La Ferrière is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Founded in 1590 as les Hautes Montagnes d'Erguël by settlers from Valangin.

In 1749 it was known as La Ferriere or Communauté des Montagnes de Saint-Imier.

The lack of arable land and the resulting revenue made it very difficult for the village to meet their obligations.

In 1767, the Prince-Bishop granted Erguel Castle and the surrounding lands to La Ferrière to hold as a fief.

In 1806, the political municipality of La Ferrière inherited the castle and lands and in 1828 sold them to Sonvilier.

[5] The municipality is made up of scattered settlements at an elevation of about 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) in the north-west corner of the old District de Courtelary.

On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois.

[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (418 or 81.5%) as their first language, German is the second most common (85 or 16.6%) and Italian is the third (5 or 1.0%).

[12] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] The Maison Gagnebin is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[10] There were 14 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 28.6% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 5 or 14.3% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 8 or 22.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 11 or 31.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 17.1% were in education.

From the 2000 census[update], 84 or 16.4% were Roman Catholic, while 276 or 53.8% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship.

[18] During the 2010–11 school year, there were a total of 58 students attending classes in La Ferrière.