Péry-La Heutte 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 Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

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''). On 1 January 2015, the former municipalities of

Péry Péry is part of the municipality of Péry-La Heutte 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''). ...

and La Heutte merged to form the new municipality of Péry-La Heutte.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 2 January 2013

History

Péry

The first mention of Péry is in 884 where it is called ''villam Bedericam''. In 1148, it was known as ''Peril'', though that name comes from a 12th-century forgery. The municipality was formerly known by its German name ''Büderich'', however, that name is no longer used. In 884,

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

granted Péry to

Moutier-Grandval Abbey Moutier-Grandval Abbey was a Benedictine abbey near the villages of Moutier and Grandval in today's Bernese Jura, Canton of Bern in Switzerland. It was founded around 640, when Grandval already existed; Moutier grew up around the abbey. Histor ...

. The Abbey owned the village and surrounding lands until 999 when 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 ...

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 ...

acquired the village. He incorporated it into 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") ...

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 ...

and gave the village to the Lords of Péry who ruled from Châtillon Castle, now a ruin, on a nearby hill. Beginning in the 14th century the

feudal levies Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

from Péry were part of the Erguel army under the command of

Biel Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

. In 1530, Biel encouraged the village to accept the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. The village of Rondchâtel was independent of Péry until 1766. Based on the name, it is likely that a castle existed on the hill, but little is known about it. During the mid 14th century, the Prince-Bishop of Basel

Johann II von Munsingen Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

, granted Rondchâtel to his brother Conrad, who was an ecclesiastical

bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

of Biel in 1340-65. Starting at the end of the 14th century, Rondchâtel

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 ...

was owned by the de Nans and d'Orsans families out of Franche-Comté. They held the village until 1766, when the last heir of the families died out and the fief reverted to the Prince-Bishop. The Prince-Bishop then leased Rondchâtel to the community of Péry. After the 1797 French victory and the

Treaty of Campo Formio The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The trea ...

, Péry became part of the French

Département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

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 ...

. A few years later, it became part of the Département 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 and the

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

, Péry was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815. The village church of St. James was first mentioned in 884. After the village converted to the new Reformed faith in 1530, it became a Reformed church. The current church was built in 1706 around a core of an older,

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

building. At some point it became the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

for 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 Péry. From 1798 until 1840,

Vauffelin Vauffelin () is a former 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 (''Jur ...

was part of the parish. A Roman Catholic chapel was built in the village in 1906. Rondchatel 01 11

The Prince-Bishop of Basel,

Johann Franz von Schönau-Zell Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(Bishop 1651-1656), had a blast furnace built at La Reuchenette in 1654. In 1693 he gave the furnace as a fief to Chemilleret family, who held it until the death of their last heir in 1756. By 1782 the site included an ironworks, a house, an inn. After the French invasion, it was declared a national treasure and the feudal ownership was abolished. The Société des forges d'Undervelier took over operation of the site until 1867, when it closed. The Biel-Les Convers railway opened in 1874 and encouraged industrial and population growth. The lime and cement factory in Rondchâtel (1874), the wood pulp plant at Biberist (1882) and a branch of the Rondchâtel cement factory in La Reuchenette (today Ciments Vigier SA) all contributed to the prosperity of the municipality. The watch manufacturer Dreyfus Frères SA of Biel opened a branch company in 1903 in Péry. This company, called Péry Watch, did not survive the financial crisis of the 1930s. The building was converted in 1934 into a typewriter ribbon, stencils and carbon paper factory under the name Carfa SA. Carfa remained in operation until 2003. In 2005, just over half of all jobs in the municipality were in manufacturing.

La Heutte

La Heutte was first mentioned in 1393 as ''Hütte''. It was first called by the current name in 1727. A ''glass-hut'' or glassworks was mentioned in the area as part of a fief of the d'Orsans family in 1370. While a village was not mentioned then, by 1393 a village had grown around the glassworks. It was part of the

in the

Diocese of Basel The Diocese of Basel (; ) is a Latin Church, Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also secular rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel (). Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss Cantons of Switze ...

