Biel

 

(bēl) or Bienne (byĕn) , city (1990 est. pop. 52,020), Bern canton, NW Switzerland, at the northeast end of the Lake of Biel. A watchmaking center, Biel also manufactures chains and machinery. There is a 16th-century Gothic town hall and a late Gothic church. Both French and German are spoken. The Schwab museum has archaeological relics of lake dwellings found in the Lake of Biel, or
Lake of Bienne
(15 sq mi/39 sq km), at the foot of the Jura Mts. The lake is connected with the Lake of Neuchâtel by the Zihl Canal. It contains the Isle of Saint-Pierre (now a peninsula), made famous by J. J. Rousseau.

Lake Biel Bielersee Lac de Bienne
Coordinates	47°5′N 7°10′ECoordinates: 47°5′N 7°10′E
Catchment area	8305 km²
Basin countries	Switzerland
Max length	15 km
Max width	4.1 km
Surface area	39.3 km²
Max depth	74 m
Water volume	1.12 km³
Residence time (of lake water)	58 days
Surface elevation	429 m
Islands	Sankt-Petersinsel
Settlements	see list

Lake Biel-Bienne (German: Bielersee, French: Lac de Bienne) is a lake in the west of Switzerland. Together with Lake Murten/Morat and Lake Neuchâtel, it is one of the three large lakes in the Jura region of Switzerland. It lies approximately at 47°5′N, 7°10′E, at the language boundary between German & French speaking areas.

The lake is 15 km long and up to 4.1 km wide. Its surface area is 39.3 km², the maximum depth 74 m. The lake is located at 429 metres above sea level.

Lake Biel-Bienne has a catchment area of about 8,305 km². Water remains in the lake for an average of 58 days. The river Aare, the river Zihl/Thielle flowing from Lake Neuchâtel, the Twannbach draining water down from the surplombing first Jura mountain range and the river Suze draining water down from the Vallon de St. Imier, are the main tributaries. The river Aare was redirected into the lake in 1878, in order to prevent the flooding of the nearby area called "Seeland", and drains the water out of the lake down to Büren through a simultaneously man-made channel. The level of all three lakes is being controlled by a dam built across the channel, in Nidau.

The largest settlement along the shores of Lake Biel-Bienne are the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne and its sister city Nidau, both located on the northern end The Sankt-Petersinsel (island) attracts tourists, mainly families. The island is located near Erlach. Jean-Jacques Rousseau once spent a few months on the island.

One of the main business in the area is the watch and affiliated microtechnic industries. World famous watch brands have there sites and headquarters in the area, including the Swatch Group and Rolex movements manufacture.

Cities and villages on the lake

As the lake is located on the border of the French and German language regions, most places have names in both languages, though not all versions are still in use.

• Bipschal - Bévesier
• Erlach - Cerlier
• Gaicht - Jugy
• Gerolfingen
• Hagneck
• Ipsach
• Landern - Le Landeron
• Ligerz - Gléresse
• Lüscherz - Locras
• Mörigen - Morenges
• Neuenstadt - La Neuveville
• Nidau
• Schafis - Chavanne
• Schernelz - Cernaux
• Sutz-Lattrigen
• Täuffelen
• Tüscherz - Daucher
• Twann - Douanne
• Vinelz - Fénil
• Vingelz - Vigneules
• Wingreis - Vingras
• Sankt-Petersinsel - Ile de Saint-Pierre

External links

• Lake Biel in German, French or Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Waterlevels of Lake Biel at Ligerz

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