Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording;

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 ...

: ''Biel'' ; French: ''Bienne'' ;

locally In mathematics, a mathematical object is said to satisfy a property locally, if the property is satisfied on some limited, immediate portions of the object (e.g., on some ''sufficiently small'' or ''arbitrarily small'' neighborhoods of points). P ...

; ; ; ) is a bilingual

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 ...

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 ...

. With over 55,000 residents, it is the country's tenth-largest city by population. The Biel urban area has a population of around 100,000 inhabitants. Biel/Bienne is the capital of the Biel/Bienne administrative district. The city has been an industrial and watchmaking heart of Switzerland since the 19th century. With world-famous watch brands such as

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

Omega Omega (, ; uppercase Ω, lowercase ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and last letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numerals, Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value ...

and Swatch based in Biel/Bienne, the city is one of the main centres of the Swiss watch industry and is also referred to as the "world capital of watchmaking". Biel/Bienne lies on the language boundary between the French-speaking and

-speaking parts of Switzerland, and is

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

throughout. ''Biel'' is the German name for the city whereas ''Bienne'' is its French counterpart. The city is often referred to in both languages simultaneously. Since 1 January 2005, the official name has been "Biel/Bienne". Until then, the town was officially named Biel or Bienne. The city lies at the foot of the first mountain range of the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

area, guarding the only practical connection to Jura, on the northeastern shores of Lake Biel (, ), sharing the eastern tip of the lake with its sister town, Nidau. The cities of

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 ...

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

, and

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 ...

(the

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

of Switzerland) lie southwest, northeast and southeast of Biel/Bienne. They all can be reached within about 30 minutes by train or car. The cities of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. 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 ...

and

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

can each be reached in about one hour by car or train.

History

Prehistoric settlements

The shoreline of Lake Biel has been inhabited since at least the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

age. The remains of two neolithic settlements were found at Vingelz in 1874. The remains of the settlements became the Vingelz / Hafen archaeological site, which is now part of a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. East of the Vingelz site, a late

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

settlement was also discovered. After the Roman conquest, the region was part of

Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...

. During the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

the

Roman road Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

from

Petinesca Petinesca is an archeological site on the territory of Studen, a community of the Canton of Bern, in Switzerland, where Celtic and Roman vestiges were found. Celtic and Roman vestiges The site lies at the SE edge of the Jensberg mountain. Celt ...

to Pierre Pertuis or Salodurum (now

) passed through the village of Mett, which is now part of Biel/Bienne. The foundations of buildings and a 4th-century cemetery in Mett come from a late Roman or an

early medieval The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Middle Ages of Europ ...

military guard station. A theory holds that the toponym is derived from the name of

Belenus Belenus (Gaulish: ''Belenos'', ''Belinos'') is an ancient Celtic healing god. The cult of Belenus stretched from the Italian Peninsula to the British Isles, with a main sanctuary located at Aquileia, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coast. Through ...

, probably from a Roman era sanctuary of that deity at a sacred spring nearby. However, no surviving records or inscriptions confirm this theory. Another theory states that the town grew up around a late Roman fortress. While no trace of the fortress has been found, the foundations of several Roman buildings have been found east of the medieval town. The town is mentioned in 1142 as ''Apud Belnam'', which is taken as evidence for its derivation from ''Belenus''. In

popular etymology A false etymology (fake etymology or pseudo-etymology) is a false theory about the origin or derivation of a specific word or phrase. When a false etymology becomes a popular belief in a cultural/linguistic community, it is a folk etymology (or po ...

, the name has been connected with the German name for ''axe'' (

Bernese German Bernese German (Standard German: ''Berndeutsch'', ) is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. A form of Bernese German is spoken by the Swiss A ...

''bieli''), reflected in the two crossed axes in the town's coat of arms.

Foundation

In the 5th century, the area was invaded by the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

, and by the medieval period became part of

Upper Burgundy Upper Burgundy (; ) was a historical region in the early medieval Burgundy, and a distinctive realm known as the ''Kingdom of Upper Burgundy'', that existed from 888 to 933, when it was incorporated into the reunited Kingdom of Burgundy, that ...

. During the 6th or 7th century, the Germanic speaking

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

moved into the area around Lake Biel, creating the language boundary that exists today. By the 8th century, the German-speaking population became the majority on the east end of the lake. In 999

Rudolph III of Burgundy Rudolph III (, ; 970 – 6 September 1032), called the Idle or the Pious, was the king of Burgundy from 993 until his death. He was the last ruler of an independent Kingdom of Burgundy, and the last legitimate male member of the Burgundian line ...

granted lands around Lake Biel to the

Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel () was an Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at Porrentruy, and thereafter at Schliengen. As an ...

