The Vineyards of Lake Biel

14 March 2021

The vineyards of St. Peter’s Island, the communes of Erlach (Cerlier), Tschugg, Gampelen (Champion) and Anet (Ins) and of the villages on the northern shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee/lac de Bienne, canton of Bern) already existed more than 1000 years ago.

In the Middle Ages, abbeys and monasteries cultivated the vineyards. The Bernese patrician families took over after the Reformation,

The monks and the Bernese patricians belong to the past, but the small wine villages of Schafis (Chavannes), Ligerz (Gléresse), Schernelz (Cerniaux), Twann (Douanne), Kapf, Wingreis (Daucher), Alfermée and Vingelz (Vigneules) have lost none of their charm and traditions.

The urbanised and rural areas, the cultures and languages of German-speaking and French-speaking Switzerland (the Romandy) and the tranquillity of the lake and the steep slopes of the southern foot of the Jura meet in this region.

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