Biel/Bienne

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Biel redirects here: for other uses, see Biel (disambiguation)

Biel/Bienne

Canton	Bern
District	Biel/Bienne
Coordinates	47°08′N, 7°15′E
Population	50295 (December 2004)
Area	21.20 km²
Elevation	434 m
Postal code	2500-2510
SFOS number	0371
Mayor	Hans Stöckli (Socialist)
Website	www.biel-bienne.ch
Twin towns	Iserlohn (Germany)
Biel/Bienne

Biel/Bienne is a city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

It is located on the language boundary and is throughout bilingual. Biel is the German name for the town, Bienne its French counterpart. The town is often referred to in both languages simultaneously. Since January 1, 2005, the official name is "Biel/Bienne".

The city expands itself at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains area, guarding the only practical connection to Jura in the area, on the N.E. shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee, Lac de Bienne), sharing the Eastern tip of the lake with its sister city, Nidau, head of the District of Nidau. Whereas Neuchâtel, Solothurn & Bern (the capital of Switzerland) lie W., E. and S.E. of Biel/Bienne, all less than 30 minutes away, either by train or car.

1 History
2 Language
3 Main sights
4 Business
5 Culture
6 Sport
7 Twinning
8 Gallery
9 External links

[edit] History

The origin of the city has been traced to the times when Celts settled in the region. At the time it was called Belenus, after a Celtic deity. The Romans later inhabited the area. The township itself was built in the 11th century, and in 1275 it was chartered.

Biel/Bienne has remained under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Basel for hundreds of years. In 1279 the town entered an alliance with Berne which was made permanent in 1352. There have been several conflicts between the inhabitants of Biel/Bienne and the Bishop of Basel Reform. In 1798 Biel/Bienne was invaded by French troops. After Napoleon's collapse, the town became a part of the Canton of Bern, in 1815.

[edit] Language

About two thirds of the population speak German, about one third French. The city is officially bilingual (the biggest bilingual city in Switzerland). In addition an odd 150 nationalities are represented in Biel/Bienne, making it one of the most multi-lingual cities in the world. In recent years the city has wisely used its languistic assets as an economic advantage, becoming the Swiss City of Communication, including several call centres that were created in or around Biel/Bienne, next to the traditional businesses established in the city and surrounding area, which have always been exporting worldwide most of their production.

[edit] Main sights

The town centre of Biel/Bienne features a Gothic church which dates from 1451. The town hall dates from 1534. The population is an estimated 51,900.

[edit] Business

The city and its neighbourhood thrive on precision and micro mechanics, the conception and manufacture of highly specialised production oriented machinery and tools, products exported worldwide, next to Swiss Made Watches of the well known & reputed Watch Brands located in the city and its vicinity.

Rolex have since the beginning established and run their movement & technical parts production centres in the city, also
Swatch Group have their Group & several Brands headquarters, especially Omega & Swatch here, as well as
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH

[edit] Culture

The newspapers Bieler Tagblatt and Journal du Jura as well as the only totally bilingual German/French newspaper Biel-Bienne with its large free distribution within the greater area, are published in Biel/Bienne.

The city is also known for its annual International Chess Festival.

The city of Biel/Bienne has received the Wakker Prize in 2004.

Each June since 1959, Biel/Bienne hosts a 100 km Ultramarathon race, which is among the biggest races of its kind worldwide and forms a part of the European Ultramarathon Cup.