The Jolimont is a hill that stretches Southwest to Northeast for about 4 km along the

Thielle The river Thielle (, ), is a tributary to the Aare, in the Swiss Seeland. The Thielle results from the merging of the Orbe and Talent, northeast of the little city of Orbe in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It flows as a channel northeastwards thro ...

canal, between the Lake of Neuchâtel and the Lake of Bienne, in the Seeland,

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 ...

. The Jolimont elevation starts in Gampelen till Erlach (fr. Cerlier), where its promontory into the Lake of Bienne builds both the

Isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

and the St. Petersinsel

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

. North, nestled between it and the Thielle canal lies Gals and, at its southern side, Tschugg.

Vineyards

The sunny side slopes of the Jolimont are ideal for growing

grapes A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

, mostly

chasselas Chasselas () or Chasselas blanc () is a wine grape variety grown mainly in Switzerland, France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, New Zealand, Croatia and Chile. Chasselas is mostly vinified to be a full, dry and fruity white wine. It is ...

Panorama

The hilltop offers an extraordinary view on the Castle of Erlach, which was erected during the 11th Century, protecting Erlach's picturesque old town, erected on terraces along the steep descend of "Schlossberg" toward the lake and the St. Petersinsel.

Archaeology

The Jolimont is located within an area rich in archaeological sites, at the side of an important waterway. Local historians have explored the hill since the 14th Century. Isolated objects of almost all areas, undetermined defensive systems and vestiges of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

housings indicate the early presence of mankind on the summit plateau. Three

tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

excavated in 1847 contained tombs with furniture dating back to the medium

Bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

era (including weapons found in the men's tombs from the 2nd Millennium B.C. and the

Hallstatt Hallstatt () is a small town in the district of Gmunden District, Gmunden, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Situated between the southwestern shore of Hallstätter See and the steep slopes of the Dachstein massif, the town lies in the Sa ...

era (approx. 500 B.C.). A Roman road leading to

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 ...

(Studen) on the side of the lake of Bienne, passed at the southern side of the Jolimont, reaching the Steiacher ‘’villa’’ on the Tschugg territory.

Sources & Reference

Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse

Official Report and Map

Bibliography

*-H.-M. von Kaenel et al., «Das Seeland in ur- und frühgeschichtlicher Zeit», in Jahrbuch der Geographischen Gesellschaft von Bern, 53, 1977–1979, 71-165, author : Felix Müller (Berne) / PM

Map

map.search.ch: Carte: Jolimont, 3235 Erlach

References

Mountains of Switzerland Mountains of the canton of Bern Mountains of Switzerland under 1000 metres {{Bern-mountain-stub