ViaBerna - stage 02 Tramelan - St-Imier

With the watchmaking town of Tramelan behind you, Via Berna heads southwards and also gently upwards along Jura pasture. The giant rotors of the wind turbines come into view above La Bise de Cortébert. The blades hum quietly as they turn in the wind that is usually blowing over the mountain. When it reaches Col du Mont Crosin, the route swings right, then left and the trail takes you right past the mighty wind turbines. After a final gentle ascent through the idyllic landscape, you reach the highest point in Freiberge, Mont Soleil, with its large solar power plant. The view to the north looks over the pastures of Jura and to the south you can see the Chasseral chain and the distinctive gorge of La Combe Grède. After a short descent to the top station of the funicular railway, ViaBerna follows the slope in a westerly direction, passing the Belvédère viewpoint. The descent down to the destination of St-Imier begins a little further west.

The ridge of Montagne du Droit is counted as part of Freiberge or Franches-Montagnes. The high plateau is at a height of around 1,000 metres. In order to permanently populate this harsh landscape, the bishop of Basel issued a licence in 1384 according to which people who moved onto land they had cleared themselves were to be exempt from rent and tithes. It took a lot of hard work to clear the forested mountains and from then on they were given the German name “Freiberge” (“free mountains”).

During recent decades in particular, the mountain ridge between Mont Soleil and Mont Crosin has been a research site for sustainable energy production. The giant rotors of the wind farm convert wind power into electricity.

The solar cells of the solar power plant also convert the sun’s rays into electrical energy. The alternative energy production plants are linked by a discovery trail that provides interesting information about the technology of the future but also about the region’s fauna, flora and landscape.

St-Imier is the main town in the St.-Immer valley and its architecture is also characterised by watchmaking. The streets run dead straight from west to east so that the ground floor studios could make the most of the daylight.