Pontenet

Pontenet
Former municipality of Switzerland
Looking across the fields toward Pontenet village
Coat of arms
Pontenet
Location of Pontenet
Coordinates: 47°15′N 7°15′E / 47.250°N 7.250°E / 47.250; 7.250Coordinates: 47°15′N 7°15′E / 47.250°N 7.250°E / 47.250; 7.250
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Jura bernois
Government
• Mayor	Maire
Area
• Total	2.74 km2 (1.06 sq mi)
Elevation	741 m (2,431 ft)
Population (Dec 2011)
• Total	216
• Density	79/km2 (200/sq mi)
Postal code	2733
SFOS number	0702
Surrounded by	Loveresse, Souboz, Malleray
Website	www.valbirse.ch SFSO statistics

Pontenet 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). On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Bévilard, Malleray and Pontenet merged to form the new municipality of Valbirse.

Pontenet is first mentioned in 1359 as Pontenat.

By 1371 Bellelay Abbey was one of the major landholders in the village. In 1515 they granted their lands in the village to Grosjean Girod de Loveresse. During the Early Modern era it was administered by the provost of Moutier-Grandval for the Prince-Bishop of Basel. In 1750 the Birs river flooded and destroyed the village mill, sawmill and bridge over the river. After the 1797 French victory and the Treaty of Campo Formio, Pontenet 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, Pontenet was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815. Throughout its history it was part of the parish of Bévilard.