Porrentruy (, fc, Poérreintru , german: Pruntrut) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri *Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia *Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports * Swiss Internation ...

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 ...

and seat of the

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

of the same name located in the

canton 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 ...

of Jura. Porrentruy is home to

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

team, HC Ajoie.

History

The first trace of human presence in Porrentruy is a

mesolithic The Mesolithic ( Greek: μέσος, ''mesos'' 'middle' + λίθος, ''lithos'' 'stone') or Middle Stone Age is the Old World archaeological period between the Upper Paleolithic and the Neolithic. The term Epipaleolithic is often used synonymo ...

tool that was found in the back yard of the Hôtel-Dieu. Scattered, individual objects have also been found from the

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

, the late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

and the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly ...

. The first known settlement in what became Porrentruy goes back to the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

. In 1983, the ruins of a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

temple were discovered in the cemetery on the north of town, and Roman coins were found there. Near the town, a kilometer long (0.6 mile) section of the

Augst Augst (Swiss German: ''Augscht'') is a municipality in the district of Liestal in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. It was known as Augusta Raurica in Roman times. History Augst is first mentioned in 615 as ''Augustodunensem praes ...

- Epomanduodurum (now Mandeure)

Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...

was discovered. Porrentruy Rathaus

In the back yard of the Hôtel-Dieu the charred remains of a building from the 10th or 11th century were discovered. However, the first historical mention of the name occurs in 1136 as ''Purrentru''. The name presumably comes from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''pons Ragentrudis'' (Ragentrud bridge). Ragentrud was the wife of the Frankish King Dagobert I. The German form of the name, ''Pruntrut'' may have a separate etymology from ''Bruntrutum'', which means an ''abundant spring''. The first settlement was established in 1140 in the vicinity of Church of Saint-Germain, which was built in the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. The Counts of Pfirt, who owned the region around Porrentruy, built a castle on a defensible hill and made it the capital of the Ajoie

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

. A settlement (now known as the

Faubourg "Faubourg" () is an ancient French term historically equivalent to " fore-town" (now often termed suburb or ). The earliest form is , derived from Latin , 'out of', and Vulgar Latin (originally Germanic) , 'town' or 'fortress'. Traditionally, ...

de France) was founded at the foot of the castle, with another south on the opposite hill. The city wall was probably built before 1283 and surrounded the two settlements, but not the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of Saint-Germain. In 1236 the Counts of Pfirt pledged the town to the Counts of

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

, however, they retained their rights to the Ajoie until 1281 when they sold the territory to the Bishop of Basel. The Counts of Montbéliard refused to hand over Porrentruy, which led Bishop Henry of Isny to request support from King Rudolph I of Habsburg. After six weeks under siege, the Count relented and handed it over to the Bishop. On 20 April 1283, the king asked the Bishop of Basel to grant Porrentruy a

town 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 ...

and make it a free Imperial city. While the Counts of Montbéliard retained some power in the town, their influence waned during the 13th century. Financial difficulties forced the Bishop to sell the Ajoie (including Porrentruy) back to the lords of Montbéliard in 1386. But in 1461, the town once again became subject to the

episcopal see An episcopal see is, in a practical use of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, mak ...

. Because of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

in Basel, the Bishopric moved its official headquarters to Porrentruy in 1527. Under Bishop Jakob Christoph Blarer von Wartensee, who reigned from 1575 to 1608, the town reached the apogee of its importance. In his time, many architectural projects, including expansion of the castle and the building of a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

college, were undertaken. This period of prosperity ended in 1618 with the outbreak of 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 batt ...

. Porrentruy was repeatedly occupied, besieged, and plundered. The first parish church of Saint-Germain was replaced in the 13th century by a new building, which underwent several renovations. The Church of Saint-Pierre was completed in 1349 and became the parish church in 1475. The

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. ...

was established in 1377. Several religious orders were active in the city, including the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

who built their college in 1591. In addition to the Jesuits other orders included the

Ursulines The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula ( post-nominals: OSU), is an enclosed religious order of consecrated women that branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula, in 1572. Like the Angelines, they ...

(1619), the Sisters of the Annonciade (permanently established in 1646) and the

Capuchins Capuchin can refer to: *Order of Friars Minor Capuchin The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from t ...

(1663). The first uprising against the Bishop's power was under the Comité de la Commune de Porrentruy on 20 August 1790, but they were unable to expel the Bishop. However, on 27 April 1792,

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

ary troops invaded the city and drove the Bishop out. Porrentruy became the capital of a dependent republic, which was then incorporated into France in 1793 as the Département du

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 ...

. In 1800, this department was incorporated into the Département du

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 t ...

as a sub-département. During the

War of the Sixth Coalition In the War of the Sixth Coalition (March 1813 – May 1814), sometimes known in Germany as the Wars of Liberation, a coalition of Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Sweden, and a number of German States defeated F ...

against Napoleon, Allied troops entered Porrentruy on 24 December 1813. Following their liberation, the future of this former episcopal seat was uncertain. The government divided into two parties, the Episcopal party that sought the return of the prince bishop as the head of a Swiss canton, while the French party wanted to retain the current secular government. However, soon after the fall of

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 wh ...

, the municipality was given to 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. ...

(in 1815) to compensate for the loss of the

Canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...

, which had become a separate canton in 1803. Both factions, the religious and the secular, retained power in the town in the following years. The political life in the 19th century was characterized by the severe conflict between Liberal-Radicals and the Catholic Conservatives. The secular side gained power in 1860, when the mayor, Joseph Trouillat, was forced out of office. The Radicals retained the mayor's office and a majority of the town council from 1860 until 1972. Until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Porrentruy was the cultural center of the region and had a larger population than Delémont. However, with the increase in automobile traffic, its situation on the edge of the country became a liability and caused economic stagnation. In the second half of the 20th century, tensions between the French-speaking minority in the Canton of Bern and the German-speaking majority led to the creation of the new Canton of Jura on 1 January 1979. To the chagrin of the inhabitants of Ajoie, Delémont was chosen as the cantonal capital.

Culture

Porrentruy is the site of many important institutions of the canton of Jura, including the cantonal courts, and also of the archives of the former Episcopal See 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 (B ...

. It is also the location of the Université Populaire Jurassienne. In 1988, Porrentruy was awarded the

Wakker Prize The Wakker Prize (German: ''Wakkerpreis'', French: ''Prix Wakker'', Italian: ''Premio Wakker'') is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural herita ...

for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.

Geography

Porrentruy panoramo vidita de la kastelturo 089

Porrentruy has an area of . Of this area, or 34.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 40.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 24.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.2% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.7% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 10.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.3%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 3.5% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 38.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 22.0% is used for growing crops and 12.1% is pastures. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is in lakes and 0.6% is in rivers and streams. The municipality lies on both sides of the Allaine River, in Ajoie (the bulge in the northwest corner of Switzerland that extends into France) at the foot 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 Fre ...

on the north. In addition to the wide valley of the Allaine itself, it includes the watershed of the Creux-Genat River, that flows down from the peaks of La Banné () and La Perche (). In the north, the municipality includes the hills and forests of the Petit Fahy () und Grand Fahy (). The highest point in the municipality is the ridge that divides it from the municipality of Bure at .

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 ...

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 ''Argent, a Boar salient Sable.''

Demographics

Porrentruy has a population () of . , 16.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Superweb database - Gemeinde Statistics 1981-2008
accessed 19 June 2010 Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of -0.9%. Migration accounted for 0.3%, while births and deaths accounted for -2.9%.
accessed 30-December-2011 Most of the population () speaks French (6,046 or 89.5%) as their first language, German is the second most common (191 or 2.8%) and Italian is the third (147 or 2.2%). There are 2 people who speak Romansh. , the population was 48.5% male and 51.5% female. The population was made up of 2,655 Swiss men (39.9% of the population) and 573 (8.6%) non-Swiss men. There were 2,895 Swiss women (43.5%) and 533 (8.0%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 2,201 or about 32.6% were born in Porrentruy and lived there in 2000. There were 2,066 or 30.6% who were born in the same canton, while 812 or 12.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,361 or 20.2% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.5%. , there were 2,770 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 3,031 married individuals, 498 widows or widowers and 454 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 3,022 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.1 persons per household. There were 1,261 households that consist of only one person and 152 households with five or more people. , a total of 2,921 apartments (84.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 259 apartments (7.5%) were seasonally occupied and 278 apartments (8.0%) were empty.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen
accessed 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 1.7 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2.25%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1100 height:210 PlotArea = height:150 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:7900 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1600 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:320 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1380 from:start till:1400 text:"1,400" bar:1480 from:start till:1000 text:"1,000" bar:1540 from:start till:1600 text:"1,600" bar:1770 from:start till:2408 text:"2,408" bar:1809 from:start till:2355 text:"2,355" bar:1818 from:start till:1896 text:"1,896" bar:1850 from:start till:2880 text:"2,880" bar:1860 from:start till:3524 text:"3,524" bar:1870 from:start till:4452 text:"4,452" bar:1880 from:start till:5614 text:"5,614" bar:1888 from:start till:6448 text:"6,448" bar:1900 from:start till:6959 text:"6,959" bar:1910 from:start till:6591 text:"6,591" bar:1920 from:start till:6358 text:"6,358" bar:1930 from:start till:5805 text:"5,805" bar:1941 from:start till:6121 text:"6,121" bar:1950 from:start till:6523 text:"6,523" bar:1960 from:start till:7095 text:"7,095" bar:1970 from:start till:7827 text:"7,827" bar:1980 from:start till:7039 text:"7,039" bar:1990 from:start till:6857 text:"6,857" bar:2000 from:start till:6753 text:"6,753"

