Sentier des Monts - Mont Crosin

The ridge between Mont Soleil and Mont Crosin has become a laboratory for sustainable energy production: Since 1992, one of Central Europe's largest solar power plants has been in operation on Mont Soleil: 4500 m² of solar cells are arranged on 110 tables, covering an area equivalent to three football fields. A few years later, the construction of a wind power plant began on Mont Crosin. Today, eight rotors stand there, converting the energy of moving air into electricity. The solar and wind power plants are connected by a scenic adventure trail, with information panels about energy production as well as the Jura's fauna and flora, landscape character, geology, and meteorology. A few steps north of the Mont Crosin bus stop, a paved lane branches off from the main road. It leads across Jura pastures and through a small forest to the hilltop Sur la Côte. Here, the huge rotors of the wind power plant reveal their impressive size. The wheels turn silently and elegantly in the wind, which often and regularly blows over the heights. A wide gravel path takes you through the idyllic landscape of the Freiberge to the solar power plant on Mont Soleil, which is the highest elevation of the Freiberge. Correspondingly, the panoramic view is extensive: to the north, the gaze sweeps across magnificent pastures of the canton of Jura; to the south, there is a splendid view of the Chasseral range and the dramatic gorge of Combe Grède. After a short descent, you reach the mountain station of the funicular that leads down to St-Imier. The main town of the St.-Immer valley is also architecturally influenced by watchmaking: the streets were originally aligned straight from west to east so that the workshops in the ground floors of the houses could benefit as much as possible from daylight.