Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German: Biel, French: Bienne; German pronunciation: [biːl] ⓘ, French pronunciation: [bjɛn]) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the country's tenth-largest city by population. The Biel urban area has a population of around 100,000 inhabitants. Biel/Bienne is the capital of the Biel/Bienne administrative district. The city has been an industrial and watchmaking heart of Switzerland since the 19th century. With world-famous watch brands such as Rolex, Omega and Swatch based in Biel/Bienne, the city is one of the main centres of the Swiss watch industry and is also referred to as the "world capital of watchmaking".
Biel/Bienne | |
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Municipality | |
City Hall in the Old Town of Biel/Bienne | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Biel/Bienne | |
Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne | |
| Coordinates: 47°08′N 7°15′E | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Bern |
| District | Biel/Bienne |
| Government | |
| • Executive | Gemeinderat/Conseil municipal with 5 members |
| • Mayor | Stadtpräsident/le Maire (list) Erich Fehr SPS/PSS (as of February 2011) |
| • Parliament | Stadtrat/Conseil de ville with 60 members |
| Area | |
| • Total | 21.21 km2 (8.19 sq mi) |
| Elevation (Railway station) | 437 m (1,434 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2018) | |
| • Total | 55,159 |
| • Density | 2,600/km2 (6,700/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | German: Bieler/in, French: Biennois(e) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 2500–2510 |
| SFOS number | 0371 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-BE |
| Surrounded by | Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (Evilard/Macolin), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin |
| Twin towns | Iserlohn (Germany) |
| Website | www SFSO statistics |
Biel/Bienne lies on the language boundary between the French-speaking and German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and is bilingual throughout. Biel is the German name for the city whereas Bienne is its French counterpart. The city is often referred to in both languages simultaneously. Since 1 January 2005, the official name has been "Biel/Bienne". Until then, the town was officially named Biel or Bienne.
The city lies at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains area, guarding the only practical connection to Jura, on the northeastern shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee, Lac de Bienne), sharing the eastern tip of the lake with its sister town, Nidau. The cities of Neuchâtel, Solothurn, and Bern (the capital of Switzerland) lie southwest, northeast and southeast of Biel/Bienne. They all can be reached within about 30 minutes by train or car. The cities of Zurich, Basel and Lausanne can each be reached in about one hour by car or train.