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 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

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 ...

is Delémont. It shares borders with the

canton of Basel-Landschaft Canton of Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country, informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; ; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital city is Liestal. It is traditionall ...

, 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 ...

, the canton of Neuchatel, the

canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...

, and the French regions of

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

and

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

History

The

king of Burgundy The following is a list of the kings of the two kingdoms of Burgundy, and a number of related political entities devolving from Carolingian machinations over family relations. Kings of the Burgundians * Gebicca (late 4th century – c. 40 ...

donated much of the land that today makes up canton Jura to 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 ...

in 999. The area was a sovereign state within 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 ...

for more than 800 years. After the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...

in 1648, the Jura had close ties with the

Swiss Confederation 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. Switzerlan ...

. At 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 ...

(1815), the Jura region became part of the

. This act caused dissension. The Jura was French-speaking and

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 ...

, whereas the canton of Bern was mostly

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 ...

-speaking and

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 ...

. After World War II, a separatist movement campaigned for a secession of Jura from the canton of Bern. After a long and partly militant struggle, which included some arson attacks by a youth organisation ''Les Béliers'', a constitution was accepted in 1977. In 1978, the split was made official when the Swiss people voted in favour, and in 1979, Jura joined the Swiss Confederation as a full member. The canton celebrated its independence from the canton of Bern on 23 June 1979. However, the southern part of the region, which is also predominantly French-speaking but has a

majority, opted not to join the newly formed canton, instead remaining part of the canton of Bern. The area is now known as

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 ...

. The word Jura, therefore, may refer either to canton Jura, or to the combined territory of canton Jura and the Bernese Jura. Switzerland as a whole often presents the latter from a touristic standpoint with documentation easily available in French or

On creation, the canton adopted the title Republic and Canton of Jura. Other cantons in

using the title "Republic and Canton" are

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

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 ...

, and

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 each case, the title refers to the autonomy of the canton and its nominal sovereignty within the Swiss Confederation. Since 1994, the question of the Jura region has again been controversial. In 2004, a federal commission proposed that the French-speaking southern Jura be united with the canton of Jura, as the language question now seems to be more important than the denominational one. A possible solution would be to create two half-cantons, as reunification with the creation of only a single canton would mean a complete restructuring of Jura's current political system, with the cantonal capital being transferred from Delémont to

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 ...

. On 18 June 2017, the town of Moutier voted to secede from the canton of Bern and join the canton of Jura in a referendum. On 17 September 2017, the nearby municipalities of Belprahon and Sorvilier conversely voted to remain in the canton of Bern. The vote in Moutier was later declared invalid. On 28 March 2021, Moutier again voted to secede from Bern and join Jura in an officially sanctioned referendum. The changeover is expected to be implemented by 2026.

Geography

Canton Jura lies in the northwest of

. It consists of parts 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 ...

in the south and the Jura plateau in the north. The Jura plateau is hilly and almost entirely

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

. The districts of Ajoie and Franches-Montagnes lie in this region. The term "

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

" is derived from the Jura Alps, strata of which give the era its name. To the north and the west of the canton lies

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The

and

Basel-Landschaft Canton of Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country, informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; ; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital city is Liestal. It is traditional ...

are to east of the canton, while the

bounds the Jura to the south. The rivers

Doubs Doubs (, ; ; ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Birs drain the lands. The Doubs joins the

Saône The Saône ( , ; ; ) is a river in eastern France (modern Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté). It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department an ...

and then the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, whereas the Birs is a tributary to the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

Political subdivisions

Districts

Jura is divided into 3 districts: * Delémont (, ) - capital: Delémont *

Porrentruy Porrentruy (; ; ) is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura. Porrentruy is home to National League team, HC Ajoie. History The first trace of human presence in Porrentruy is a Mesolit ...

(, ) - capital:

* Franches-Montagnes (, ) - capital: Saignelégier

Municipalities

There are 50 municipalities in the canton ().

Politics

Federal election results

RDP RDP may refer to: Computing * Ramer–Douglas–Peucker algorithm, an algorithm for polygonal simplification * Recombination detection program, for analysing genetic recombination * Recursive descent parser, a type of top-down parser * Remote Desk ...

before 2010 : "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton. : Part of the canton of Bern

Demographics

The population is almost entirely French-speaking. Just one municipality is

-speaking: Ederswiler. The majority of the population is

(75% ) with a small

minority (13%). The population of the canton (as of ) was . , the population included 8,195 foreigners, or about 11.8% of the total population.