, during the formative period of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Through the Bishop of Basel, the Counts of Neuchâtel and later the Counts of Neuchâtel-Nidau began to exercise their power in the foothills of the

. In 1140 the counts built Nidau Castle in the neighboring village of Nidau to help secure their land on the eastern end of the lake. The town was probably built by the Bishop of Basel, Heinrich II von Thun, between 1225 (mention of ''domum de Bilne'') and 1230 (mention of ''in urbe mea de Beuna''). Biel Castle was built either shortly before or shortly after the foundation of the town, to help support Nidau Castle. Officially, Biel remained under the jurisdiction of the

Bishop 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 ...

throughout the 11th to 18th centuries. However, the early history of the town is filled with conflict between the town council and the Bishop's representative. In 1252, the town council partly succeeded in becoming a free imperial city. In 1275

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

Rudolph of Habsburg granted Biel a

town 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 ...

. The town's legal position was strengthened in 1296 when Bishop Peter Reich von Reichenstein signed an agreement with the town. This original agreement was strengthened in 1352 and remained in force until 1798. The town's church, the Church of St. Benedict, was first mentioned in 1228. The current church was built in 1451–70 and is regarded, after Bern Cathedral, as the second most important late gothic building in the Canton of Bern.

An associate of the Swiss Confederation

While it officially remained part of the lands of the

Prince-Bishopric of Basel The Prince-Bishopric of Basel () was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at Porrentruy, and thereafter at Schliengen. As an imperial ...

, starting in the 13th century Biel began making alliances with neighboring nobles and cities. In 1279 it allied with

. This first alliance was followed in 1311 by an alliance with

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

, a 1334 alliance with Solothurn, 1342 with

Murten Murten (German language, German, ) or Morat (French language, French, ; ) is a bilingual Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and a city in the See (district of Fribourg), See district of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Fribourg (can ...

and 1395 with La Neuveville. The alliance with Bern became an eternal alliance in 1352, as Bern itself joined the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

. Contradictory obligations to the Bishop of Basel, Jean de Vienne, and to the Imperial City of Bern led to a war in 1367. During the war, Biel was burned and the Bishop's castle was destroyed. After the extinction of the Counts of Neuchâtel-Nidau in 1375 the Bishop's power around the lake began to wane. In 1388, Bern gained control of Nidau Castle and the town of Nidau. However, the Bishop retained nominal power and influence in Biel. The two competing powers struggled for power in Biel for over 400 years and prevented the town from becoming completely independent from either powerful neighbor. Biel was considered an associate of the Swiss Confederacy during the 15th century, and after its participation in the Burgundy Wars even came to be recognized as a full member by 1494. Even though Biel remained nominally under the control of the Catholic Bishops of Basel, in 1528 it converted to the new

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

faith.

From the French invasion to modern Biel/Bienne

The French Revolution changed the political situation in Biel/Bienne. In 1793, the

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...

captured the Bishopric of Basel and brought the French into the lands near Biel. When they conquered the

Moutier Moutier () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois (administrative district), Jura bernois administrative district of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Ber ...

valley and Erguel in 1797 it brought the French practically to the gates of Biel/Bienne. On 6 February 1798, French troops marched through the open city gate while the population celebrated their arrival. Bienne and its neighboring communities were incorporated as the "Canton de Bienne" into the département du Mont-Terrible of the

First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...

. Two years later, in 1800, it went to the Département du

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 ...

. Under Mayor Sigmund Wildermeth (1765–1847) Biel strictly followed every dictate from Paris. After the collapse of the French Empire, Biel sent Georg Friedrich Heilmann to 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 ...

in 1814 to push for the creation of an independent Canton of Biel. However, he was unsuccessful and the Congress granted most of the territory of the Bishopric to the canton of Bern. Biel was able to resist unification until Bern agreed to retain some of Biel's historic privileges and rights. In 1815 Biel finally joined the Canton of Bern as part of the Oberamt of Nidau. The city council of Biel struggled to make it the capital of its own district. Finally in 1832 the Biel Amtsbezirk was created and Biel became the district capital. The democratic reforms of the Regeneration era helped the citizens of Biel to identify with and feel a part of the Canton of Bern. Plan der Stadt Biel 1906 c

By the beginning of the 20th century

anarcho-syndicalist Anarcho-syndicalism is an anarchist organisational model that centres trade unions as a vehicle for class conflict. Drawing from the theory of libertarian socialism and the practice of syndicalism, anarcho-syndicalism sees trade unions as both ...

groups, which saw strikes and sabotage as legitimate means to bring about reform, began to influence the labor movement in Biel/Bienne. The first large scale strike was the construction workers strike of 1902. The following years were marked with bitterly fought labor disputes. The largest strike was the journeymen carpenters strike of 1907, which lasted almost a year. Also in 1907 labor secretary Gottfried Reimann from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

was elected mayor. His election marked the first time that a Social Democrat was elected to such a powerful office in Switzerland. The First World War meant a setback for the labor movement, even though Switzerland was not directly involved in the war. Wages were reduced significantly when the war started while inflation made everything more expensive. In July 1918, a demonstration of starving workers erupted into street riots that required military action to suppress. In 1919 a Communist Party was founded in Biel, but it remained a minor party in the town. In 1921, the Social Democrats won a slim majority in the city councils. Under the leadership of the Social Democratic Mayor Guido Müller "Red Biel" began a series of socialist community experiments. During the 1930s the entire neighborhood around the train station was redeveloped according to the social planning theories of the era. The Volkshaus (People's House), built under the direction of Edward Lanz between 1928 and 1932, is an example of the "new building" style and a symbol of the Social Democratic era of the city. In the years leading up to the Second World War, the Social Democrats began to lose power in the city. In the last year of the war, the Swiss Party of Labour gained nine seats on the city council and ended the Social Democrat majority. With the resignation of Mayor Müller in 1947, it would be almost thirty years (1976) before the Social Democrats had another mayor in Biel. On the occasion of the secession of the

canton of Jura The Republic and Canton of Jura (officially in ), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( ; ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont. It shar ...

