Canton of Jura
Encyclopedia
The Republic and Canton of the Jura , also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the cantons of Switzerland
. It is the newest (created in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland
. The capital is Delémont
. It shares borders with the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, the Canton of Bern, and the French
département of Doubs.
The King of Burgundy
donated much of the land that today makes up Canton Jura to the Bishop of Basel in 999. The area was a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire
for more than 800 years. After the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 the Jura had close ties with the Swiss Confederation.
At the Congress of Vienna
(1815), the Jura was given to the canton of Bern. This act caused dissention. The Jura was French
-speaking and Roman Catholic, whereas the canton of Bern was mostly German
-speaking and Protestant.
After World War II, a separatist movement
campaigned for a secession of an independent Jura.
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 of it, and in 1979 the Jura joined the Swiss Confederation as a full member. It celebrates its independence from the Canton of Bern on 23 June. However, the southern part of the Jura region, which is also predominantly French-speaking but has a Protestant majority, opted not to join the newly-formed canton, and instead remained part of the Canton of Bern. This decision may seem somewhat strange from a linguistic standpoint. However this choice may have been influenced by the fact that the Canton of Bern is financially richer and is at the heart of federal
power in Switzerland. The area is now known as Bernese Jura
. 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 German
.
On creation, the canton adopted the title Republic and Canton of the Jura. Other cantons in Switzerland
using the title "Republic and Canton" are Ticino
, Canton Geneva
, and Canton Neuchâtel
. In each case, the title asserts 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 reunited 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 the Jura's current political system with the Cantonal capital being transferred from Delémont
to Moutier
.
. It consists of parts of the Jura mountains
in the south and the Jura plateau in the north. The Jura plateau is hilly and almost entirely limestone
. The districts of Ajoie
and Franches-Montagnes lie in this region. The term "Jurassic
" is derived from the Jura Alps, strata of which date to that era.
To the north and the west of the Canton lies France
. The canton of Solothurn
and Basel-Landschaft are to east of the canton, while the canton of Bern bounds the Jura to the south. The River Doubs and the river Birs
drain the lands. The Doubs joins the Saône
and then the Rhône
, whereas the Birs is a tributary to the Rhine.
Jura is divided into 3 districts:
.
-speaking. Just one municipality is German
-speaking: Ederswiler
. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic (75% ) with a small Protestant
minority (13%). The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 8,195 foreigners, or about 11.8% of the total population.
is important in Canton Jura. Cattle
breeding is significant, but there is also horse breeding
(the Franches-Montagnes is the last Swiss horse race). The main industries are watch
es, textiles and tobacco
. There is a growing number of small and middle-sized businesses. Nevertheless, it remains one of the weakest cantons economically, at only 30% of the Swiss average. This is also evident from the number of houses - including the historically valuable - which are uninhabited, and have been left to decay.
Damassine
is one typical produce
of the Ajoie
area. (see http://www.terroir-jura.ch Terroir Jura and
http://www.jura.ch/portal/site/acju/ Jura Infos)
Cantons of Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
. It is the newest (created in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. The capital is Delémont
Delémont
Delémont is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 11,000 inhabitants as of 2007.-Geography:Delémont lies southwest of Basel, about halfway between Basel and Bienne...
. It shares borders with the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, the Canton of Bern, and the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
département of Doubs.
History
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 :...
donated much of the land that today makes up Canton Jura to the Bishop of Basel in 999. The area was a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
for more than 800 years. After the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 the Jura had close ties with the Swiss Confederation.
At the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
(1815), the Jura was given to the canton of Bern. This act caused dissention. The Jura was French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking and Roman Catholic, whereas the canton of Bern was mostly German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking and Protestant.
After World War II, a separatist movement
Jurassic separatism
Jurassic separatism is a regionalist independence movement in the Bernese Jura.The "Jurassic question" is the question of secession of the Jura region from Berne, implemented partially as three of seven districts formed the Canton of Jura in 1979, while the remaining four opted to remain with...
campaigned for a secession of an independent Jura.
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 of it, and in 1979 the Jura joined the Swiss Confederation as a full member. It celebrates its independence from the Canton of Bern on 23 June. However, the southern part of the Jura region, which is also predominantly French-speaking but has a Protestant majority, opted not to join the newly-formed canton, and instead remained part of the Canton of Bern. This decision may seem somewhat strange from a linguistic standpoint. However this choice may have been influenced by the fact that the Canton of Bern is financially richer and is at the heart of federal
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
power in Switzerland. The area is now known as Bernese Jura
Bernese Jura
Bernese Jura is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of five administrative divisions of the canton....
. The word Jura, therefore, may refer either to Canton Jura, or to the combined territory of Canton Jura and the Bernese Jura. Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
as a whole, often presents the latter from a touristic standpoint with documentation easily available in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
On creation, the canton adopted the title Republic and Canton of the Jura. Other cantons in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
using the title "Republic and Canton" are Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
, Canton Geneva
Canton of Geneva
The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland, surrounded on almost all sides by France. As is the case in several other Swiss cantons The Republic and Canton of Geneva is the French speaking westernmost canton or state of Switzerland,...
