Scheuren

Scheuren is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Scheuren is first mentioned in 1398 as Schüren. The village of Scheuren was given around 1255 to Gottstatt Abbey by the Counts of Neuchâtel-Nidau. Around the end of the 14th century the village was acquired by the city of Bern. Under Bernese rule it was incorporated into the bailiwick of Nidau and was the seat of a low court that had jurisdiction over several neighboring villages. Originally it was part of the parish of Büttenberg, but after the Protestant Reformation of 1528 it became part of the new parish of Gottstatt. The village was built along the Zihl/Thielle river, which periodically flooded, damaging buildings or fields. Most of the residents made their living from farming or fishing in the river. The diversion of the river and the construction of the Nidau-Büren Canal, in 1868-75, removed the flood risk and opened up additional farm land. In 1925 a bridge connected Scheuren with the neighboring municipality of Orpund. Today, despite Biel's proximity, Scheuren has remained largely an agricultural village, with a couple of small factories and businesses. In 1970 the second tennis center in Switzerland was built in Scheuren. Scheuren has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 55.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 25.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 10.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 2.9% is either rivers or lakes and or 5.2% is unproductive land. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 5.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.8%. Out of the forested land, 24.3% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 43.3% is used for growing crops and 10.5% is pastures, while 1.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.5% is in lakes and 2.4% is in rivers and streams. The municipality is located along the right bank of the Nidau-Büren Canal and along the old river course of the Zihl/Thielle river.