in 1978, Biel had been asked to become its capital, but it remained with the canton of Bern. The town was officially named ''Biel'' or Bienne until 2004, even though the bilingual ''Biel-Bienne'' was in common use. Since 2005, the official name has been ''Biel/Bienne'', with

forward slash The slash is a slanting line punctuation mark . It is also known as a stroke, a solidus, a forward slash and several other historical or technical names. Once used as the equivalent of the modern period and comma, the slash is now used to r ...

. At the beginning of the 20th century, the town's population was at 30,000 people. It doubled over the next 60 years, peaking at 65,000 in the mid-1960s. It declined gradually over the 1970s to 1990s, to below 49,000 in 2000, again rising slightly to just over 50,000 during the 2000s. Another 89,000 people live in the immediately surrounding

urban agglomeration An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

Geography and climate

Topology

Biel/Bienne has an area of . Of this area, or 8.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 45.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 45.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.6% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.7% 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 5.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 21.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 12.6%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 4.1%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 4.7% is used for growing crops and 2.0% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is at the southeastern foot of the

on the northeast end of Lake Biel. It consists of the village of Biel/Bienne, Vingelz (since 1900), Bözingen (since 1917), Madretsch and Mett (both since 1920). On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Biel, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created ''Verwaltungskreis Biel/Bienne''. It remained the capital of the new Verwaltungskreis.

Climate

Politics

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 ''Gules two Axes Argent in saltire.''

Subdivisions

Government

The Municipal Council (fr: Conseil municipal, de: Gemeinderat) constitutes the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

government of the City of Biel/Bienne and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councilors (, ), each presiding over a directorate. The president of the presidential directorate acts as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

(fr: ''Maire'', de: ''Stadtpräsident''). In the mandate period 2021–2024 (''législature'', ''Legislatur'') the Municipal Council is presided by ''Maire/ Stadtpräsident'' Erich Fehr. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the City Council (parliament) are carried by the Municipal Council. The regular election of the Municipal Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Biel/Bienne allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipal Council. The current mandate period is from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2024. The mayor is elected as such by public election by means of a system of Majorz, while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The delegates are selected by means of a system of Proporz. , Biel/Bienne's Municipal Council is made up of two representatives of the PS/SP (

, of whom one is also the mayor), one member of the ''Grünes Bündnis (GB)'' (

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 ...

), one of the PRR ( Les Radicaux Romands), and one of the UDC/SVP (

Swiss People's Party The Swiss People's Party (, SVP; , PPS), also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre (, UDC; , UDC), is a national-conservative and right-wing populist political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Marcel Dettling, it is the largest party in ...

), giving the left parties a majority of three out of five seats. The last regular election was held on 27 September 2020. The mayor has been reelected with 6889 votes (57.16%) and the voter turnout was 39.4%. Barbara Labbé is Town Chancellor (''chancelière municipale''/ ''Stadtschreiberin'') since , and Bertrand Cottier is Deputy Town Chancellor (''vice-chancelier''/ ''Vize-Stadtschreiber'') since for the Municipal Council.

Parliament

The City Council (fr: Conseil de ville, de: Stadtrat), the city parliament, holds

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

. It is made up of 60 members, with elections held every four years. The City Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the Municipal Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. The sessions of the City Council are public. Unlike members of the Municipal Council, members of the City Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Biel/Bienne allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The Parliament holds its meetings in the ''Stadtratssaal''. The last regular election of the City Council was held on 27 September 2020 for the mandate period (''la législature'') from 2021 to 2024. The voter turnout was 39.23%. Currently the City Council consist of 18 members of the Social Democratic Party (PSR/SP) including 6 members of the French branch ''Parti Socialiste Romand (PSR)'' and 2 members of its junior parties ''JUSO/JS'', 11 members of the Liberals (PRR/FDP) including 4 members of its French branch ''Parti Radical Romand (PRR)'', 11 members of the Swiss People's Party (UDC/SVP), 8 members of the Green Party (LV/Grüne), 4 Green Liberal Party (PVL/GLP), 2 members of the alliance called ''Passarelle'', 2 members of the Evangelical People's Party (PEV/EVP), 2 members for the alliance of the two parties Conservative Democratic Party (PBD/BDP) from Biel/Bienne (BLB) and Christian Democratic People's Party (PDC/CVP), one member of the Swiss Party of Labour (POP/PdA), and one member of the Federal Democratic Union (UDF/EDU).