Heritage sites of national significance

The Archives of the Republic and the Canton and the cantonal library, Porrentruy Castle, the church and college of the Jesuits, the St-Pierre Church, the Hôtel de Gléresse et Fondation des Archives, the Hôtel de Gléresse with the archives, the Hôtel-Dieu with the Pharmacy Museum and the Jura Natural Sciences Museum and gardens are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old town of Porrentruy is part of the

Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites The Federal Inventory of Heritage Sites (ISOS) is part of a 1981 Ordinance of the Swiss Federal Council implementing the Federal Law on the Protection of Nature and Cultural Heritage. Sites of national importance Types The types are based on t ...

. File:2009-05-03 Porrentruy 171.JPG, Porrentruy Castle File:Château de Porrentruy et Porte de France (2019).jpg, Porrentruy Castle and Porte de France File:2009-05-03 Porrentruy 155.JPG, Church and College of the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

File:Porrentruy Saint-Pierre.jpg, St-Pierre Church File:Hôtel de Gléresse 2.jpg, Hôtel de Gléresse File:Hôtel-Dieu 3.jpg, Hôtel-Dieu File:Jardin botanique de Porrentruy et bâtiment ouest.jpg, Jura Natural Sciences Museum and Garden The scenic historic city center has many buildings in

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

, and neo-classical styles, notably the buildings of the Jesuit college, which are now used by the cantonal school. The only remaining medieval city gate is the Porte de France, which was built in 1563. The Catholic Church of Saint-Pierre is a gothic

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

that was built from 1330 to 1350. It houses valuable relics and has a late-gothic altar. The Catholic Church of Saint-Germain, was built in the 13th century and restored and expanded in 1698. The chapel of the Jesuit college (1599–1603) has an octagonal tower built in 1701, which is now used as a concert hall. The church of the Ursulines was dedicated in 1626. On a prominence stands the Château de Porrentruy, which was the residence of the Bishop of Basel from 1527 to 1792. The oldest part is the round ''Bergfried'', which was built in 1271. Important baroque buildings are the Hôtel de Ville (1761–63), the Hôtel-Dieu (1761–65), the Hôtel de Gléresse (built in 1750 for the Baron of Ligerz), and the Hôtel des Halles (1766–69). On the squares of the old city are monumental fountains, including the Fontaine des Samarites (1564) and the Fontaine Suisse (1518).

Politics

In the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not ...

the most popular party was the PSS which received 37.11% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the PDC (29.88%), the PLR (14.89%) and the UDC (12.5%). In the federal election, a total of 2,082 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 45.2%.

Economy

In the course of the 19th century, Porrentruy developed from a trading center to an important industrial town, with traditional industries such as watchmaking, shoemaking, and textiles. In the 20th century, other important industries were added, notably metalworking, machine manufacturing, electronics, and furniture building. Agriculture is no longer a major factor in the labor market of the municipality. , Porrentruy had an unemployment rate of 6.3%. , there were 48 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 17 businesses involved in this sector. 1,933 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 construc ...

and there were 108 businesses in this sector. 3,734 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 407 businesses in this sector. There were 3,308 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.0% of the workforce. the total number of

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 was 4,822. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 34, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,887 of which 1,454 or (77.1%) were in manufacturing and 389 (20.6%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 2,901. In the tertiary sector; 612 or 21.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 65 or 2.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 133 or 4.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 22 or 0.8% were in the information industry, 163 or 5.6% were the insurance or financial industry, 220 or 7.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 340 or 11.7% were in education and 834 or 28.7% were in health care. , there were 4,145 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,051 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 3.9 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 18.3% of the workforce coming into Porrentruy are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.5% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 8.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 57.3% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 5,017 or 74.3% 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 657 or 9.7% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 45 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.67% of the population), there were 2 individuals (or about 0.03% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 107 individuals (or about 1.58% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 3 individuals (or about 0.04% of the population) who were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and 160 (or about 2.37% of the population) who were

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic. There were 14 individuals who were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, 4 individuals who were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and 4 individuals who belonged to another church. 481 (or about 7.12% of the population) belonged to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficien ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 312 individuals (or about 4.62% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

In Porrentruy about 2,097 or (31.1%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 813 or (12.0%) 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 Stat ...

or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied art ...