. It was part of the

. So La Heutte adopted the

in 1530, when

converted the entire parish of Péry to the new faith. During the 18th century, Biel attempted to expand its power, which caused frequent conflicts with the neighboring villages, including La Heutte. The first glass factory, at Le Van north of the village, dates from before 1370. Another glass factory opened in the valley at the end of the 15th century and remained in operation until the early 17th century. Between 1650 and 1750 the village expanded toward the Suze river as the population grew. A thriving pottery industry and a large mill developed along the river. The first school was built in the 1839. In 1876 a train station was built in the village, which encouraged the growth of the watch industry. Two years later, the Ammann watch factory opened in the old Bendit mill. In 1895 the Urania Watch Company replaced Ammann in the mill. It was, in turn, replaced by the Weber wire drawing factory in 1938. During a watchmaking boom between 1950 and 1974, numerous small watch and watch part workshops opened in the village. The A16 motorway connected La Heutte with Biel in 1985, transforming the village into a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

. In 1995, about a dozen tracks of three-toed dinosaurs were discovered in the municipality.

Geography

The former municipalities that now make up Péry-La Heutte have a total combined area of .

Demographics

The total population of Péry-La Heutte () is .

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: auto height:500 barincrement:45 PlotArea = top:20 left:40 bottom:90 right:35 Legend = columns:3 left:20 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:400 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:80 start:0 Colors= id:PE value:yellowgreen legend:Péry id:LA value:green legend:La_Heutte PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:30 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from: 0 till:560 text:"560" color:PE bar:1860 from: 0 till:626 text:"626" color:PE bar:1870 from: 0 till:682 text:"682" color:PE bar:1880 from: 0 till:718 text:"718" color:PE bar:1890 from: 0 till:855 text:"855" color:PE bar:1900 from: 0 till:983 text:"983" color:PE bar:1910 from: 0 till:1201 text:"1,201" color:PE bar:1920 from: 0 till:1191 text:"1,191" color:PE bar:1930 from: 0 till:1076 text:"1,076" color:PE bar:1940 from: 0 till:1022 text:"1,022" color:PE bar:1950 from: 0 till:1124 text:"1,124" color:PE bar:1960 from: 0 till:1304 text:"1,304" color:PE bar:1970 from: 0 till:1486 text:"1,486" color:PE bar:1980 from: 0 till:1449 text:"1,449" color:PE bar:1990 from: 0 till:1405 text:"1,405" color:PE bar:2000 from: 0 till:1335 text:"1,335" color:PE bar:1850 from: 560 till:831 text:"271" color:LA bar:1860 from: 626 till:901 text:"275" color:LA bar:1870 from: 682 till:977 text:"295" color:LA bar:1880 from: 718 till:1071 text:"353" color:LA bar:1890 from: 855 till:1224 text:"369" color:LA bar:1900 from: 983 till:1383 text:"400" color:LA bar:1910 from: 1201 till:1540 text:"339" color:LA bar:1920 from: 1191 till:1590 text:"399" color:LA bar:1930 from: 1076 till:1400 text:"324" color:LA bar:1940 from: 1022 till:1332 text:"310" color:LA bar:1950 from: 1124 till:1468 text:"344" color:LA bar:1960 from: 1304 till:1732 text:"428" color:LA bar:1970 from: 1486 till:1972 text:"486" color:LA bar:1980 from: 1449 till:1880 text:"431" color:LA bar:1990 from: 1405 till:1871 text:"466" color:LA bar:2000 from: 1335 till:1823 text:"488" color:LA

Heritage sites of national significance

The Le Van, a medieval glass factory, is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire

Taubenloch Taubenloch (French: Gorges du Taubenloch) is a Canyon, gorge in the Canton of Bern, above Biel/Bienne in Switzerland. It crosses the first Jura Mountains, Jura Mountain chain, as considered from the Swiss Plateau. Location The gorge covers a leng ...

canyon is designated as 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 ...

Transportation

Péry-La Heutte has two railway stations: and . Both are located on the Biel/Bienne–La Chaux-de-Fonds line, with hourly service to , , and .

References

External links

Website of the municipality of PéryLa Heutte Municipality Website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pery-La Heutte Municipalities of the canton of Bern Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern