Map - Court, Switzerland (Court)

Court 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 (Jura Bernois).

Court is first mentioned in 1148 as Cort.

Between the 12th and 15th centuries the village of Mévilier or Minvilier existed between Court and Champoz. During the 15th Mévilier village was abandoned for an unknown reason. For most of its history, Court was part of the district of Orval which was owned by the provost of Moutier-Grandval Abbey. After the 1797 French victory and the Treaty of Campo Formio, Court became part of the French Département of Mont-Terrible. Three years later, in 1800 it became part of the Département of Haut-Rhin. After Napoleon's defeat and the Congress of Vienna, Court was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815.

Originally, Court was part of the parish of Mévilier. By the 16th century it was part of the parish of Sorvilier. In 1531, Court adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation. The old parish church of Mévilier remained in operation as a filial church for Court until about 1715. Then the residents of Court attended a church in the village of Vélé, between Court and Sorvilier. Finally, in 1864 a church was built in Court.

During the Middle Ages there were sawmills, mines and smelters in the village. In 1658 there were four glass blowing shops in the village of le Chaluet. They remained in operation until 1738. Beginning at the end of the 18th century, pottery was produced in the municipality. The first major road through the Court Gorge in 1752 connected the village to the rest of the country and allowed it to grow. A railroad station of the Delémont-Sonceboz-Biel railroad was built in 1877. In 1911-16 a tunnel was built through the Jura Mountains which connected Court to Moutier and Grenchen. The excellent transportation links encouraged small factories to settle in Court. During the second half of the 19th century, engineering, watch-making and machining companies settled here. Today about two-thirds of the workers in the municipality work in the industrial sector, mostly in small companies.