Villeret (French pronunciation: [vilʁɛ]) is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
[3] During the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Era it was part of the seigniory of Erguel under the Prince-Bishop of Basel.
After Napoleon's defeat and the Congress of Vienna, Villeret was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815.
[3] During the mid-18th century a number of forges, mills, sawmills and hammermills were built along the Suze river.
The numerous mills and available water power attracted many blacksmiths, nailsmiths and locksmiths to the village.
Starting in 1735, watchmaking moguls such as the Blancpain family built houses, infrastructure, factories and public areas to attract skilled craftsmen to Villeret.
The completion of the Biel-Les Convers railroad in 1874 caused another population boom, which had reached its zenith by 1910.
The industry began to recover in 1993 when Cartier decided to open to factory in Villeret.
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 Argent three Trefoils downpointing Vert all within a Border Or.
[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (749 or 83.1%) as their first language, German is the second most common (102 or 11.3%) and Albanian is the third (22 or 2.4%).
In the tertiary sector; 14 or 23.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 8 or 13.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 11 or 18.6% were in a hotel or restaurant, 7 or 11.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 10 or 16.9% were in education.
[10] From the 2000 census[update], 160 or 17.8% were Roman Catholic, while 432 or 47.9% 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.
[16] Villeret is home to the Bibliothèque communale et scolaire du Soleil library.
It was open a total of 160 days with average of 4 hours per week during that year.