Elections

National Council

In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the SP/PS which received 26.4% (-5.7) of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the

(24.1%, +10.2), the SVP/UDC (15.4%, -6.6), the glp/pvl (8.9%, +3.3), PLR (7.9%, -1.5), and the BDP/PBD (3.9%, -3.1). In the federal election a total of 11,096 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 35.9%. In the 2015 federal election the most popular party was the SP/PS which received 32.0% (+0.8) of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the SVP/UDC (22.0%, +2.1), the

(13.9%, -0.8), PLR/FDP (9.4%, +1.4), the glp/pvl (8.9%, +3.3), and the BDP/PBD (7.0%). In the federal election a total of xxx votes were cast, and the

was 36.9%. In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SP/PS which received 31.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP/UDC (19.9%), the

(14.7%) and the PLR/FDP (8.8%). In the federal election, a total of 12,363 votes were cast, and the

was 39.0%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election
accessed 8 May 2012

International relations

Biel/Bienne is twinned with: *

Iserlohn Iserlohn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Iserlaun'') is a city in the Märkischer Kreis district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the largest city by population and area within the district and the Sauerland region. Geogr ...

, Germany (since 1959)

Demographics

Population

Biel/Bienne has a population () of . , 28.1% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 3.8%. Migration accounted for 7.8%, while births and deaths accounted for −1.4%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 12-August-2012 Of the population in the municipality, 15,339 or about 31.5% were born in Biel/Bienne and lived there in 2000. There were 8,990 or 18.5% who were born in the same canton, while 9,170 or 18.8% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 12,244 or 25.2% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 18.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.3%. , there were 19,980 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 21,188 married individuals, 3,727 widows or widowers and 3,760 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 11,014 households that consist of only one person and 797 households with five or more people. , a total of 23,367 apartments (86.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 2,169 apartments (8.1%) were seasonally occupied and 1,398 apartments (5.2%) 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 3.2 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent an average apartment in Biel/Bienne was 935.83

Swiss franc The Swiss franc, or simply the franc, is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) iss ...

s (CHF) per month. The average rate for a one-room apartment was 463.73 CHF, a two-room apartment was about 706.49 CHF, a three-room apartment was about 846.98 CHF and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1749.16 CHF. The average apartment price in Biel/Bienne was 83.9% of the national average of 1116 CHF.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Rental prices
2003 data accessed 26 May 2010 The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 2%.

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:800 height:500 PlotArea = top:10 left: 100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:65000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:13000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:2600 start:0 Colors= id:TO value:yellowgreen legend:Total id:GE value:teal legend:German_Speaking id:FR value:green legend:French_Speaking id:CA value:lightpurple legend:Catholic id:PR value:oceanblue legend:Protestant id:SW value:red legend:Swiss PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from:start till:5609 text:"5,609" color:TO bar:1880 from:start till:16579 text:"16,579" color:TO bar:1910 from:start till:32136 text:"32,136" color:TO bar:1930 from:start till:37726 text:"37,726" color:TO bar:1950 from:start till:48342 text:"48,342" color:TO bar:1970 from:start till:64333 text:"64,333" color:TO bar:1990 from:start till:51893 text:"51,893" color:TO LineData = points:(213,172)(307,225) color:GE points:(307,225)(400,244) color:GE points:(400,244)(493,288) color:GE points:(493,288)(587,314) color:GE points:(587,314)(680,259) color:GE points:(213,110)(307,147) color:FR points:(307,147)(400,162) color:FR points:(400,162)(493,180) color:FR points:(493,180)(587,197) color:FR points:(587,197)(680,188) color:FR points:(213,100)(307,120) color:CA points:(307,120)(400,127) color:CA points:(400,127)(493,143) color:CA points:(493,143)(587,230) color:CA points:(587,230)(680,200) color:CA points:(213,180)(307,252) color:PR points:(307,252)(400,279) color:PR points:(400,279)(493,326) color:PR points:(493,326)(587,336) color:PR points:(587,336)(680,251) color:PR points:(120,122)(213,184) color:SW points:(213,184)(307,267) color:SW points:(307,267)(400,309) color:SW points:(400,309)(493,375) color:SW points:(493,375)(587,411) color:SW points:(587,411)(680,340) color:SW

Language

In 2000, a majority of the population spoke

(26,957 or 55.4%) as their first language. French was the second most common (13,695 or 28.1%) 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 ...

was third (2,925 or 6.0%). There were 37 people who spoke Romansh. German and French are both official languages of Biel/Bienne, which is the largest bilingual city in Switzerland. In 2020, when asked specifically about the two official languages, 32,154 residents (56.8% of the population) mentioned German as their principal language, while 24,376 (43.2%) mentioned French. In recent years the city has used its linguistic assets as an economic advantage, becoming the Swiss ''City of Communication''. Several call centres have been created in or around Biel, in addition to the traditional businesses established in the city and surrounding area, which have always exported most of their production worldwide.

Religion

According to the , 19,191 people or 39.4% of the total population, 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 ...

, while 14,241 or 29.3% 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 ...

