Taubenloch (French: Gorges du Taubenloch) is a gorge in the Canton of Bern, above Biel/Bienne in Switzerland. It crosses the first Jura Mountain chain, as considered from the Swiss Plateau.
Taubenloch (French: Gorges du Taubenloch) is a gorge in the Canton of Bern, above Biel/Bienne in Switzerland. It crosses the first Jura Mountain chain, as considered from the Swiss Plateau.
The gorge covers a length of around 2 kilometres between Frinvillier (altitude: 517 m) and Bözingen, a suburb of Biel/Bienne (altitude 447 m). The Suze flows deep in the gorge, originating in the Erguel valley near Saint-Imier and finally flowing to the Lake of Bienne.
The gorge is one of the rare natural crossings from the Swiss Plateau to the Jura mountains between Schaffhausen and Geneva.
The area was already well colonised at the time of the Roman Empire: one of the main Roman roads from Rome led through Helvetii to Aventicum (Avenches). It continued through Morat, Chiètres and Kallnach to Solodorum (Solothurn) and Vindonissa (Windisch), along the eastern part of the Seeland (lake land). Via Witzwil, a second road crossed the Seeland between the Lake of Neuchâtel and the lake of Morat. A spur road from Petinesca went through the steep gorge of Taubenloch, crossed the Jura through the Col de Pierre Pertuis pass, and lead to Augusta Raurica and what is now modern Germany along the Rhine.
The name Taubenloch was found for the first time in a document dated 1532. Several versions as to its provenience are still being debated.
A private non-profit corporation was founded in 1889, La société d’exploitation des gorges du Taubenloch, for the only purpose of establishing a hiking path throughout the gorge. Since 1927, part of the Taubenlochschlucht is one of the protected natural sites in Switzerland.
Traffic runs through either side of Taubenloch, route 18 (south) and route 6 (north). The "Transjurane" motorway project is expected to be finalised between 2025 and 2030, by following the route of the gorge and linking up what is now the E27.
The Jura Mountains are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper is located in France and Switzerland, the range continues as the Table Jura northeastwards through northern Switzerland and Germany.
Lake Neuchâtel is a lake primarily in Romandy, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The lake lies mainly in the canton of Neuchâtel, but is also shared by the cantons of Vaud, Fribourg, and Bern. It comprises one of the lakes in the Three Lakes Region, along with lakes Biel/Bienne and Morat/Murten.
Biel/Bienne is a town and a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Lake Biel or Lake Bienne is a lake in western Switzerland. Together with Lake Morat and Lake Neuchâtel, it is one of the three large lakes in the Jura region of Switzerland. It lies approximately at the language boundary between German and French speaking areas.
Lake Morat or Lake Murten is a lake located in the cantons of Fribourg and Vaud in the west of Switzerland. It is named after the small bilingual town of Murten/Morat on its southern shore.
Romandy is the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. In 2020, about 2 million people, or 22.8% of the Swiss population, lived in Romandy. The majority of the romand population lives in the western part of the country, especially the Arc Lémanique region along Lake Geneva, connecting Geneva, Vaud and the Lower Valais.
The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface area, and is partly flat but mostly hilly. The average height is between 400 metres (1,300 ft) and 700 metres (2,300 ft) AMSL. It is by far the most densely populated region of Switzerland, the center of economy and important transportation.
Seeland is a region in Switzerland, at the south-eastern foot of the mountain range of the Jura Mountains containing the 3 Lakes of Morat, Neuchâtel, and Bienne (Biel). In previous eras, it was the floodplain of the Aare and was thus swampy. After the huge hydrological works Jura water correction, the area drained out and could support more cultivation. Seeland is one of the most important regions in Switzerland for growing vegetables, particularly in the Grand Marais.
The A16, a motorway in north-central Switzerland, is a divided freeway connecting the border to France to the A5 motorway, 84 kilometres (52 mi) to the south on the Swiss plateau.
The Jura Foot Line or Jura South Foot Line, is a railway line in Switzerland. It runs from Olten along the foot of the southern Jura range through Solothurn, Grenchen, Biel/Bienne, Neuchâtel, Yverdon-les-Bains and Morges to Lausanne. It is one of two routes used by intercity trains between Geneva and Zürich. The other is the Midland line which connects Olten via Langenthal, Burgdorf, Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne to Morges. The line was built by five railway companies, which after several mergers were absorbed into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1903.
The correction of the waters of the Swiss Jura consisted of a wide series of hydrological undertakings carried out in Switzerland in the region of the three lakes: Lake Morat connected to Lake Neuchatel by the Broye Canal, the latter connected to Lake Biel by the Thielle Canal, an area called the "Seeland”.
Grand Marais in Seeland is a region in Switzerland, at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains contained by the three lakes of Morat (Murten), Neuchâtel and Bienne (Biel). Before the huge hydrological works Jura water correction, it was a marshland that covered 62.5 km2 (24.1 sq mi). Before the correction the entire Grand Marais, along with the whole of Seeland was prone to very severe recurring floods.
The river Thielle, is a tributary to the Aare, in the Swiss Seeland.
The Suze is a river in the Bernese Jura, Canton of Berne, Switzerland.
Petinesca is an archeological site on the territory of Studen, a community of the Canton of Bern, in Switzerland, where Celtic and Roman vestiges were found.
Frinvillier, in German Friedliswart, is a village in the Canton of Bern, district of Courtelary. Its populations is around 185 people. It belongs to the Bernese Jura, on the territory of the community Vauffelin.
Sauge is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Plagne and Vauffelin merged into the municipality of Sauge.
The Biel/Bienne–La Chaux-de-Fonds railway is a single-track standard-gauge railway line of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
The Biel-Täuffelen-Ins railway line is a railway line in Switzerland that runs from Biel/Bienne to Ins along the east side of the Lake Biel. The line is owned and operated by Aare Seeland mobil (ASm).
Frinvillier-Taubenloch railway station is a railway station in the municipality of Sauge, in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is an intermediate stop on the standard gauge Biel/Bienne–La Chaux-de-Fonds line of Swiss Federal Railways.
