Delémont (; fc, D'lémont; german: Delsberg, ) is 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 fo ...

of the

Swiss canton The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss ...

of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants .

History

The area of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

was already settled in the middle

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 ...

. Fifteen urn burials have been discovered in the municipality. There were late Bronze Age settlements south and west of the modern city. Several

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 appl ...

buildings have been discovered south of town. There is also evidence of a

Roman 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 lett ...

settlement, including 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 ...

mausoleum and a small cache of coins. One or possibly several villas in the area may indicate the existence of a

vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...

near the town. The first historic mention of the name dates from 736 to 37 as ''Delemonte''. In 1131, the first mention of the German name ''Telsperg'' was recorded. It is also mentioned as Laimunt (1181) and Deleymunt (1225). The name is a combination of the Germanic ''Tello'' or ''Dagili'' with the Latin word ''mons'' for ''mountain''. Since the 7th century, the region belonged to the lands of the counts of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...

. In 1271, it was sold to the 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) ...

. At this time it consisted of a fortified village and two castles, which were probably the homes of the Telsberg family. The city was declared to have municipal rights by Bishop Peter Reich von Reichenstein on 6 January 1289. This charter allowed the city some self-governance and allowed it to distribute land, which created favorable conditions for the growth of the town. In 1338 they received the right to collect a tax on wine and food and in 1461 they were allowed to sell and tax salt in the valleys of Delémont and Moutier. From this income, as well as the money from a brick factory, two mills and eight farms, which were in use between the 15th and 17th centuries the city was able to meet all of its financial obligations. From 1289 to 1793, it was the capital of the estate of Delémont. The old town was nearly square, with two large longitudinal streets that are intersected by three cross streets. The city was surrounded by city walls, which were strengthened in the southwest, near the

Bishop's Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west o ...

, during the 14th century. In the north-east corner a large round tower was built in the 13th century. There were four gates into the city: Porte Monsieur (or de Porrentruy), the Porte au Loup, the Porte des Moulins and the Porte des Près (or de Bâle). The latter was bricked up in 1487, when a fire destroyed a large part of the city. One characteristic of Delémont are the monumental fountains in the late

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought ...

. The most important public buildings were rebuilt in the 18th century. The Bishop's Castle, which served as a summer residence, was rebuilt in 1716-21 by Pierre Racine from Tramelan. The

Châtelain Châtelain (from la, castellanus, derived from ''castellum''; pertaining to a castle, fortress. Middle English: ''castellan'' from Anglo-Norman: ''castellain'' and Old French: ''castelain'') was originally the French title for the keeper of a ...

's building was rebuilt in 1717, followed in 1742-45 the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually house ...

by Johann Caspar Bagnato and in 1753 the private residence of the family of Rinck Baldenstein, the county's administrator. The church of Saint-Marcel was built 1762-67 from plans by Pierre-Francois Paris, and replaced a

Gothic style 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 spoke ...

building which stood on the same location. The steeple was completed in 1850–51. Couvent des Capucins

The town's

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 or ...

was first mentioned in 1255. The parish was administered by either a priest or a

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

and seven or four (after 1760) chaplains. The rector of the Church of Saint-Marcel was also the dean of the rural

diaconate A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

of Salignon in the diocese of Basel. Between 1534 and 1792 the parish church served as the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a Church (building), church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons: a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organis ...

for the

collegiate chapter In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

of Moutier-Grandval, who had fled to Delémont during the

Protestant 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 ...

. During the Counter-Reformation a monastery of the

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 the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

and an Ursuline convent were established, which remained until 1793. The Ursulines were established in 1698 to provide an education for young girls, which they did for almost a century. The chapel of Saint-Imier, the former chapel of Telsberg castle, was rebuilt in 1586 and dedicated to Mary. During the increase in popularity of the

Marian Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places *Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queensla ...

cult in the 17th century, the chapel was expanded and rebuilt several times. After the coronation of the statue of Notre-Dame in 1869 the chapel became the most popular pilgrimage place in the Catholic Jura. In 1793, Delémont was conquered by

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 and became the seat of one of the districts of the Département du Mont Terrible. In 1800, this 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 th ...

