Bernese Jura

Jura Bernois District
Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois
District
Court, Switzerland
Map
Country Switzerland
Canton Bern
CapitalCourtelary
Area
 • Total541 km2 (209 sq mi)
Population
 (December 2020)
 • Total53,715
 • Density99/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Municipalities40

Bernese Jura (French: Jura bernois, French pronunciation: [ʒyʁa bɛʁnwa], German: Berner Jura) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten administrative divisions of the canton.[1]

Comprising the three French-speaking districts in the northern part of the canton, it contains 40 municipalities with an area of 541.71 km2 (209.16 sq mi) and a population (as of December 2020) of 53,715. More than 90% of the population of the three districts speaks French.

From 1815 to 1979, the Bernese Jura comprised seven districts. Three of these seceded to form the canton of Jura in 1979, while a fourth, the Laufen district, joined the canton of Basel-Landschaft in 1994. Additionally, Moutier, a municipality, voted to secede from Bern in a referendum in 2021 and join Jura, with the change expected to be implemented by 2026.

  1. ^ Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz, Mutationsmeldungen 2009 / Répertoire officiel des communes de Suisse, Mutations 2009 / Elenco ufficiale dei Comuni della Svizzera, Mutazione 2009 (PDF) (Report). Federal Statistical Office. 2009. 2776. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2010.