. Of the rest of the population, there were 613 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.26% of the population), there were 87 individuals (or about 0.18% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 2,870 individuals (or about 5.90% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 61 individuals (or about 0.13% of the population) who were

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 3,156 (or about 6.49% of the population) who were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. There were 329 individuals who were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 235 individuals who were

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 68 individuals who belonged to another church. 6,012 (or about 12.36% 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 ...

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 3,180 individuals (or about 6.54% of the population) did not answer the question.

Tourism

Biel/Bienne is located near the watch-making cities of

La Chaux-de-Fonds La Chaux-de-Fonds (; archaic ) is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura Mountains at an altitude of 992 metres, a few kilometres south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne, Biel/Bienne, and Fribourg, ...

and

Le Locle Le Locle (; ) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds. It is the third smallest city in Switzerland (in Swit ...

, which together form a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The city is home to numerous watchmaking factories. The

Swatch Group The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company was founded in 1983 through the merger of ASUAG and SSIH, moving to manufacturing quartz-crystal watches to resolve the quartz crisis threatening the tradition ...

has its worldwide headquarters in the old

ASUAG Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG; French: ''Société Générale de l'Horlogerie Suisse SA'') was the former biggest Swiss Watch Industry Group that had been created with the assistance of the Swiss Government and the Swiss Bank ...

building. The old city of Biel/Bienne includes a 15th-century Gothic church, guild halls, and fountains. Outside the old city, the Biel "Cultural Quarter" is home to the and Schwab Museums and the CentrePasquArt. The

Jura mountains The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...

are north of the town and two

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

railways, the

Bienne–Evilard Funicular The Bienne–Evilard Funicular ( German:''Leubringenbahn''; French:''Funiculaire Bienne–Evilard'') is a funicular railway in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne in the Swiss canton of Bern. The funicular links Biel/Bienne ...

and the

Biel–Magglingen Funicular The Biel–Magglingen Funicular ( German: ''Magglingenbahn''; French: ''Funiculaire Bienne–Macolin'') is a funicular railway in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne in the Swiss canton of Bern. The funicular links Biel/Bienn ...

, link the city with the foothills. North-east of the town, the steep gorge of

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 ...

is a popular place to visit. West of the city is Lake Biel which is lined with parks and the town's harbor. In 2016 a total of 50,646 visitors spent 87,937 lodging nights in Biel/Bienne.

Heritage sites of national significance

The Alte Krone/La vieille Couronne, the artist's studio ''Atelier Robert'', the former Rockhall Manor, the main train station, the Jordi-Kocher House, 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

Church of St. Maria Immaculata, the '' Kongresshaus''/Palais des Congrès (Convention Center), the Kontrollgebäude at Zentralstrasse 49 / Oberer Quai 2, the ''Neuhaus'' Museum with the Robert Foundation Collection, the Schwab Museum, the Swiss Reformed City Church, the administration building and montage hall for General Motors, the Volkshaus Building and the ''Waldleute Zunft'' Building are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire town of Biel/Bienne and the Taubenlochschlucht canyon are both 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 ...

. File:Alte Krone Biel.jpg, Alte Krone, Vieille Couronne File:Atelier Paul Robert Biel.jpg, ''Atelier Robert'' File:Biennerockahll.jpg, The former Rockhall Manor building File:2005-Biel-Bahnhof.jpg, Main Train Station File:Biel - Jordi - Kocher Haus.jpg, Jordi-Kocher House File:St Maria Immaculata (Biel).jpg, Catholic parish church of St. Maria Immaculata File:2005-Biel-Kongresshaus.jpg, ''Kongresshaus'', ''Palais des congrès'', (Convention Center) File:Biel - Kontrollgebäude.jpg, Kontrollgebäude at Zentralstrasse 49 / Oberer Quai 2 File:Museum Neuhaus Biel 01 09.jpg, Museum ''Neuhaus'' File:Museum Schwab Biel 01 09.jpg, Museum Schwab File:Old town church in Biel.jpg, Swiss Reformed City Church File:Biel Montagewerk GM 01.jpg, Administration Building and Montage Hall for General Motors File:Biel Volkshaus 01a.jpg, Volkshaus, Maison du Peuple Building File:Biel Zunfthaus.jpg, ''Waldleute Zunft'' Building File:Taubenloch3.jpg, Bridge in Taubenlochschlucht

World Heritage Site

It is home to the . Vingelz / Hafen is a prehistoric pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements that is part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps

. The Vingelz / Hafen site is buried under mud near the shore of Lake Biel. It is one of the best preserved sites on the lake and has had minimal research. Based on the limited studies done on the village, it was occupied around 2970–2820 BC and again in 2780–2695 BC. About 60 wood samples have been dendrochronologically dated. The site was discovered in 1874 by Eduard von Fellenberg while he was excavating a dug-out canoe. In 1985 a series of test borings identified the two archaeological layers with a total thickness of about . A text excavation in 1998 found textile remains and a complete axe handle and blade.