. After the fall of Napoleon, the region was given to the Canton of Bern in 1815. Under the French, the old power structure in the city was suppressed. The ''

Bürgergemeinde The Bürgergemeinde (also Burgergemeinde, Ortsgemeinde, Ortsbürgergemeinde, Tagwen, bourgeoisie, commune bourgeoise, vischnanca burgaisa, en, Citizen's Community) is a statutory corporation in public law in Switzerland. It includes all indivi ...

'' (an association of all full citizens) no longer had authority over most of the city lands and the town council became an advisory only organization. After the city came under Bernese authority, the old power structure rushed back into power. The Bürgergemeinde, which owned all the common lands, accepted only a few dozen new members, until 1820 when it closed itself to new members. This unequal power structure remained in place until the liberal revolution in 1831, known as the

Regeneration Regeneration may refer to: Science and technology * Regeneration (biology), the ability to recreate lost or damaged cells, tissues, organs and limbs * Regeneration (ecology), the ability of ecosystems to regenerate biomass, using photosynthesis ...

, granted full citizenship rights to all residents of the town. The distribution of the Bürgergemeinde lands dragged on until 1866, when 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. ...

finally pushed through an agreement. During the 19th century industrialization, the German-speaking population increased greatly, and in 1880 reached nearly 40%. The city was briefly bilingual, but since 1920, the German-speaking minority has continuously decreased. Since 1947, the city became a center for agitation for separation from the Canton of Bern. In the referendums in 1959 and 1974, a large majority voted for the creation of the Canton of Jura. From 1976 to 1978, Delémont was the meeting place for the drafting of the cantonal constitution for the new canton, which was created 1 January 1979, with Delémont as its capital.

Geography

Delémont has an area of . Of this area, or 37.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 42.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 20.1% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.8% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.1% 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 2.8% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.2%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.2% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 1.1%. Out of the forested land, 40.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 17.8% is used for growing crops and 12.2% is pastures and 6.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Delémont lies southwest of

, about halfway between Basel and

Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; , ) is a town and a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Biel/Bienne lies on the language boundary between the French-speaking and German-spea ...

. It stretches along both sides of the Sorne river, shortly before it flows into the

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 ...

on the northern edge of the Delémont valley, a wide depression in 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 ...

. The area of the

is largely given to intensive cultivation. At the south end of the valley is the Montchaibeux, an isolated hill. On the north, the valley is bounded by the Les Rangiers range, with la Chaive () as the highest point in the municipality. The eastern boundary is the

River. The towns Les Rondez and Les Vorbourgs are part of the municipality. The surrounding municipalities are

Develier Develier is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. History Develier is first mentioned in 1139 as ''Divilier''. Geography Develier has an area of . Of this area, or 47.4% is used for agricultural ...

Courtételle Courtételle is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. History Courtételle is first mentioned in 1178 as ''Curtetele''. Geography Courtételle has an area of . Of this area, or 55.6% is used for ...

, Rossemaison, Courrendlin, Courroux,

Soyhières Soyhières is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. History Soyhières is first mentioned in 1102 as ''Sougere''. In 1136 it was mentioned as ''Sohires'' and in 1212 as ''Sogron''. The municipalit ...

, Mettembert, and

Bourrignon Bourrignon is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. History Bourrignon is first mentioned in 1136 as ''Borognuns''. In 1295 it was mentioned as ''Burgis''. The municipality was formerly known by it ...

Climate

Delémont has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(Cfb), according to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

, bordering a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(Dfb). Between 1981 and 2001 Delémont had an average of 134.3 days of rain or snow per year and on average received of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hai ...

. The wettest month on average is May during which time Delémont received an average of of rain. During this month there was precipitation for an average of 12.9 days. The driest month of the year is February with an average of of precipitation over 9 days.