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:700 height:500 PlotArea = height:350 left: 100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:69000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:14000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:2800 start:0 Colors= id:TO value:yellowgreen legend:Total id:FR value:teal legend:French_Speaking id:GE value:green legend:German_Speaking id:PR value:lightpurple legend:Protestant id:CA value:oceanblue legend:Catholic id:SW value:red legend:Swiss PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from:start till:44921 text:"44,921" color:TO bar:1880 from:start till:52116 text:"52,116" color:TO bar:1900 from:start till:57575 text:"57,575" color:TO bar:1950 from:start till:59554 text:"59,554" color:TO bar:1970 from:start till:67325 text:"67,325" color:TO bar:2000 from:start till:68224 text:"68,224" color:TO LineData = points:(200,325)(300,339) color:FR points:(300,339)(400,346) color:FR points:(400,346)(500,370) color:FR points:(500,370)(600,401) color:FR points:(200,120)(300,127) color:GE points:(300,127)(400,131) color:GE points:(400,131)(500,119) color:GE points:(500,119)(600,105) color:GE points:(100,95)(200,109) color:PR points:(200,109)(300,126) color:PR points:(300,126)(400,143) color:PR points:(400,143)(500,142) color:PR points:(500,142)(600,133) color:PR points:(100,312)(200,334) color:CA points:(200,334)(300,345) color:CA points:(300,345)(400,336) color:CA points:(400,336)(500,376) color:CA points:(500,376)(600,349) color:CA points:(100,304)(200,333) color:SW points:(200,333)(300,353) color:SW points:(300,353)(400,378) color:SW points:(400,378)(500,389) color:SW points:(500,389)(600,392) color:SW

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is important in canton Jura.

Cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

breeding is significant, but there is also

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

(the Franches-Montagnes is the last Swiss horse race). The main industries are

watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

es,

textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. There is a growing number of small and medium-sized businesses. In 2001, there were 3,578 people who worked in the primary economic sector. 14,109 people were employed in the secondary sector and 16,513 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 ...

. In 2001, the canton produced 0.9% of the entire Swiss

national income A variety of measures of national income and output are used in economics to estimate total economic activity in a country or region, including gross domestic product (GDP), Gross national income (GNI), net national income (NNI), and adjusted nati ...

while it had 0.9% of the total population. In 2005, the average share of the national income per resident of the canton was 38,070 CHF, while the national average was 54,031 CHF, or about 70% of the national income per person.Regionale Disparitäten in der Schweiz - Schlüsselindikatoren
accessed 20 December 2011 Between 2003 and 2005, the average income grew at a rate of 6.4%, which was larger than the national rate of 5.3%. The average taxes in the canton are higher than in most cantons, in 2006, the tax index in the canton was 126.6 (Swiss average is 100.0). In 2006, the canton had the highest final tax rate on high wage earners (15.26% on a married couple with two children earning 150,000 CHF vs 11.6% nationally), though the tax rate was in the middle for lower-income families.

Culture

The

eau de vie An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 ) is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light. In English-speaking countries, ''eau de vie ...

Damassine is one typical

produce In American English, produce generally refers to wikt:fresh, fresh List of culinary fruits, fruits and Vegetable, vegetables intended to be Eating, eaten by humans, although other food products such as Dairy product, dairy products or Nut (foo ...

of the Ajoie area. (se
Terroir Jura
an
Jura Infos

Notes and references

Bibliography

* Ganguillet, Gilbert: ''Le conflit jurassien. Un cas de mobilisation ethno-régionale en Suisse'', Zürich 1986. * Harder, Hans-Joachim: ''Der Kanton Jura. Ursachen und Schritte zur Lösung eines Schweizer Minderheitenproblems'', Frankfurt am Main 1978. * Hauser, Claude: ''Aux origines intellectuelles de la Question jurassienne. Culture et politique entre la France et la Suisse romande (1910–1950)'', Diss. Fribourg 1997. * Henecka, Hans Peter: ''Die jurassischen Separatisten. Eine Studie zur Soziologie des ethnischen Konflikts und der sozialen Bewegung'', Meisenheim am Glan 1972. * Jenkins, John R.G.: ''Jura Separatism in Switzerland'', Oxford 1986. * Ruch, Christian: ''Struktur und Strukturwandel des jurassischen Separatismus zwischen 1974 und 1994'', Bern 2001. * Schwander, Marcel: ''Jura. Konfliktstoff für Jahrzehnte'', Zürich/Köln 1977. * Steppacher, Burkard: ''Die Jurafrage in der Schweiz'', München 1985.

External links

Republic and Canton of Jura
official site
Jura Tourism

Watch Valley

{{Authority control Jura 1979 establishments in Switzerland States and territories established in 1979