Moutier celebrated its transfer from the canton of Bern to Jura at the end of 2025, in a ceremony that underlined the historic nature of the change.
Marcel Winistoerfer, the town’s mayor, told around 300 people gathered outside the town hall that, half a century after the founding of the canton, Moutier will now join Jura and rediscover its natural home, reported SRF. Residents, he said, would experience intense and extraordinary emotions as a new chapter was added to the country’s history. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, herself from Jura, attended privately. The celebrations included a banquet for 1,200 guests, a torchlit procession and a sound-and-light show.
Stéphane Theurillat, vice-president of the Jura government, described the event as part of a long struggle for a united Jura, waged by entire generations. The cantonal authorities called the transfer process unique in Switzerland. In a more combative speech, Cédric Erard, head of the pro-Jura campaign committee, said the fight over Moutier’s cantonal allegiance had been arduous, and criticised the court appeals that delayed the outcome. He also appealed to the neighbouring commune of Belprahon, which narrowly voted in 2017 to remain with Bern while Moutier’s own vote was still under legal challenge.
Moutier first opted to join Jura in 2017, but that ballot was annulled after irregularities were alleged. A repeat vote in March 2021 delivered a clearer result: 54.9% backed the move. At midnight on 31 December 2025, the final seconds of the town’s time in Bern were counted down outside the town hall, before crowds waved Jura flags and sang the “Rauracienne”, the canton’s anthem.
Despite the democratic decision, divisions in the town remain deep; 45.1% of the town’s roughly 7,000 residents voted to stay with Bern.
Jura itself, Switzerland’s newest canton, was created in 1979 after a series of plebiscites among the region’s French-speaking Catholic population, who had been governed by largely German-speaking Protestant Bern since 1815. Its creation, following a series of arson attacks and an explosion at a bank, is still seen as an example of Switzerland’s preference for resolving territorial disputes at the ballot box.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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