Business

The city and surrounding area are home to companies that design and manufacture specialised machinery and precision tools. Between 1936 and 1975 ''General Motors Suisse SA'' assembled over 300,000

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

automobiles here, mainly for the Swiss domestic market but also for export to neighboring countries and

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. *

produces movement and technical parts in the city. *

has several of its brand headquarters here, especially

Omega SA Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as ''Louis Brandt et Fils'' until incorporating the name ''Omega'' in 1903, becoming ' ...

and Swatch. * The

Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) is the Swiss watch industry's leading trade association, headquartered in Bienne, Switzerland. The Federation is a private, professional and non-profit association. The Federation of the Swiss Wa ...

is located in this city. * Glycine Watch SA manufacturing and administration are located here. , Biel/Bienne had an unemployment rate of 3.95%. , there were a total of 33,799 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 56 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 10 businesses involved in this sector. 9,421 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 451 businesses in this sector. 24,322 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 2,267 businesses in this sector. there were a total of 28,144

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 43, of which 21 were in agriculture and 22 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 8,945 of which 7,405 or (82.8%) were in manufacturing and 1,388 (15.5%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 19,156. In the tertiary sector; 4,371 or 22.8% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 1,745 or 9.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1,092 or 5.7% were in a hotel or restaurant, 812 or 4.2% were in the information industry, 648 or 3.4% were the insurance or financial industry, 1,708 or 8.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 1,293 or 6.7% were in education and 3,591 or 18.7% were in health care. , there were 17,680 workers who commuted into the municipality and 7,990 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 2.2 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving.Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 31.2% used public transportation to get to work, and 37.8% used a private car.

Education

In Biel/Bienne about 17,768 or (36.5%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 5,492 or (11.3%) 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 5,492 who completed tertiary schooling, 56.6% were Swiss men, 26.4% were Swiss women, 10.5% were non-Swiss men and 6.5% were non-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 ...

. During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 5,733 students attending classes in Biel/Bienne. There were 27 kindergarten classes with a total of 497 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 36.2% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 66.0% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 79 primary classes and 1,470 students. Of the primary students, 32.9% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 53.4% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 53 lower secondary classes with a total of 981 students. There were 23.6% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 29.6% have a different mother language than the classroom language.Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document
accessed 4 January 2012 , there were 3,008 students in Biel/Bienne who came from another municipality, while 517 residents attended schools outside the municipality. Biel/Bienne is home to 3 libraries. The Stadtbibliothek Biel, the ''BFH Technik und Informatik TI Biel'' and the ''BFH Architektur, Holz und Bau AHB Biel''. There was a combined total () of 233,171 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 501,646 items were loaned out.

Culture

The newspapers ''

Bieler Tagblatt ''Bieler Tagblatt'' is a Swiss Standard German language daily newspaper, published by Gassmann AG in Biel/Bienne, Canton of Bern. It was founded in 1850 as the ''Seeländer Bote'', which merged in 1904 with two other papers, the ''Tagblatt für d ...

'' and ''

Journal du Jura The () is a French-language Swiss newspaper published in Biel/Bienne, Canton of Bern. It was founded in 1871, the successor to two prior papers; in this period it served as an outlet for the Jura Liberals. In 1956, it took over its rival paper ...

'' 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. The domicile of the ''Theater Biel Solothurn'' is situated in the old town. The town is also known for its annual '' International Chess Festival''. The town of Biel/Bienne received 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 herita ...

in 2004. Each June since 1959, Biel has hosted a 100 km

Ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

race, which is among the biggest races of its kind worldwide and forms a part of the European Ultramarathon Cup.

Transport

Biel/Bienne is very well connected to its region and to Switzerland as well. The public transport in and around Biel/Bienne is operated by Verkehrsbetriebe Biel/Transports publics biennois, which is integrated into the fare network libero with coordinated timetables, which in itself covers the area of

and

. The fare network includes any mode of public transport, such as any kind of train (including the urban

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

), PostAuto buses,

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

, buses (either trolleybuses or motorized buses) and others. Fares are based on the number of zones crossed during a specified time and are independent of the mode of transport or the number of connections. Most part of Biel/Bienne and including Nidau belong to fare zone 300, including ''Vingelz/Vigneules'' in the southwest at the lake, but excluding ''Hohfluh'' on the Magglingen funicular and the ''Bözigerfeld/Champs-de-Boujean'' in the northeast, which belong to zone ''301''. The circle fare zone 301 around Biel/Bienne also includes Tüscherz in the southwest, ''Hohfluh'', Evilard, and Frinvillier (, through the ''Taubenlochschlucht'') in the west, and Orpund, Scheuren,

Schwadernau Schwadernau is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Biel/Bienne (administrative district), Biel/Bienne administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. History Schwadernau is fir ...

, Brügg, Aegerten, and Studen in the east, and

Port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

, Ipsach, Bellmund, Jens, Merzligen, and Hermrigen in the south of the municipality. Biel/Bienne railway station is not only the central network nucleus of Biel/Bienne, but also of the whole urban and inter-regional region. It connects the town to the regional, national and international railways network (

–

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Grenchen Grenchen () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lebern (district), Lebern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Solothurn (canton), Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located at the foot of the Jura mountains betwee ...

