Biel/Bienne

Biel sits at the north-eastern end of Lake Biel, at the southern foot of the Jura, about 26 kilometres north-west of Bern. With 56,896 residents (as of 31 December 2024) it is Switzerland's tenth-largest city and the largest bilingual one. German and French stand side by side as equals: in the city council, in schools and often within a single conversation. Biel is known above all for watches. The Swatch Group is headquartered here, Rolex produces in the city, and the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH is also based here.

In 1142 the name Biel appears for the first time in a document, then written as apud Belnam. The town was founded between 1220 and 1230 by the Prince-Bishop of Basel, whose territory reached down to Lake Biel. In 1275 King Rudolf of Habsburg granted the town charter. For centuries Biel lived on viticulture, crafts and trade. The medieval old town on the rocky spur above the Schüss is well preserved. The Ring with its arcades, the narrow lanes and the old fountains shape the picture. The turning point came with the watchmaking industry from the mid-19th century. In 1873 the watchmaking school opened, later growing into today's Bern University of Applied Sciences. The population grew quickly, and with it the new town around the station.

In 1142 the name Biel appears for the first time in a document, then written as apud Belnam. The town was founded between 1220 and 1230 by the Prince-Bishop of Basel, whose territory reached down to Lake Biel. In 1275 King Rudolf of Habsburg granted the town charter. For centuries Biel lived on viticulture, crafts and trade. The medieval old town on the rocky spur above the Schüss is well preserved. The Ring with its arcades, the narrow lanes and the old fountains shape the picture. The turning point came with the watchmaking industry from the mid-19th century. In 1873 the watchmaking school opened, later growing into today's Bern University of Applied Sciences. The population grew quickly, and with it the new town around the station.

Biel calls itself the watch capital of the world, and there is substance behind the label. Alongside the Swatch Group and its brands such as Omega, Rolex produces in the city, joined by many suppliers in precision and microtechnology. In 2021 the Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne (SIPBB) opened near the station, right next to the new campus of Bern University of Applied Sciences. Research, university and industry therefore sit within a few hundred metres of each other. Biel is a university town: Bern University of Applied Sciences teaches engineering, computer science, architecture and wood here, and Bern Academy of the Arts is also present with several departments.

Anyone living in Biel has the lake on their doorstep. From the centre the lakeside promenade is about a fifteen-minute walk. In summer scheduled boats cross Lake Biel to St. Peter's Island and the wine villages on the left shore. Behind the city the Jura begins: the Taubenloch gorge runs from Bözingen through a narrow cleft of the Schüss and is easy to reach by bus. Wine from Lake Biel, hikes along the foot of the Jura and the Three-Lakes Region with the lakes of Neuchâtel and Murten are all within reach. There is plenty going on culturally: the Centre PasquArt shows contemporary art, the Neues Museum Biel (NMB) combines art and history, and the Biel Solothurn Theatre and Orchestra performs in both languages.

In Biel, bilingualism is both daily life and law. German and French are both official languages of the municipality. About 57 percent of residents mainly use German in everyday life, about 43 percent French. Authorities, schools and signage are bilingual throughout, and the Conseil des affaires francophones represents the French-speaking population. For visitors, in practice: German or French will get you everywhere, and many people switch between the two without effort.

Biel is a rail junction at the foot of the Jura. Direct trains run to Bern (about 25 minutes), Neuchâtel, Solothurn, Zurich and Basel. The station sits at the edge of the new town; from there Zentralplatz and the old town are a few minutes on foot. Within the city, buses and trolleybuses of the Biel transport company run regularly. Zentralplatz is the central point: this is where the canalised arm of the Schüss divides the new town, where the bus lines cross, and where the pedestrian zone towards the old town begins.