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Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne
	Old Town
Canton	Bern
District	Biel
	47°08′N 7°15′E / 47.133°N 7.25°ECoordinates: 47°08′N 7°15′E / 47.133°N 7.25°E
Population	49,343 (December 2007)
- Density	2,328 /km2 (6,028 /sq mi)
Area	21.20 km2 (8.19 sq mi)
Elevation	434 m (1,424 ft)
Postal code	2500-2510
SFOS number	0371
Mayor	Hans Stöckli (as of 1990) SPS/PSS
Surrounded by	Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (Evilard/Macolin), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin
Twin towns	Iserlohn (Germany)
Website	www.biel-bienne.ch; SFSO statistics
; Biel/Bienne

"Biel" redirects here. For other uses, see Biel (disambiguation).

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

It is located on the language boundary and is throughout bilingual. Biel is the German name for the town, Bienne its French counterpart. The town is often referred to in both languages simultaneously. Since January 1, 2005, the official name has been “Biel/Bienne”, unofficially also “Biel-Bienne”. Until then, the city was officially named Biel (BE).^[1]

The city lies at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains area, guarding the only practical connection to Jura in the area, on the northeastern shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee, Lac de Bienne), sharing the eastern tip of the lake with its sister city, Nidau, the administrative centre of the District of Nidau. Neuchâtel, Solothurn & Bern (the capital of Switzerland) lie west, east and southeast of Biel/Bienne. They all can be reached in about 30 minutes, either by train or by car.

The city has about 50,000 inhabitants and the agglomeration near 100,000.

[edit] History

Biel in 1642

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

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

Biel had been asked, at the time of the creation of the Canton de Jura, to become its capital, but it remained with the canton of Bern. Today the population is an estimated 51,900.

[edit] Geography

Biel has an area of 21.3 square kilometers (8.2 sq mi). Of this area, 10.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 46% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 43.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.8%) is non-productive (rivers or glaciers).^[2]

[edit] Language

Bilingual street signs

Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (55.4%), with French being second most common (28.1%) and Italian being third ( 6.0%).^[2] The city is officially bilingual (the biggest bilingual city in Switzerland). In addition some 150 nationalities are represented in Biel. In recent years the city has wisely used its linguistic assets as an economic advantage, becoming the Swiss City of Communication. Several call centres that 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.

[edit] Demographics

Biel has a population (as of 2007^[update]) of 49,353, of which 27.2% are foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -0.9%.

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SPS which received 32.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (20.1%), the Green Party (18.9%) and the FDP (14.5%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 18.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 61.6% and the seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.7%. The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Biel about 63.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).^[2]

[edit] Tourism

Biel/Bienne is the heart of the Swiss watch-making industry. Trademarks such as Swatch, Omega, Rolex and many others are closely associated with the city of Biel, The Swatch Group has its wordwide headquarters in the tree lined "Seevorstadt", in the previous building of ASUAG.

The small but beautiful historic centre, with its gothic church (15th century), impressive guild halls and fountains decorated with flowers, entice one to stroll, while restaurants brimming with character wait to greet visitors on their terraces. Leaving the historic centre, the tree-lined "Seevorstadt" takes to the lake and its beautiful shoreline. On the way the visitors pass the Biel "Cultural Quarter" with the Neuhaus and Schwab Museums and the CentrePasquArt.

The Jura mountains are easily reached by funicular from Biel. It takes just seven minutes to reach Magglingen (where the Federal Sports School is located) and from where numerous walking paths start in every direction. Magglingen, Leubringen, Prêles and the year round resort of Les Prés-d'Orvin offer sensational views of the Alps on a clear day. The highest viewpoint is Chasseral (1607 m a.s.l). The steep gorge of Taubenloch also offers a spectacular scenery.

The port of Biel is the starting point for scenic river and lake cruises, which can take the visitors to the city of Solothurn, St. Peter's Island and the Lakes Neuchâtel and Murten (Three-Lake-Tour). Do not forget to interrupt the lake cruise with a visit to one of the picturesque wine-growing villages to taste their fine products. The experience is at its best during the autumn harvest and when the wine festivals are held against a background of autumn colours. Other culinary specialties of the Biel region include perch and whitefish filets and the famous marc sausage.

Biel also makes the ideal starting point for cycling tours with a wide selection of routes to choose from: sporting cyclists can measure themselves against the Jura foothills or more, while day-trippers can opt for the routes along the waterfront, where restaurants and cafés are on hand to help top up energy reserves. For families a trip to the lakeside Seeland is a must, where kilometres of quiets paths lead through an area of cultivation. The "Vegetable Route" provides information panels along the way on the more than 60 varieties of vegetable cultivated in the area.

With the architecturally impressive Congress Centre, the city of Biel offers excellent facilities for major national and international congresses, meetings and seminars.

[edit] Weather

Weather data for Biel
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	2 (36)	4.7 (40)	9 (48)	13.7 (57)	18.5 (65)	22 (72)	24.8 (77)	24 (75)	20.6 (69)	14.4 (58)	7.2 (45)	3 (37)	13.7 (57)
Daily mean °C (°F)	-0.3 (31)	1.3 (34)	4.4 (40)	8.5 (47)	12.8 (55)	16.3 (61)	18.7 (66)	17.7 (64)	14.5 (58)	9.6 (49)	4.2 (40)	0.9 (34)	9.1 (48)
Average low °C (°F)	-2.4 (28)	-1.3 (30)	0.9 (34)	4.1 (39)	8.2 (47)	11.6 (53)	13.6 (56)	13.1 (56)	10.3 (51)	6.4 (44)	1.8 (35)	-1.2 (30)	5.4 (42)
Precipitation mm (inches)	109 (4.29)	100 (3.94)	90 (3.54)	75 (2.95)	98 (3.86)	108 (4.25)	92 (3.62)	121 (4.76)	86 (3.39)	88 (3.46)	115 (4.53)	121 (4.76)	1,203 (47.36)
Avg. precipitation days	12.2	10.5	11.6	11.2	12.7	11.5	9.8	10.7	8.3	9.1	10.7	11.7	130
Source: MeteoSchweiz ^[3] 8 May 2009

[edit] Business

The city and its neighbourhood thrive on precision and micro mechanics, the conception and manufacture of highly-specialised, production-oriented machinery and tools. The products are exported worldwide, next to Swiss-made watches of the well known & reputed watch brands located in the city and its vicinity.

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

Biel has an unemployment rate of 2.92%. As of 2005^[update], there were 138 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 20 businesses involved in this sector. 8869 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 471 businesses in this sector. 23688 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 2228 businesses in this sector.^[2]

[edit] Culture

National Exposition in 2002

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

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

The city of Biel received the Wakker Prize in 2004.

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

People in Switzerland often go to Bienne to buy cannabis in its several discreet coffee shops.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Sport

EHC Biel, the professional ice hockey team
FC Biel-Bienne, the soccer club funded in 1896

[edit] Notable people born in Biel/Bienne

Mario Cortesi, (1940) founder and editor of the bilingual newspaper Biel/Bienne, writer, film producer, director and critic
Ernst Thomke, (1940) turnaround manager, e.g. Swatch
The Swiss ski mountaineer Andréa Zimmermann
Robert Walser (writer)