La Ferrière is a
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' ...
in the
Jura bernois administrative district in the
canton of Bern
The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...
in
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It is located in the French-speaking
Bernese Jura
Bernese Jura (, , German: Berner Jura) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten Administrative divisions of Switzerland, administrative divisions of the Cantons of Switzerland, cant ...
(''Jura Bernois'').
History
Founded in 1590 as ''les Hautes Montagnes d'Erguël'' by settlers from
Valangin
Valangin () is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Val-de-Ruz (district), Val-de-Ruz in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municip ...
. In 1749 it was known as ''La Ferriere'' or ''Communauté des Montagnes de Saint-Imier''.
[
The village was owned by the ]Prince-Bishop
A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
of Basel
Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
and was part of the seigniory
In English law, seignory or seigniory, spelled ''signiory'' in Early Modern English (; ; ), is the lordship (authority) remaining to a grantor after the grant of an estate in fee simple.
'' Nulle terre sans seigneur'' ("No land without a lord") ...
of Erguel
Erguël is a 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, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
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 () 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 century, the Lords of Erguel, ...
and the surrounding lands to La Ferrière to hold as a fief
A fief (; ) 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 of feudal alle ...
. In 1806, the political municipality of La Ferrière inherited the castle and lands and in 1828 sold them to Sonvilier
Sonvilier is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Jura bernois (administrative district), Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (''Jura Bernois' ...
. After the 1797 French invasion the village became part of the parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
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 near Courgenay (now in the canton of Jura, Switzerland). The toponym ...
. The parish was later transferred to the Department of Haut-Rhin
Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
. After Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
'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 Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
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 an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...
of the municipal coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
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 2012French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
(418 or 81.5%) as their first language, German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also 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, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
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 environmentalism and social justice.
Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
(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 is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...
was 29.9%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
. Retrieved 8 May 2012
Economy
, La Ferrière had an unemployment rate of 2.3%. , 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 ...
, 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 of measurement 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 use ...
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
The La Chaux-de-Fonds–Glovelier line is a railway line in the cantons of Jura, Bern, and Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The line was originally built by two companies, the Chemin de fer Saignelégier-La Chaux-de-Fonds and Régional Saignelégi ...
: and .
Religion
From the , 84 or 16.4% were Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, while 276 or 53.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
. 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 Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
ic. There were 1 individual who belonged to another church. 86 (or about 16.76% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...
or 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 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
Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education.
Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
, and 40 or (7.8%) have completed additional higher education (either university
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
or a ''Fachhochschule
A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
''). 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 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 students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...
.[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