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 visua ...

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 it ...

is ''Gules, a Crosier Argent over Coupeaux of Six of the same.''

Demographics

Delémont has a population () of . , 23.9% 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 1.7%. Migration accounted for 0.5%, while births and deaths accounted for 1.4%.
accessed 21-December-2011 Most of the population () speaks French (9,574 or 84.3%) as their first language,

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 second most common (449 or 4.0%) and

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 ...

is the third (350 or 3.1%). There are 5 people who speak Romansh. , the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. The population was made up of 4,114 Swiss men (35.5% of the population) and 1,512 (13.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 4,669 Swiss women (40.3%) and 1,291 (11.1%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 3,673 or about 32.4% were born in Delémont and lived there in 2000. There were 2,823 or 24.9% who were born in the same canton, while 1,703 or 15.0% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 2,720 or 24.0% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 21.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.5%. , there were 4,501 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 5,379 married individuals, 832 widows or widowers and 641 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 5,039 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. There were 1,883 households that consist of only one person and 269 households with five or more people. , a total of 4,783 apartments (89.0% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 321 apartments (6.0%) were seasonally occupied and 270 apartments (5.0%) 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 1.6 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.06%.

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:900 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:12000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:2000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:400 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:1650 text:"1,650" color:TO bar:1880 from:start till:2793 text:"2,793" color:TO bar:1910 from:start till:6161 text:"6,161" color:TO bar:1930 from:start till:6393 text:"6,393" color:TO bar:1950 from:start till:7504 text:"7,504" color:TO bar:1970 from:start till:11797 text:"11,797" color:TO bar:1990 from:start till:11548 text:"11,548" color:TO bar:2000 from:start till:11353 text:"11,353" color:TO LineData = points:(200,141)(300,195) color:FR points:(300,195)(400,222) color:FR points:(400,222)(500,261) color:FR points:(500,261)(600,348) color:FR points:(600,348)(700,365) color:FR points:(700,365)(800,369) color:FR points:(200,126)(300,157) color:GE points:(300,157)(400,141) color:GE points:(400,141)(500,132) color:GE points:(500,132)(600,122) color:GE points:(600,122)(700,103) color:GE points:(700,103)(800,100) color:GE points:(200,111)(300,154) color:PR points:(300,154)(400,160) color:PR points:(400,160)(500,159) color:PR points:(500,159)(600,162) color:PR points:(600,162)(700,139) color:PR points:(700,139)(800,132) color:PR points:(200,154)(300,203) color:CA points:(300,203)(400,204) color:CA points:(400,204)(500,238) color:CA points:(500,238)(600,357) color:CA points:(600,357)(700,350) color:CA points:(700,350)(800,318) color:CA points:(100,133)(200,167) color:SW points:(200,167)(300,244) color:SW points:(300,244)(400,266) color:SW points:(400,266)(500,297) color:SW points:(500,297)(600,365) color:SW points:(600,365)(700,356) color:SW points:(700,356)(800,336) color:SW

Government

Delémont hosts the parliament and government of the Canton of Jura, but many other governmental functions are housed in

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 ...

, such as the cantonal courts.

Politics

In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SPS which received 48.54% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the CVP (14.95%), the FDP (13.53%) and the SVP (11.96%). In the federal election, a total of 3,090 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 42.6%.

Economy

By 1770, the city had already begun to develop as a strong trading and manufacturing center. Only about 25% of the population was still engaged in agriculture. In the 19th century, industrialization began, led by steel mills, watchmaking, and machine, cigar, and cement manufacturing. Perhaps the most well known firm based here is

Wenger Wenger was a Swiss cutlery manufacturer that exists today as a line of once rival Victorinox, and a brand name for watches and licensed products owned by it. Founded in 1893, it was best known as one of two companies to manufacture Swiss Army ...

. Their factory does not have a show room. Today, Delémont is the economic and governmental hub of the canton, as well as the neighboring Jura region of the Canton of Bern. In addition to its traditional manufacturing core, it has developed much employment in the service sector. Although, it is plagued by a large unemployment rate, forcing its inhabitants to seek for jobs in the larger neighboring cities such as Basel or Biel. , Delémont had an unemployment rate of 7.4%. , there were 50 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 19 businesses involved in this sector. 3,094 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 constructio ...

and there were 133 businesses in this sector. 6,946 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 secon ...

, with 715 businesses in this sector. There were 5,515 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which women made up 44.4% 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 8,362. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 41, of which 38 were in agriculture and 3 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 2,963 of which 2,236 or (75.5%) were in manufacturing and 607 (20.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 5,358. In the tertiary sector; 1,165 or 21.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 396 or 7.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 315 or 5.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 117 or 2.2% were in the information industry, 374 or 7.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 432 or 8.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 497 or 9.3% were in education and 1,125 or 21.0% were in health care. , there were 6,137 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,711 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 3.6 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. About 7.6% of the workforce coming into Delémont are coming from outside Switzerland, while 0.1% of the locals commute out of Switzerland for work.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 13.7% used public transportation to get to work, and 55.3% used a private car.

Religion

From the , 7,826 or 68.9% 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 letter ...

, while 1,272 or 11.2% 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 58 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.51% of the population), there were 19 individuals (or about 0.17% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 339 individuals (or about 2.99% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 9 individuals (or about 0.08% 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 547 (or about 4.82% of the population) who were Islamic. There were 13 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 ...

, 40 individuals who were Hindu and 7 individuals who belonged to another church. 917 (or about 8.08% 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 sufficie ...

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 474 individuals (or about 4.18% of the population) did not answer the question.

Transportation

Delémont railway station Delémont railway station (french: Gare de Delémont) serves the municipality of Delémont, the capital city of the Canton of Jura, Switzerland. Opened in 1875, the station is owned and operated by Swiss Federal Railways. It forms part of the ...

the railway from Delle, connecting from Paris via Belfort, meets the Bienne to Basel line. The section of line between Belfort and Delle is currently being electrified and a
hourly optymo bus service
maintains the connection between Delle and Belfort. Delémont has good road connections to the surrounding cities. It lies on the main road between

and

, as well as

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...

. In 1998, the first stretch of motorway in the canton of Jura (the A 16) was opened between Delémont and

. The first stretch of rail line reached Delémont from Basel in 1875. The continuation to

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; th ...

was completed in 1876. All trains from Basel to Bienne must reverse in Delémont. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the railway station was accidentally bombed on 8 September 1944 by the Allies, injuring a number of railway employees. A well-developed bus system serves the surrounding countryside.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Vorbourg Chapel, the Prince-Bishops' Castle, St-Marcel's Church, the Museum jurassien d’art et d’histoire and the Tour Rouge, the historic

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

for locomotives and the

railway roundhouse A railway roundhouse is a building with a circular or semicircular shape used by railways for servicing and storing locomotives. Traditionally, though not always the case today, these buildings surrounded or were adjacent to a turntable ...

are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire old town of Delémont is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites. File:Chapelle Du Vorbourg.JPG, Vorbourg Chapel File:Château de Delémont (5).jpg, Prince-Bishops' Castle File:Delémont Eglise Saint-Marcel.jpg, St-Marcel Church File:Delémont Porte de Porrentruy.jpg, Museum jurassien d’art et d’histoire et Tour Rouge File:Rotonde pour locomotives 2.JPG,

Turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

for locomotives,

Tourism

The medieval city center still has its original outline. Two of the city gates date from the 18th century: the Porte au Loup (1775) and the Porte de Porrentruy (1756–59). There are also still parts of the city wall, with the Tour des Archives, which was originally built in the 13th century. The city squares are marked by monumental fountains dating from the 16th century, in

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

style. The

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

church of Saint-Marcel was built from 1762 to 1767 with a mixture of architectural styles from the baroque to the classical. Other important buildings from the time of the Bishops of Basel are the Hôtel de Ville (built from 1742 to 1745), the Châtellenie (now used as the Cantonal Parliament, remodeled in 1717), and the Episcopal Palace (1716–21). The late gothic chapel of Saint-Michel dates from the 17th century. The synagogue of Delémont is in the western part of the city. The Castle of Domont, built in 1560, is now a restaurant. There are also ruins of an early medieval castle, the Vorbourg, on the west side of the Birs. Next to them stands a chapel, dedicated in 1049 and repeatedly renovated. The main altar with the Madonna dates from the 16th century.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Delémont is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

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 Terr ...

, France * La Trinidad, Nicaragua

Culture

Delémont 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 heritag ...

for preservation of its architectural heritage in 2006.

Education

In Delémont about 3,706 or (32.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

, and 1,308 or (11.5%) 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. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

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 ar ...

''). Of the 1,308 who completed tertiary schooling, 54.1% were Swiss men, 28.3% were Swiss women, 10.2% were non-Swiss men and 7.5% were non-Swiss women. The Canton of Jura school system provides two years 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 cent ...

, 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 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 1,471 students attending 78 classes in Delémont. There were 13 kindergarten classes with a total of 236 students in the municipality.Effectifs de l'école enfantine 2009-2010
accessed 19 December 2011 The municipality had 35 primary classes and 690 students.
accessed 19 December 2011 During the same year, there were 30 lower secondary classes with a total of 545 students.
accessed 19 December 2011 , there were 631 students in Delémont who came from another municipality, while 277 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Delémont is home to the ''Bibliothèque municipale de Delémont'' library. The library has () 32,698 books or other media, and loaned out 64,610 items in the same year. It was open a total of 289 days with average of 27 hours per week during that year.
accessed 14 May 2010

Sport

The football club

SR Delémont SR Delémont is a Swiss football club based in Delémont and founded in 1909. It played in the Swiss Super League The Swiss Super League (known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a Swiss professional league in th ...

play in the

Swiss Challenge League The Challenge League is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the winners of the league are promoted to the Super League, while the ...

Notable people

* Eugène Daumas (1803 in Delémont – 1871) a French general and writer * Alfred Comte (1895 in Delémont – 1965) Swiss aviation pioneer *

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

(born 1927 in Delémont) aka ''André Jobin'', a Swiss francophone comics creator. *

Heidi Baader-Nobs Heidi Baader-Nobs (born 5 December 1940) is a Swiss composer. She was born in 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 ...

(born 1940 in Delémont) a Swiss composer *

Gérard Daucourt Gérard Daucourt (born 29 April 1941 in Delémont, Switzerland) was the Catholic Bishop of Nanterre 2002–2013 in the Hauts-de-Seine Département in the Paris region, France. Daucourt was ordained as a priest in 1966 when he served in Besançon ...

(born 1941 in Delémont) Catholic

Bishop of Nanterre The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nanterre (Latin: ''Dioecesis Nemptodurensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Nanterre'') is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in 1966, the diocese was split off from the Diocese o ...

2002-2013 * Pierre Margot (born 1950 in Delémont) a Swiss forensic scientist, invented a forensic light source

Polilight The Polilight is a portable, high-intensity, filtered light source used by forensic scientists and others to detect fingerprints, bodily fluids and other evidence from crime scenes and other places. Similar products to the Polilight Hola include ...

* Dominique Baettig (born 1953 in Delémont) psychiatrist and politician *

Maurice Kottelat Maurice Kottelat (born 16 July 1957 in Delémont, Switzerland ...

(born 1957 in Delémont) a Swiss

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...

specializing in Eurasian freshwater fish ; Sport * Julien Vauclair (born 1979 in Delémont) a Swiss former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

* Marguerite Gobat (1870 –1937), Swiss editor, teacher and pacifist

References

External links

* *
Jura.ch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delemont Cities in Switzerland Cantonal capitals of Switzerland Canton of Jura Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Jura