La Neuveville
Encyclopedia
La Neuveville is a municipality
in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton
of Bern in Switzerland
, located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura
(Jura Bernois).
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 10.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.7%. 62.2% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 3.8% is pastures, while 13.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
It is located on the bank of Lake Biel
. Although La Neuveville has only about 3400 inhabitants, the medieval town has the legal standing of a city according to the old city statutes (Stadtrecht).
La Neuveville lies on the shores of Lake Biel, at the foot of the Chasseral (Jura
).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SPS
which received 32.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
(25.4%), the SVP
(16.6%) and the Green Party
(15.8%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.9%. In La Neuveville about 71.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
).
La Neuveville has an unemployment rate of 2.71%. , there were 58 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 21 businesses involved in this sector. 510 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 45 businesses in this sector. 838 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 129 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
Burgundian
cannons captured by the Swiss after the Battle of Granson in 1476 are today housed in a museum in La Neuveville. It is one of the largest collections of medieval
artillery in the world.
Municipalities of Switzerland
Communes , also known as municipalities, are the smallest government division in Switzerland, numbering 2,596 . While many have a population of a few hundred citizens, the largest cities such as Zürich or Geneva also have the legal status of municipalities...
in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton
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...
of Bern 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....
, located in the French-speaking 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....
(Jura Bernois).
Geography
La Neuveville has an area, , of 6.82 km² (2.6 sq mi). Of this area, 1.26 km² (0.486488719826594 sq mi) or 18.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 4.27 km² (1.6 sq mi) or 62.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.25 km² (0.482627698240669 sq mi) or 18.3% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.01 km² (2.5 acre) or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km² (4.9 acre) or 0.3% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 10.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.7%. 62.2% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 3.8% is pastures, while 13.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.
It is located on the bank of Lake Biel
Lake Biel
Lake Biel or Lake Bienne is a lake in the west of Switzerland. Together with Lake Morat and Lake Neuchâtel, it is one of the three large lakes in the Jura region of Switzerland. It lies approximately at , at the language boundary between German & French speaking areas.The lake is 15 km long and up...
. Although La Neuveville has only about 3400 inhabitants, the medieval town has the legal standing of a city according to the old city statutes (Stadtrecht).
La Neuveville lies on the shores of Lake Biel, at the foot of the Chasseral (Jura
Canton of Jura
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 of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont...
).
Demographics
La Neuveville has a population (as of ) of . , 16.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 10.4%. Most of the population speaks French (76.7%), with German being second most common (15.7%) and Italian being third ( 2.9%).In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SPS
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is the largest centre-left political party in Switzerland....
which received 32.9% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP
Free Democratic Party of Switzerland
The Free Democratic Party was a classical liberal political party in Switzerland. It was one of the major parties in Switzerland until its merger with the smaller classical liberal Liberal Party, to form FDP.The Liberals on 1 January 2009....
(25.4%), the SVP
Swiss People's Party
The Swiss People's Party , also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre , is a conservative political party in Switzerland. Chaired by Toni Brunner, but spearheaded by Christoph Blocher, the party is the largest party in the Federal Assembly, with 58 members of the National Council and 6 of...
(16.6%) and the Green Party
Green Party of Switzerland
The Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest party that is not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(15.8%).
The age distribution of the population is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 24% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.9%. In La Neuveville about 71.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule
Fachhochschule
A Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of tertiary education institution, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Greece...
).
La Neuveville has an unemployment rate of 2.71%. , there were 58 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 21 businesses involved in this sector. 510 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 45 businesses in this sector. 838 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 129 businesses in this sector.
The historical population is given in the following table:
| year | population |
|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,178 |
| 1850 | 1,719 |
| 1900 | 2,248 |
| 1950 | 2,709 |
| 1970 | 3,917 |
| 2000 | 3,445 |
Sights
Points of interest of the historical city are the Schlossberg, the city walls, the military defense towers, and the white church.Burgundian
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
cannons captured by the Swiss after the Battle of Granson in 1476 are today housed in a museum in La Neuveville. It is one of the largest collections of medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
artillery in the world.