3%.
. Retrieved 1 October 2012German
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
**Ge ...
is the second most common (85 or 16.6%) and Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
is the third (5 or 1.0%).[
, the population was 48.5% male and 51.5% female. The population was made up of 244 Swiss men (44.7% of the population) and 21 (3.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 260 Swiss women (47.6%) and 21 (3.8%) non-Swiss women.][
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 26.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.3% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 13.7%.][
, there were 224 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 258 married individuals, 22 widows or widowers and 9 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000]
. Retrieved 2 February 2011
, there were 36 households that consist of only one person and 24 households with five or more people. , a total of 172 apartments (73.2% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 47 apartments (20.0%) were seasonally occupied and 16 apartments (6.8%) were empty.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB – Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 – Gebäude und Wohnungen]
. Retrieved 28 January 2011
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Heritage sites of national significance
The Maison Gagnebin is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 41.9% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the Social Democratic Party (SP) (13.1%), and the Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
(11.4%) . In the federal election, a total of 119 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...
was 29.9%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
. Retrieved 8 May 2012
Economy
, La Ferrière had an unemployment rate of 2.34%. , there were a total of 272 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 79 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 31 businesses involved in this sector. 143 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 constructi ...
and there were 10 businesses in this sector. 50 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 ...
, with 15 businesses in this sector.[ There were 14 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 28.6% of the workforce.
there were a total of 229 ]full-time equivalent
Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a ...
jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 55, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 139 of which 37 or (26.6%) were in manufacturing and 102 (73.4%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 35. In the tertiary sector; 5 or 14.3% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 8 or 22.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 11 or 31.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 17.1% were in education.
, there were 84 workers who commuted into the municipality and 144 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 1.7 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 16.7% of the workforce coming into La Ferrière are coming from outside Switzerland.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb]
. Retrieved 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 7.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 55.2% used a private car.[
]
Transport
The municipality has two railway stations on the La Chaux-de-Fonds–Glovelier line: and .
Religion
From the , 84 or 16.4% were 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 let ...
, while 276 or 53.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church. Of the rest of the population, there was 1 individual who belongs to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 112 individuals (or about 21.83% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Islamic. There were 1 individual who belonged to another church. 86 (or about 16.76% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 8 individuals (or about 1.56% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In La Ferrière about 178 or (34.7%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 40 or (7.8%) have completed additional higher education (either university
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
or a '' Fachhochschule''). Of the 40 who completed tertiary schooling, 65.0% were Swiss men, 30.0% were Swiss women.[
The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory ]Kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...
, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
.[Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document]
Retrieved 4 January 2012
, there were 4 students in La Ferrière who came from another municipality, while 51 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferriere
Municipalities of the canton of Bern
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern