Renan 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
Renan is first mentioned in 1372 as ''Renens''. The municipality was formerly known by its German name ''Rennen'', however, that name is no longer used.
[
The village was owned by the ]collegiate church
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, headed by a dignitary bearing ...
of Saint-Imier
Saint-Imier () 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 Be ...
which 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 ...
under 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 ...
. 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 ...
, Renan 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 ...
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 ...
. 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 ...
, Renan was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815. Following an unsuccessful revolt in Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...
in 1831, a number of the insurgents took refuge in Renan. Following the French Revolution of 1848
The French Revolution of 1848 (), also known as the February Revolution (), was a period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the French Second Republic. It sparked t ...
, the people of the neighboring canton of Neuchâtel made preparations for a republican coup. A republican leader Ami Girard raised a body two hundred volunteers and on 1 March 1848 set out from Renan to join the Neuchâtel Revolution. By 8pm that evening, Neuchâtel Castle
Neuchâtel Castle is a castle in the municipality of Neuchâtel of the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
See also
* List of castles in Switzerland
* Château
A château (, ; plur ...
fell to the volunteers and on 5 March, ambassadors from Switzerland had recognized the new government and the Republic of Neuchatel was formed.[
The village was 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 Erguel and converted to the Reformed faith
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...
along with the rest of the Erguel. In 1627 the Prince-Bishop approved the construction of a village church in Renan. It was completed in 1631 and was renovated in 1976-77.[
During the late 17th century the village economy was booming as the watch industry spread in the Saint-Imier valley. In 1874, the Biel-Les Convers railway connected the village to the national railway network. The ]Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
in the 1930s devastated the Swiss watch industry and the economy of Renan. However, the watch industry held on and grew once again after World War II. In the 1970s the watch industry was once again devastated and this time the local industry did not survive. At the beginning of the 21st century Renan's economy was dominated by agriculture. In 2005, the agricultural sector provided over one-third of all jobs in the municipality.[
]
Geography
Renan has an area of . Of this area, or 59.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 33.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 5.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% 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, housing and buildings made up 3.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. Out of the forested land, 29.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.7% is used for growing crops and 37.0% is pastures and 14.8% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.[
The municipality is located in the upper Saint-Imier valley. The high valley of Les Convers, in which marshlands the Suze takes its source is located on its territory.
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]
accessed 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 ''Argent on a Bar Vert a Mullet Or.''
Demographics
Renan has a population () of . , 11.6% of the population are resident foreign nationals.[Statistical office of the Canton of Bern]
accessed 4 January 2012 Over the last 10 years (2000-2010) the population has changed at a rate of 9.4%. Migration accounted for 12.1%, while births and deaths accounted for -1.2%.
accessed 11 October 2012
Most of the population () speaks French
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), ...
(590 or 70.6%) 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 (216 or 25.8%) 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 (9 or 1.1%). There is 1 person who speaks Romansh.[
, the population was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. The population was made up of 370 Swiss men (43.5% of the population) and 51 (6.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 382 Swiss women (44.9%) and 48 (5.6%) non-Swiss women.] Of the population in the municipality, 242 or about 28.9% were born in Renan and lived there in 2000. There were 205 or 24.5% who were born in the same canton, while 245 or 29.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 87 or 10.4% were born outside of Switzerland.[
, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.4% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17%.][
, there were 358 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 374 married individuals, 62 widows or widowers and 42 individuals who are divorced.][STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000]
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 107 households that consist of only one person and 24 households with five or more people. , a total of 318 apartments (74.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 65 apartments (15.3%) were seasonally occupied and 42 apartments (9.9%) 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 1.2 new units per 1000 residents.[ The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 1.94%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:]
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Period = from:0 till:2100
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color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center
bar:1725 from:start till:380 text:"380"
bar:1800 from:start till:929 text:"929"
bar:1850 from:start till:1820 text:"1,820"
bar:1860 from:start till:2097 text:"2,097"
bar:1870 from:start till:1936 text:"1,936"
bar:1880 from:start till:1804 text:"1,804"
bar:1888 from:start till:1738 text:"1,738"
bar:1900 from:start till:1746 text:"1,746"
bar:1910 from:start till:1455 text:"1,455"
bar:1920 from:start till:1401 text:"1,401"
bar:1930 from:start till:1176 text:"1,176"
bar:1941 from:start till:880 text:"880"
bar:1950 from:start till:1042 text:"1,042"
bar:1960 from:start till:1091 text:"1,091"
bar:1970 from:start till:1094 text:"1,094"
bar:1980 from:start till:882 text:"882"
bar:1990 from:start till:884 text:"884"
bar:2000 from:start till:836 text:"836"
Sights
The entire village of Renan 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 ...
.
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 30.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Social Democratic Party (SP) (22.1%), 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 ...
(10.8%) and the FDP.The Liberals
FDP.The Liberals (, , , ) is a liberal political party in Switzerland.
The party was formed on 1 January 2009, after two parties, the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and the smaller Liberal Party (LPS/PLS), united. In Vaud and Valais, the parti ...
(10.5%). In the federal election, a total of 225 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 34.9%.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election]
accessed 8 May 2012
Economy
, Renan had an unemployment rate of 2.31%. , there were a total of 245 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 80 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 28 businesses involved in this sector. 38 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. 127 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 14 businesses in this sector.[ There were 11 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 18.2% of the workforce.
there were a total of 192 ]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 60, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 36 of which 33 or (91.7%) were in manufacturing and 3 (8.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 96. In the tertiary sector; 5 or 5.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 9 or 9.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 5 or 5.2% were in education and 69 or 71.9% were in health care.
, there were 97 workers who commuted into the municipality and 222 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. About 11.3% of the workforce coming into Renan are coming from outside Switzerland.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb]
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 9.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 60.2% used a private car.[
]
Religion
From the , 158 or 18.9% 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 423 or 50.6% 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 were 6 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.72% of the population), there were 4 individuals (or about 0.48% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 126 individuals (or about 15.07% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There was 1 individual who was Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 7 (or about 0.84% of the population) who were 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 was 1 person who was Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
and 8 individuals who belonged to another church. 104 (or about 12.44% 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 58 individuals (or about 6.94% of the population) did not answer the question.[
]
Education
In Renan about 270 or (32.3%) 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 68 or (8.1%) 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 68 who completed tertiary schooling, 57.4% were Swiss men, 29.4% were Swiss women, 10.3% were non-Swiss men.[
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 ...
.
During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 65 students attending classes in Renan. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 17 students in the municipality. The municipality had 3 primary classes and 48 students. Of the primary students, 4.2% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 2.1% have a different mother language than the classroom language.[Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document]
accessed 4 January 2012
, there were 22 students in Renan who came from another municipality, while 83 residents attended schools outside the municipality.[
]
Transportation
The municipality has a railway station, . The station is located on the Biel/Bienne–La Chaux-de-Fonds line and has hourly service to and .
References
External links
Webpage of the municipality of Renan
{{Authority control
Municipalities of the canton of Bern