Mont-Tramelan

Mont-Tramelan (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃ tʁamlɑ̃]) is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Around 1570 the Prince-Bishop of Basel allowed Anabaptist refugees from the Emmental to settle in the seigniory of Erguel, including in the area that would become Mont-Tramelan.

The farms in the area were part of the parish of Tramelan, which adopted the Reformed faith in 1530.

It remained under French authority until 1814 and in following year became part of the Canton of Bern.

[3] During the 19th century, the watch making industry flourished in the French-speaking Jura region.

This decision created a German-speaking enclave in a French-speaking district at a time when the Jurassic separatism movement was beginning to grow.

[3] In 1938 Mont-Tramelan joined the Syndicat des eaux Franches-Montagnes which built a pump station at Cortébert to supply water to the municipalities and farms of the region.

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

[6] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules on a Bend sinister Argent three Linden Leaves of the first issuant from chief and a Mount of 3 Coupeaux of the second.

[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (82 or 70.7%) as their first language, French is the second most common (30 or 25.9%) and Serbo-Croatian is the third (3 or 2.6%).

In the federal election, a total of 63 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 60.6%.

[10] From the 2000 census[update], eight residents (or 6.9%) were Roman Catholic, while 30 or 25.9% 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.

During the same year, there was one lower secondary class with a total of 7 students of which 14.3% do not speak German as their mother language.

Farm and countryside in Mont-Tramelan
A farm in Mont-Tramelan. Tha majority of the population still works in agriculture.