– Delémont –

– Olten –

Luzern Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

– St. Gallen, and the

). It is a central railway junction on the fast east–(south-)west line and on the Basel–Bern line. The station is Switzerland's thirteenth most busy railway station (about 52,0000 passengers per working day in 2016). One

funicular railway A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite ends ...

s leads to the national sports center of Magglingen/Macolin on the higher Jura mountain in the west, and the other, the Bienne-Evilard Funicular, to the city hospital and to neighbouring municipality Evilard to northwest, both above the town on the eastern range of the

. The high, flat pastures and wood of Magglingen/Macolin span about from northeast to southwest at an altitude between . The Magglingen/Macolin Funicular often leads to sunshine while Biel/Bienne is covered by low hanging clouds. The port at the north-eastern end of Lake Biel is a starting point for leisurely journeys to the three lakes of Biel,

, and Murten/Morat through the Three-Lakes Landscape, which are all connected by navigable channels and rivers. The port is situated on the west side of the main railway station between the exit of the river Schüss/La Suze arriving from the Jura in the west through the ''Taubenlochschlucht'' (

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , ,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no #Conventions, defined orthography for any of them, many different spellings can be found. and others; ) is any of the Alemannic German, Alemannic ...

for pigeon hole gorge) and the navigable Nidau-Büren Canal with connections as far as Solothurn. Several bridges over the Nidau-Büren Canal connect the town to its south/eastern suburbs. Biel/Bienne is well connected to other Swiss cities by several

motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

( A6 to Bern, and via A5 to both, the Jura and Basel, Luzern, Zurich, St. Gallen). The town is very well connected to all Swiss international airports:

Geneva Airport Geneva Airport – formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport – is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-pas ...

(1:40h), EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (1:30h), and

Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...

(1:30h), also serve as international gateways, all reachable within about the same time by direct

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

from Biel/Bienne.

Sport

EHC Biel EHC Biel-Bienne is a professional ice hockey club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League (NL). Since the city of Biel is completely bilingual, alongside the German name EHC Biel (Abbr: EHCB) the te ...

, the professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

team *

FC Biel-Bienne FC Biel-Bienne is a Swiss association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball ...

, the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club.

Notable people

Honoured citizen

* Nicolas Hayek (1928–2010), Lebanese-American Swiss businessman, co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of

The Swatch Group The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company was founded in 1983 through the merger of Allgemeine Gesellschaft der Schweizerischen Uhrenindustrie, ASUAG and Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère, SSIH ...

. Promoted to honourable citizenship in 2004, official ceremony held on 19 February 2005 EduardBloesch

Luge world cup Oberhof 2016 by Stepro IMG 7065 LR5

Born in Biel/Bienne

; Middle ages * Thomas Wyttenbach (c. 1472–1526), one of the reformers of the city of Biel during the Protestant Reformation. * Emanuel Witz (1717–1797), Swiss painter * Eduard Blösch (1807–1866), Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council 1855–1856 * Léo-Paul Robert (1851–1923), Swiss painter ; 19th century * Karl Walser (1877–1943), Swiss painter, stage designer, illustrator, muralist and artist * Robert Walser (1878–1956), German-speaking Swiss writer * Ernst Dubach (1881–1982), Swiss racing cyclist, the Swiss National Road Race champion in 1902 * Louis Rivier (1885–1963), Swiss painter, writer, and stained glass artist * Hans Zulliger (1893–1965), Swiss teacher, child psychoanalyst and author * Anna Renfer (1896–1984), Swiss composer ; 20th century * Jean-Louis Jeanmaire (1910–1992), brigadier in the Swiss army who passed highly classified Swiss military secrets to the Soviet Union from 1962 until he retired in 1975 * Roland Kuhn (1912–2005), Swiss psychiatrist who discovered that the drug

imipramine Imipramine, sold under the brand name Tofranil, among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) mainly used in the treatment of depression. It is also effective in treating anxiety and panic disorder. Imipramine is taken by mouth. Common s ...

had antidepressant properties * Walter Kistler (1918–2015), physicist, inventor and philanthropist *

Maurice Edmond Müller Maurice Edmond Müller (28 March 1918 – 10 May 2009Zentrum Paul Klee: Press release 2009-05-12''. In German. URL last accessed 2009-05-13.) was a Switzerland, Swiss Orthopedic surgery, orthopedic surgeon who was instrumental in the developm ...

(1918–2009), orthopedic surgeon, developed internal fixation techniques to fix bone fractures *

Géo Voumard Géo Voumard (2 December 1920 – 3 September 2008) was a Swiss jazz pianist and composer. He was a co-founder of the Montreux Jazz Festival and composer of the song "''Refrain''" which won the first Eurovision Song Contest. Life and career V ...

(1920–2008), Swiss jazz pianist and composer, co-founded the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annu ...

* Felix Villars (1921–2002), American professor of physics at MIT, worked in quantum field theory, emigrated in 1949 *

Henriette Grindat Henriette Grindat (1923–1986) was a Swiss photographer. She was a major female contributor to artistic photography, taking a Surrealism, Surrealist approach inspired by the literary trends of the post-war years. Biography Born in Biel/Bienne, B ...

