[1] Prêles is first mentioned in 1179 as Prales though this document is believed to be a 12th-century forgery.

[2] Beginning in the 12th century the noble de Perls family first appears in records.

Throughout its history the village was part of the Herrschaft of Tessenberg (Diesse).

The major landowners in the village included the collegiate church of Saint-Imier and Erlach Abbey.

After Napoleon's defeat and the Congress of Vienna, Prêles was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815.

[2] The construction of a cable railway between Ligerz and Prêles in 1912 turned it into a minor tourist destination.

Today many residents commute to jobs in Biel or La Neuveville.

In the past decades a number of new houses were built for the growing commuter population.

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

[5] The cauldron refers to the local pitch industry which has largely vanished.

[3] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (580 or 65.5%) as their first language, German is the second most common (270 or 30.5%) and Italian is the third (8 or 0.9%).

In the federal election, a total of 268 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 39.4%.

[3] There were 415 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 38.6% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 5 or 4.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 3 or 2.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 8 or 6.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 12 or 9.5% were technical professionals or scientists, and 6 or 4.8% were in health care.

From the 2000 census[update], 509 or 57.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 159 or 17.9% were Roman Catholic.

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.

[17] During the 2011-12 school year, there were a total of 30 students attending classes in Prêles.