, and Canton Neuchâtel
Canton of Neuchâtel
Neuchâtel is a canton of French speaking western Switzerland. In 2007, its population was 169,782 of which 39,654 were foreigners. The capital is Neuchâtel.-History:...
. In each case, the title asserts 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 reunited 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 the Jura's current political system with the Cantonal capital being transferred from Delémont
Delémont
Delémont is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 11,000 inhabitants as of 2007.-Geography:Delémont lies southwest of Basel, about halfway between Basel and Bienne...
to Moutier
Moutier
Moutier is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura .-History:...
.
Geography
Canton Jura lies in the northwest of SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It consists of parts of the Jura mountains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
in the south and the Jura plateau in the north. The Jura plateau is hilly and almost entirely limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
. The districts of Ajoie
Ajoie
L’Ajoie is an area located in the Northwest part of Switzerland, in the canton of Jura, .It is a part of the Jura plain, composed of six geographic areas:...
and Franches-Montagnes lie in this region. The term "Jurassic
Jurassic
The Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
" is derived from the Jura Alps, strata of which date to that era.
To the north and the west of the Canton lies France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. The canton of Solothurn
Canton of Solothurn
Solothurn is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn.-History:The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the capital...
and Basel-Landschaft are to east of the canton, while the canton of Bern bounds the Jura to the south. The River Doubs and the river Birs
Birs
The Birs is a 73-km long river in Switzerland that flows through the Jura region and ends as a tributary to the Rhine between Basel and Birsfelden.- Picture gallery :...
drain the lands. The Doubs joins the Saône
Saône
The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
and then the Rhône
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
, whereas the Birs is a tributary to the Rhine.
Districts
- DelémontDelémont (district)Delémont District is one of the three districts of the canton of Jura, Switzerland. Its capital, and that of the canton, is the city of Delémont...
(German: Delsberg) - capital: DelémontDelémontDelémont is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 11,000 inhabitants as of 2007.-Geography:Delémont lies southwest of Basel, about halfway between Basel and Bienne... - PorrentruyPorrentruy (district)Porrentruy District is one of the three districts of the canton of Jura, Switzerland. Its capital is the town of Porrentruy. The French-speaking district has a population of .-Municipalities:Porrentruy is divided into a total of 23 municipalities:...
(German: Pruntrut) - capital: PorrentruyPorrentruyPorrentruy is a Swiss municipality and seat of the district of the same name located in the canton of Jura.-Geography:The municipality lies on both sides of the Allaine River, in Ajoie at the foot of the Jura Mountains on the north... - Franches-MontagnesFranches-Montagnes (district)Franches-Montagnes District is one of the three districts of the canton of Jura, Switzerland. Its capital is the town of Saignelégier. The French-speaking district has a population of .-Municipalities:...
(German: Freiberge) - capital: SaignelégierSaignelégierSaignelégier is a municipality in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district of Franches-Montagnes. On 1 January 2009, the formerly independent municipalities of Goumois and Les Pommerats merged into Saignelégier....
Municipalities
There are 64 municipalities in the cantonMunicipalities of the canton of Jura
The following are the 64 municipalities of the canton of Jura, as of 2009....
.
Demographics
The population is almost entirely FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking. Just one municipality is German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
-speaking: Ederswiler
Ederswiler
Ederswiler is a municipality in the district of Delémont in the canton of Jura in Switzerland. It is the only German-speaking municipality in the canton, where all others are French-speaking.- Geography :...
. The majority of the population is Roman Catholic (75% ) with a small Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
minority (13%). The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 8,195 foreigners, or about 11.8% of the total population.
Economy
AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
is important in Canton Jura. Cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
breeding is significant, but there is also horse breeding
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 breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
(the Franches-Montagnes is the last Swiss horse race). The main industries are watch
Watch
A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
es, textiles and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. There is a growing number of small and middle-sized businesses. Nevertheless, it remains one of the weakest cantons economically, at only 30% of the Swiss average. This is also evident from the number of houses - including the historically valuable - which are uninhabited, and have been left to decay.
Culture
The eau de vieEau de vie
An eau de vie is a clear, colorless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation...
Damassine
Damassine
Damassine is a liqueur produced by distillation of the Damassine prune from the Damassinier tree..According to local tradition, the Crusaders or Bernard de Clairvaux brought seeds for the Damassinier plant back from the Orient . The Romans might have already known the fruit, cited in the Duhamel...
is one typical produce
Produce
Produce is a generalized term for a group of farm-produced goods and, not limited to fruits and vegetables . More specifically, the term "produce" often implies that the products are fresh and generally in the same state as where they were harvested. In supermarkets the term is also used to refer...
of the Ajoie
Ajoie
L’Ajoie is an area located in the Northwest part of Switzerland, in the canton of Jura, .It is a part of the Jura plain, composed of six geographic areas:...
area. (see http://www.terroir-jura.ch Terroir Jura and
http://www.jura.ch/portal/site/acju/ Jura Infos)
Further reading
- 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.