Author: Maarten Koning

Swiss Amber

The Greeks, Romans, Celtic and other European peoples highly valued amber, a precious stone. Archaeological amber finds are made throughout Europe.

The finds date from the older Stone Age ( c .10000-4000 BC), the later Stone Age (c. 4000-1800 BC), the Bronze Age (c. 1800-500 BC) and Greek and Roman times.

The Roman (provincial) elite was also interested in this beautiful material, and the European rivers and Roman roads were important to communication.

Amber was also transported to Italy,  and an amber industry arose in Aquileia on the Adriatic Sea. The products were widely distributed throughout the Roman Empire.

Towards the middle of the second century and in the following centuries, the flourishing amber industry gradually dwindled due to the invasions by the ‘barbarians’.

Amber is found in large quantities in the Baltic Sea, the Scandinavian countries (with the oldest finds in Denmark), and Switzerland. The most important finds have been made at Münchenstein, south of Bern.

It is not known whether amber was exported to Aquileia. Still, the Celtic/Rauraci people were skilled and experienced artisans and used amber for their ornaments and jewellery.

Source: M. Ploug, Amber (Copenhagen 2000)

The Church of Vinelz

The church in Vinelz, in French Fenis (Canton of Bern), is of Romanesque origin. It was first mentioned in 1228. The present choir was built as an extension of a smaller one in the 14th century.

There are still fragments of late Gothic windows made of sandstone and stone from Neuchâtel. The baptismal font in the choir dates from the 13th century. The roof and ceiling were renewed, and the choir wall was raised in 1667. The pulpit and choir stalls also date from this period.

There are remains of murals that were whitewashed during the Reformation around 1530. They come from different periods and partially overlap. Baroque vine work runs like a frieze through the church, decorating the still-existing Romanesque high windows. The three modern stained glass windows were created during the 1951 renovation.

The ancestor of the Counts of Neuchâtel and Nidau, Ulrich of Fenis, also known as Ulrich the First, resided on the Hasenburg near the village in the 11th century. There are no remains of the Hasenburg nowadays.

However, his two sons are still present: Kuno of Fenis, Bishop of Lausanne (1093-1103) is the founder of Erlach Abbey (or St. Johannsen Monastery), Burkhard of Fenis, Bishop of Basel (1072-1105), built Erlach Castle and perhaps the church in Vinelz.

(Source and further information: Der Geschichtenweg, www.kirchenbezirk-seeland.ch; www.vinelz.ch).

The Hagneck Channel

The rivers and lakes in the Three-Lakes area (das Drei-Seen-Land, le Pays des Trois-Lacs) were ingeniously adjusted in the years 1868-1891 and 1962-1971 in the Juragewässerkorrektion/ la correction des eaux du Jura.

It was and remains a unique, pioneering project for the region’s development. Between 1868 and 1891, the water levels of the three lakes of Murten, Neuchâtel, and Biel were lowered by metres using a system of canals.

The core of the project was the eight-kilometre-long canal from Aarberg to Hagneck (Canton Bern). The Aare was diverted from Aarberg via this canal to Lake Biel (Bielersee/lac de Bienne).

From Aarberg, the Aare still flows to Büren, but with a significantly smaller volume, and is known as the Alte Aare since 1891. The Alte Aare is a canal that runs from Büren to Nidau and flows into Lake Biel.

In contrast to the Nidau-Büren canal, which is a river rectification, the Aarberg-Hagneck canal is a new waterway.

The two other new canals between the three lakes are the Broye Canal, connecting the lakes of Murten and Neuchâtel, and the Zihl Canal (also known as the Thielle in French), which links the lakes of Neuchâtel and Biel.

(Source:www.bielerseekraftwerke.ch).

(See also: www.swiss-spectator.ch/the-jura-water-management/ and www.schlossmuseumnidau.ch).

Pile dwelling museum Lüscherz

At Lake Biel (Bielersee/lac de Bienne), more than 35 sites of pile dwellings from the period between 4300 and 800 B.C. are known. They were the villages of the first farmers and fishermen in this region.

The village of Lüscherz (canton Bern) is one of the most relevant sites in Switzerland. Several Neolithic shore settlements (ca. 5000-1800 B.C.) have been discovered.

The pile dwelling museum Lüscherz (Pfahlbaumuseum Lüscherz (Sammlung Hans Iseli)) gives an insight into the life of these villages on the lake of Biel between 4000 and 800 B.C.

Hans Iseli (1924-2003) amassed over 10,000 objects made of stone, flint, bone, antlers, and clay during the 60 years he spent collecting. The exhibition in the museum deals with the following themes:

The lowering of the water level of the Jura due to the Juragewässerkorrektion (1868-1891), the habitation of the beach plateau at Lake Biel for five millennia, the prehistoric craftsmanship of ceramics and textiles, the construction of houses, the village plan and the building history, the regional trade contacts from the 4th to the 1st millennium B.C., the tombs and cult sites and the spiritual life.

In a chronological table, the most significant dates in the region’s cultural history are identified and compared with those of the Mediterranean region.

(Source and further information: www.pfahlbaumuseum-lüscherz.ch).