''). Of the 813 who completed tertiary schooling, 59.5% were Swiss men, 25.2% were Swiss women, 8.4% were non-Swiss men and 6.9% were non-Swiss women. The Canton of Jura school system provides two 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 cen ...

, 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 stage, students may attend a three or four year optional upper secondary school followed by some form of tertiary school 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 ...

. During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 1,183 students attending 59 classes in Porrentruy. There were 5 kindergarten classes with a total of 83 students in the municipality.Effectifs de l'école enfantine 2009-2010
accessed 19 December 2011 The municipality had 18 primary classes and 342 students.
accessed 19 December 2011 During the same year, there were 36 lower secondary classes with a total of 758 students.
accessed 19 December 2011 , there were 1,682 students in Porrentruy who came from another municipality, while 52 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Porrentruy is home to the ''Bibliothèque cantonale jurassienne'' library. The library has () 115,585 books or other media, and loaned out 10,097 items in the same year. It was open a total of 243 days with average of 32 hours per week during that year. Porrentruy is also home to the only two tertiary schools (or "Lycées" in French) in the

Canton of Jura 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. The capital ...

. The first being the ''Lycée Cantonal de Porrentruy'', a public tertiary school and the second being the ''Collège et Lycée Saint-Charles''.

Transportation

Porrentruy railway station with S3 to Olten

Porrentruy lies at the junction of two railway lines: the Delémont–Delle railway line of

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

and the

Porrentruy–Bonfol railway line The Porrentruy–Bonfol railway line is a standard gauge railway line in the canton of Jura, Switzerland. It runs from a junction with the Delémont–Delle railway line at northeast to . Chemins de fer du Jura owns and operates the line. The li ...

Chemins de fer du Jura The Chemins de fer du Jura is a railway company in the canton of Jura in northwestern Switzerland. It was formed in 1944 from the merger of four independent companies connecting Porrentruy to Bonfol, Saignelégier to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Glovelier ...

. The first railway line opened in 1872, connecting Porrentruy with Delle, in France, via Boncourt. A further connection south to

Glovelier Glovelier is a former municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Bassecourt, Courfaivre, Glovelier, Soulce and Undervelier merged to form the new municipality ...

and the rest of the Swiss railway network opened in 1877. The branch line to

Bonfol Bonfol is a municipality in the district of Porrentruy in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. It was also home to one of the most hazardous waste landfills in all of Switzerland. History Bonfol is first mentioned in 1136 as ''Bunfol''. The munic ...

opened in 1901. The municipality lies on the first stretch of the motorway ( A16 or E27) to open (in 1998) in the canton of Jura between

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 ...

and

Belfort Belfort (; archaic german: Beffert/Beffort) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Terri ...

, France. The motorway is meant to be completed in 2016, the difficult topography of the Jura only allowing the opening of short sections, one by one. This explains why the international railway played such an important role in the economic rise of Porrentruy because the railway follows the course of the Allaine river to the economic rail hub at Belfort.

Notable people

Paul Migy Paul Migy (14 September 1814, in Porrentruy – 1 April 1879) was a Swiss politician from the Canton of Bern and President of the Swiss Council of States The Council of States (german: Ständerat, french: Conseil des États, it, Consiglio d ...

(1814–1879) a Swiss politician, President of the Swiss Council of States (1851) and National Council (1857). * Hélène Rivier (1902–1986) a Swiss librarian, in 1931, she established the Bibliothèque Moderne at Geneva, the first free lending library in Switzerland * Florian Froehlich (born 1959) is a contemporary artist who creates paintings, sculptures, stained-glass and installations. Has lived in Porrentruy since 1996 * Bernard Comment (born 1960) a Swiss writer, translator, scriptwriter and publisher of books * Régis Fuchs (born 1970) a Swiss professional ice hockey winger * Benjamin Conz (born 1991) a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender

Notes

References

External links

Official website

Airport Porrentruy-Bressaucourt
{{Authority control Cities in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Jura