A trade route with a difference - Taubenlochschlucht
Overview
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Intro
The Taubenlochschlucht, one of the most picturesque gorges in the Jura, is both a natural spectacle and a witness to industrial history. Fortified by castles, it had long been established as a trade route when industrialisation began. Along with the industrial buildings came roads, tunnels, railways and canals, together with a wide variety of bridges and walkways.
The four-kilometre-long Taubenlochschlucht between Reuchenette and Biel is where the River Schüss cuts through two geological folds in the Jura. A wonderfully diverse and, in places, spectacular natural feature, it links the Swiss Plateau with the valleys of the Bernese Jura. Thus it was already an important access route in Roman times. When the region became part of Canton Bern, the government undertook improvements to the gorge road. A railway line opened along this route in 1874. As in other Jura gorges, the availability of water power and the abundance of wood and limestone were exploited for industrial purposes. Even today, a variety of buildings and installations – such as weirs, canals, hydropower plants and a range of factories serving the paper, timber, lime and cement industries – testify to the intensity of its use.
The Taubenlochschlucht is also well-known for a footpath, created as early as 1889, that runs through the gorge just a few metres above the river. This offers walkers a delightful variety of landscapes: nature alternates with manmade structures, and in places the narrow gorge gives way to a wider valley.
Trip tip
The Taubenlochschlucht is best explored on foot. The ViaBerna trail takes hikers from Magglingen along the River Schüss and through the Taubenlochschlucht to Biel in just over three hours.
ISOS
ISOS is the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of national importance. The inventory is maintained by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) and lists the most significant settlements in Switzerland. Today, some 1,200 places are included in the inventory, from hamlets right through to cities. The inventory provides information on the development and identity of the settlements listed in it, thereby contributing to the preservation of architectural diversity in Switzerland and promoting both sustainable planning and a high-quality Baukultur.