Hydroelectric power plant Hagneck

Hagneck (Canton of Bern) is one of the oldest hydropower plants in Switzerland and the world. It is a monument of technological and architectural, as well as cultural-historical significance. Generating electricity from water is a visionary masterpiece of the late 19th century.

On 30 May 1891, the government of the canton of Berne granted the concession to the municipalities of Biel, Erlach, Hagneck, Neuenstadt, Nidau and Täuffelen-Gerolfingen. In 1897, the first construction work began. By the summer of 1899, the power station was already in operation.

Today, hydropower is the world’s most important renewable energy source for generating electricity. A characteristic of this power station (Laufwasserkraftwerk) is that it processes large quantities of water with a small height difference to generate electricity. The approximately 420 large hydroelectric power plants in Switzerland produce about half of Switzerland’s hydroelectric energy.

These power plants (e.g., Hagneck, Birsfelden, or Augst) utilise the fall of a river or canal to generate electricity. A characteristic of these power plants is that they process large amounts of water with a slight height difference to generate electricity.

As long as the river flows, electricity is generated. It is not possible to store consumption peaks, unlike Speicherkraftwerken.

In winter, water is scarce; in spring, the river (e.g., the Rhine) or the canal (Aare-Hagneck) supplies a significant amount of water.

In a Speicherkraftwerk (e.g. the Lac des Dix reservoir with one of the largest dams in the world, the Grande Dixence, in Valais, or the Curnera reservoir (Lai da Curnera) in the Vorderrhein area), the water is stored in a mountain lake using a dam.

This is connected to the power plant in the valley via a series of basins. The water is converted into electricity by turbines. These 83 large Swiss power plants produce less than half of Switzerland’s hydropower. (Source: www.energie-lexikon.info).

The Hagneck hydropower plant is designed to withstand earthquakes and high water levels. The weir is designed for a flow rate of 2,700 m³ per second. In 2005, the discharge of the Aare rose to 1,514 m3 per second. The weir can withstand such volumes of water. Moreover, a flood like the one in the summer of 2005 occurs only once every 300 years.

(Source and further information: Hagneck Visitor Centre, www.bielerseekraftwerke.ch).

The village of Lüscherz

The village of Lüscherz (canton of Bern) is one of the most important places of pile dwellings in Switzerland. The village is first mentioned in a document dated 1271. The knights of Biel donated the vineyards “next to the path leading to the lake” to the Frauenkappelen monastery. Until the reformation, the village belonged to the parish of Vinelz.

Lüscherz was traditionally a fishing village. The fishermen mainly supplied the fish market in Bern.  They daily transported fish to the town. Nowadays, there are only a few professional fishermen left.

Only after the first correction of the waters of the Jura (the Juragewässerkorrektion, 1868-1891) did the marshes become drained and fertile, and the switch to agriculture began.

Viticulture was another important activity. It is already mentioned in the charter of 1271. Today, fruit farming has taken over this role.

(Source and further information: www.luescherz.ch).

The church of Sutz

The church of Sutz (Canton Bern) is situated on the historical hiking trail Geschichtenweg, which the Reformed churches in the Seeland district have established between the former Gottstatt monastery and the church of Erlach.

The church of Sutz is situated on the edge of a slope near Lake Biel. The first church was built around the year 1000. In 1289, the baron of Jegenstorf donated the church to the Gottstatt monastery. After the Reformation of 1528, the church was administered by Bern.

The Romanesque walls of the nave have been preserved.  The tower was built in 1485—the polygonal choir and the baptismal font date from 1510. The late Gothic windows and the Renaissance pulpit are still of excellent quality.

A major renovation was undertaken in 1789. The last extensive renovation was carried out between 1965 and 1966.

(Source and further information: www.kirchenvisite.ch).

Von Rütte Estate

In 1870, the architect Friedrich Ludwig von Rütte (1829-1903) bought the former 15th-century estate of a Bernese patrician family and converted it into a stately holiday home.

As a result of the lowering of Lake Biel following the correction of the Jura waters (1868-1891), the estate gained additional land.

On this new land, he created a park based on the English Garden, to which he added a Chinese pavilion.

The estate near the village of Sutz-Lattrigen (canton of Bern) is owned by a foundation nowadays.

(Source and further information: www.vonruettegut.ch).

Vaumarcus Castle

The castle of Vaumarcus (canton of Neuchâtel) dates back to the 12th century and was first mentioned in 1285. The Vaumarcus barony consisted of the village of Vaumarcus and the hamlets of Le Moulin and Vernéaz.

The castle and its territory were sold in 1308 to Count Rudolf IV of Neuchâtel (1274-1343), also called Rolin. The Count built a Gothic gate on the ground floor with a drawbridge in front. He also reinforced the two corners of the façade with two massive buttresses and a hexagonal stair tower.

The castle burned down in 1476 after the battle of Grandson (during the war between the Duke of Burgundy Charles the Bold (1433-1477) and the Swiss Confederacy). In the years that followed, it was rebuilt. The new castle in the garden dates from 1773.

Today, the castle houses an (international) organisation, a restaurant and a cultural centre.

(Source: www.swisscastles.ch).