Biel/Bienne

Biel/Bienne is the only officially bilingual city in Switzerland where German and French hold fully equal status. The 'Biel Model' means whoever speaks first chooses the language, and the other person adapts -- a form of 'consensual bilingualism.' The bilingualism has its roots in the mid-19th century watch industry boom, when French-speaking Jura watchmakers migrated to the city in large numbers. The city is known as the 'world capital of watchmaking,' home to Omega, Swatch, and Rolex.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau fled to St. Peter's Island in Lake Biel in autumn 1765, escaping persecution over his controversial writings. He later wrote: 'Nowhere have I felt so truly happy as on St. Peter's Island.' His Fifth Walk in the Reveries of the Solitary Walker is an immortal meditation on happiness and solitude. The island has Bronze Age pile-dwelling settlements, a Roman temple from the 2nd-3rd century, and a Cluniac priory from the early 11th century. After the Jura Water Correction of 1868-1891, the island became a peninsula.

The Taubenlochschlucht between Boezingen and Frinvillier stretches about 2 km and is described as the only gorge in Europe in the immediate vicinity of a town. The Schuess river carved it through 150 million years of limestone. The legend says the name 'Taubenloch' honours a beautiful young bride called 'the little turtledove' (la petite Colombe). The cruel knight Ingelram of Rondchatel Castle attacked her wedding party and killed the groom. Rather than face capture, the girl threw herself into the gorge.

The Jura Water Correction (1868-1891) was the largest river engineering project ever undertaken in Switzerland. Engineer Richard La Nicca designed the Hagneck Canal to divert the Aare into Lake Biel. On 16 August 1878, the waters of the Aare first flowed into Lake Biel. The canal crossed the Seerucken Hills in a cutting 900 metres long and 34 metres deep. Lake levels dropped approximately 2.5 metres, and St. Peter's Island lost its island status, connected to the mainland by a 4.5 km land bridge.

The Biel-Magglingen Funicular opened in 1887, originally built as a water-powered line. It was converted to electric operation in 1954 and completely renovated in 2001 with panoramic cars. Magglingen/Macolin sits on the Jura ridge at approximately 900 m elevation. Since 1944, it has been home to the Swiss Federal Office of Sport (BASPO) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport, where elite Swiss athletes train.

Swatch was born in Biel in 1983, created to fight the 'quartz crisis' that had devastated the Swiss watch industry against Japanese competition. Lebanese-Swiss entrepreneur Nicolas G. Hayek (1928-2010) merged the struggling SSIH and ASUAG groups. The Swatch Group, headquartered in Biel, is the world's largest watch group comprising 17 brands. The striking new headquarters was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Shigeru Ban.

Biel/Bienne's medieval old town centres on the Ring (Place du Ring), named for when community leaders sat in a semicircle to pass judgment. The Burggasse leads to the stepped-gabled Rathaus built in 1534. The Obergasse features guild halls, painted houses, and Renaissance-era fountains. All official signage and street names appear in both German and French. Since 1 January 2005, the official double name 'Biel/Bienne' has been enshrined in law.

The northern shore of Lake Biel between Twann (Douanne) and Ligerz (Gleresse) is one of Switzerland's most celebrated wine regions -- vineyards have existed here since at least 866 AD, documented in a papal letter. The small villages of Schafis, Ligerz, Twann, and Vingelz retain centuries-old winemaking traditions. The Rebbaumuseum in Ligerz, housed in a 16th-century building, documents the viticulture heritage. Lake Biel is Switzerland's tenth-largest lake.