Biel/Bienne

Common card · No. 220729

Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German: Biel [biːl] ; French: Bienne [bjɛn]; Alemannic German: Biu [biːu]) is a bilingual city and municipality in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the country's tenth-largest city by population. The Biel/Bienne urban area has a population of around 100,000 inhabitants. Biel/Bienne is the capital of the Biel/Bienne administrative district. The city has been an industrial and watchmaking heart of Switzerland since the 19th century. With world-famous watch brands such as Rolex, Omega and Swatch based in Biel/Bienne, the city is one of the main centres of the Swiss watch industry and is also referred to as the "world capital of watchmaking". Biel/Bienne lies on the language boundary between the French-speaking and German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and is bilingual throughout. Biel is the German name for the city whereas Bienne is its French counterpart. The city is often referred to in both languages simultaneously...

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