Moutier

Moutier (mutje) is a municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois administrative district of the canton of Bern. On 28 March 2021, the population voted to secede from the canton of Bern and join the Canton of Jura; the decision however is not immediately operative and entails a lengthy process of transfer of competences between cantonal authorities. Moutier is first mentioned in 1154 in the phrase datum Monasterii. In 1181, it was mentioned as apud Monasterium ('at the Abbey'). The German name for the town is Münster (BE), but it is not frequently used. The area was lightly settled even before the founding of Moutier-Grandval Abbey around 640. Much of the early history of the village is closely connected with the Abbey. Between 1049 and 1150, the Abbey was granted a stift or land donation to support the college of canons. The stift allowed the Abbey to grow into a major landholder and a regional power. The village church of Saint-Pierre, which eventually became a parish church, was probably built during the Early Middle Ages. In the 12th century, another monastery was founded in Moutier, but it was destroyed in a fire in 1269. In addition to the Church of Saint-Pierre, the collegiate church of Saint-Germain and Saint-Randoald was built in Moutier during the 12th century. Everything changed in Moutier after the Protestant Reformation was accepted by Bern in 1531. The Abbey closed and the college of canons relocated to Delémont. The church of Saint-Germain and Saint-Randoald was closed while the church of Saint-Pierre converted to the new faith and was expanded. A fire destroyed the church of Saint-Germain and Saint-Randoald in 1571 though in 1860–63 a Reformed church was built on the site. The church of Saint-Pierre was demolished in 1873. Today Moutier has both German and French speaking churches. After the college of canons of the Abbey moved to Delémont, the Abbey's properties in and around Moutier fell under the Prince-Bishop of Basel.