Grandval, Switzerland

Grandval

Village Church of Grandval

Coat of arms

Grandval

Location of Grandval

Coordinates: 47°17′N 7°26′E / 47.283°N 7.433°ECoordinates: 47°17′N 7°26′E / 47.283°N 7.433°E

Country

Government

• Mayor

Maire

Area

• Total

8.24 km² (3.18 sq mi)

Elevation

588 m (1,929 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

388

• Density

47/km² (120/sq mi)

Postal code

2745

SFOS number

0694

Surrounded by

Eschert, Belprahon, Roches, Crémines, Rebeuvelier (JU), Gänsbrunnen (SO)

Website

www.grandval.ch
SFSO statistics

Grandval 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). Grandval also used to be known under its German name Granfel or Granfelden, but these forms are no longer commonly used.

Grandval is first mentioned around 900 as Grandemvallem.

The oldest evidence of a settlement in the area is a reasonable well preserved section of a Roman road. Around 640 what became the Moutier-Grandval Abbey was established outside the village of Grandval. The town of Moutier then developed around the Abbey complex. For most of its history, the village of Grandval was owned by the Abbey. After the 1797 French victory and the Treaty of Campo Formio, Grandval 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, Grandval was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815.

The village chapel of St. Martin was first mentioned in 962. By the 14th century it had become the parish church for Grandval parish, which included most of the communities in the Grand Val/Moutier valley. In 1531 the village, its church and the parish converted to the new faith of the Protestant Reformation. Beginning in 1663 the church was almost constantly under construction for several centuries. Major reconstruction projects happened in 1701-06 and 1927.

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Wikipedia