Moutier

Moutier
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Jura bernois 47°16.780′N 07°22.222′E / 47.27967°N 7.370367°E / 47.27967; 7.370367Coordinates: 47°16.780′N 07°22.222′E / 47.27967°N 7.370367°E / 47.27967; 7.370367
Population	7,466 (Dec 2010)[1]
- Density	382 /km2 (990 /sq mi)
Area	19.53 km2 (7.54 sq mi)
Elevation	535 m (1,755 ft)
Postal code	2740
SFOS number	0700
Surrounded by	Perrefitte, Champoz, Court, Eschert, Belprahon, Roches, Châtillon, Soulce
Website	www.moutier.ch SFSO statistics
Moutier
View map of 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 (Jura Bernois).

History

Moutier is first mentioned in 1154 as datum Monasterii. In 1181 it was mentioned as apud Monasterium.^[2] The German name for the town is Münster (BE), but it is not frequently used.

The area was lightly settled even before the founding of Moutier-Grandval Abbey around 640. Until 1797 it was the seat of the Provost of Mountier-Grandval, a vogt of the Prince-Bishop of Basel. During the period 1797-1813 it belonged to the French Departments of Mont-Terrible and Haut-Rhin. During the Restoration in 1815 it became part of the Canton of Bern.

Geography

Train tunnel through Moutier Gorge

Moutier has an area of 19.6 km² (7.6 sq mi). Of this area, 31% is used for agricultural purposes, while 55.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 12.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.1%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).^[3]

The area around Moutier is called the Prévôté. It is a valley crossed by a river called the Birs. It covers the area from Court Gorge to Moutier Gorge and includes some scattered farm houses on the Montagne de Moutier (Moutier Mountain).

Demographics

Moutier has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 7,466.^[1] As of 2007^[update], 21.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has decreased at a rate of -5.8%. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks French (86.5%), with German being second most common (3.9%) and Italian being third (3.6%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SPS which received 46% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (18.9%), the FDP (15%) and the CVP (8.9%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000^[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 22.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 18.1%. In Moutier about 63.4% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Moutier has an unemployment rate of 3.05%. As of 2005^[update], there were 51 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 18 businesses involved in this sector. 2010 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 116 businesses in this sector. 1699 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 270 businesses in this sector.^[3] The historical population is given in the following table:^[2]

year	population
16th Century	342
1850	917
1880	2,111
1900	3,088
1910	4,164
1950	5,916
1970	8,794
2000	7,701

Industry

The area has a lot of factories that produce high-precision machine tools, particularly CNC & CAD/CAM machining centres, e.g. internationally well known and established Tornos Bechler SA & Schaublin Machines SA.

Famous residents

• John Bost, Reformed pastor and social pioneer, born in Moutier

External links

• Moutier Official Website
• Tornos Official Website
• Schaublin Official Website

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Datenwürfel für Thema 01.2 - Bevölkerungsstand und -bewegung (German) accessed 29 September
2. ^ ^{a b} Moutier in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
3. ^ ^{a b} Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 08-Jul-2009