(1923–1986), Swiss photographer, contributed to artistic photography, taking a Surrealist approach * René Felber (1933–2020), Swiss politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council 1987–1993 * Raymond Bruckert (1935–2017), writer of novels and educational books *

Ernst Thomke Ernst Thomke (born 21 April 1939) is a Swiss physicist and watchmaker. Training first as a mechanic, he later acquired the Swiss federal maturity degree and pursued academic studies whilst in employment. Early life and education Thomke was bor ...

(born 1939), businessman, corporate saviour by interventions * Franz Hohler (born 1943), author of one-man and satirical programs for TV and radio, and cabaret artist. * Christian Philipp Müller (born 1957), Swiss artist * Thomas Jordan (born 1963), chairman of the Swiss National Bank * Ian Christe (born 1970), author, disc jockey and the publisher of

Bazillion Points Bazillion Points is a heavy metal- and punk rock-oriented book publishing company founded and operated by author and SiriusXM radio host Ian Christe. It was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in New York. The outfit has successfully produced nu ...

Books * Denis Simonet (born 1985), Swiss Pirate Party politician * Nemo Mettler (born 1999), singer and rapper; Swiss representative and winner of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2024 The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 was the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Tattoo (Loreen song), Tattoo" by Loreen. Organised by the European Br ...

; Sport * Nicolas Bührer (born 1944), Swiss entrepreneur and former racing driver * Enzo Calderari (born 1952), Swiss entrepreneur and former racing driver * Robert Lüthi (born 1958), retired Swiss footballer, played 291 games for Neuchâtel Xamax * Markus Graf (born 1959), Swiss former ice hockey player, coach, and executive * Étienne Dagon (born 1960), former breaststroke swimmer, bronze medallist at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

* Sven Christ (born 1973), Swiss football manager and former football player with 427 games *

Andréa Zimmermann Andréa Ursina Zimmermann (born 18 August 1976) from Monthey is a female Switzerland, Swiss ski mountaineer and mountain runner. Zimmermann was born in Biel/Bienne. She competed first in the 2000 Trophée du Muveran race and has been member of th ...

(born 1976), Swiss ski mountaineer and mountain runner * Yannick Pelletier (born 1976), Swiss chess player who lives in Paris * Marcel Fischer (born 1978), Swiss fencer, gold medallist in the Men's Épée Individual at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...

(Marco Jaggi) (born 1980), Swiss professional wrestler and wrestling trainer * Raphael Nuzzolo (born 1983), Swiss professional footballer, played over 475 games * Martina Kocher (born 1985), Swiss luger, competed in the 2006 and

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

* Pietro Di Nardo (born 1990), Swiss professional footballer, played over 250 games * Gregory Hofmann (born 1992), professional ice hockey player * Nicola Todeschini (born 1997), Swiss figure skater * Aurèle Amenda (born 2003), Swiss professional footballer ; Music * Nemo Mettler (born 1999), Swiss rapper and winner of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest

Lived in Biel/Bienne

* Paul Käser (1904–??), Swiss rower active in the 1920s and 1930s * Henri Dubuis (1906–2003), Swiss architect, designed and built the Volkshaus in Biel/Bienne in 1932 * Daniel Gisiger (born 1954), retired Swiss road and track cyclist * Jonas Kocher (born 1977), musician, accordionist and composer * Arno Camenisch (born 1978), Swiss writer in German and Romansh *

Henri Laaksonen Henri Joona Julius Laaksonen (, Swiss Standard German: ; born 31 March 1992) is a Swiss inactive professional tennis player. His highest singles ranking is world No. 84, which he achieved on 14 February 2022, and his highest doubles ranking is wo ...

(born 1992), Swiss-Finnish tennis player * Oliver Hegi (born 1993), Swiss male artistic gymnast and member of the national team *

Jil Teichmann Jil Belén Teichmann (born 15 July 1997) is a Swiss professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the WTA as high as No. 21 in singles and No. 73 in doubles. She is the current No. 3 Swiss player. Teichmann has won two titles in singles ...

(born 1997), Spanish-born Swiss tennis player

Gallery

File:Swiss-bienne-city-1.JPG, Lake Bienne File:Parc municipal2005.JPG, town's park File:CH Biel Schüss.JPG, the river Suze File:Picswiss BE-98-55 Biel Bienne- Funiculaire nach Magglingen (Macolin).jpg, Funiculaire Bienne–Macolin File:Biel.jpg, Place du Ring File:CH Biel Altstadt-2.JPG, old town File:CH Biel Altstadt-6.jpg, old town File:CH Biel Altstadt-8.JPG, old town

References

External links

Official website of Biel/BienneTourism Biel Seeland
* *
Biel International Chess FestivalFederation of the Swiss Watch Industry FHChamber of economy Biel-Seeland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biel Bienne Cities in Switzerland Municipalities of the canton of Bern Associates of the Old Swiss Confederacy Populated places on Lake Biel Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern 14th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1350s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1352 establishments in Europe