Val-de-Ruz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Val-de-Ruz
Coat of arms
Val-de-Ruz Location in Switzerland Show map of Switzerland Val-de-Ruz Location in Canton of Neuchâtel Show map of Canton of Neuchâtel
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Neuchâtel
Area
• Total	124.31 km2 (48.00 sq mi)
Population  (Dec 2020 )
• Total	17,143
• Density	137.905/km2 (357.173/sq mi)
Surrounded by	Lignières, Nods (BE), Saint-Imier (BE), Valangin, Villeret (BE)

Val-de-Ruz is a special area in Switzerland. It's a municipality located in the canton of Neuchâtel. Think of a municipality like a local town or district.

On January 1, 2013, many smaller towns joined together to form Val-de-Ruz. These towns included Boudevilliers, Cernier, Chézard-Saint-Martin, Coffrane, Dombresson, Engollon, Fenin-Vilars-Saules, Fontainemelon, Fontaines, Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane, Les Hauts-Geneveys, Montmollin, Le Pâquier, Savagnier and Villiers. The main office for Val-de-Ruz is in the village of Cernier.

A Look Back in Time

An aerial view of Val-de-Ruz from 1926.

The different villages that now make up Val-de-Ruz have long histories. Many of them were first mentioned in old documents hundreds of years ago.

For example, Boudevilliers was first written about in 1195. Cernier appeared in records in 1324. Saint-Martin is even older, mentioned in 998! Coffrane is known for a battle that happened there in 1296.

Some villages like Fenin, Vilars, and Saules decided to merge even before 2013. They joined together in 1875 to form Fenin-Vilars-Saules. These old mentions help us understand how these places grew over time.

Where is Val-de-Ruz?

Val-de-Ruz is a large municipality. In 2009, the combined area of the towns that formed it was about 124.26 square kilometers.

Until 2018, Val-de-Ruz was part of a larger area called the Val-de-Ruz district. Now, the district system has changed in Switzerland.

People of Val-de-Ruz

Val-de-Ruz is home to many people. As of 2022, the total population of the municipality is 17,143.

The number of people living in these villages has changed a lot over the years. You can see how the population of each original village grew or shrank in the chart below. This chart shows the historical population from 1850 to 2000.

Important Buildings and Places

Several buildings and sites in Val-de-Ruz are very important. They are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance. This means they are protected because of their history or special design.

Some of these sites include:

• Two old farmhouses at Rue Jean-Labran 4 and 6 in Chézard-Saint-Martin.
• The Farm House Aux Planches in Dombresson.
• The Engollon Church and the remains of an old village called La Bonneville in Engollon. La Bonneville was destroyed in 1301.
• The Moulin de Bayerel (Bayerel Mill) in Fenin-Vilars-Saules.

• 

  Engollon Church

• 

  Fountain of Bonneville, all that remains of the village which was destroyed in 1301

• 

  Agricultural school at Cernier

• 

  Exterior of the Mill

• 

  Interior of the mill

Weather in Val-de-Ruz

Val-de-Ruz gets a good amount of rain or snow each year. On average, there are about 134 days with precipitation. The total amount of rain or snow is around 1165 millimeters (about 46 inches) per year.

December is usually the wettest month. It gets about 116 millimeters (4.6 inches) of rain or snow over roughly 13 days. May has the most days with precipitation, about 13.1 days, but with less rain or snow overall. April is the driest month, with about 78 millimeters (3 inches) of precipitation over 11 days.

Getting Around

Val-de-Ruz has two train stations that help people travel. These are Les Hauts-Geneveys and Les Geneveys-sur-Coffrane. Both stations are on the train line that connects Neuchâtel and Le Locle-Col-des-Roches.

Trains run often, making it easy to get to bigger towns like La Chaux-de-Fonds and Neuchâtel.

See also

In Spanish: Val-de-Ruz para niños