Gorges de la Suze

The Gorges de la Suze, or Taubenloch Gorge, stretch for about two kilometres between Frinvillier, at 517 metres, and Boujean, at 447 metres, on the edge of Biel. They were carved over millennia by the Suze, which rises in Erguël, in the Saint-Imier valley, and reaches Lake Biel after crossing the Jura range.

The region was already settled in Roman times: the main road linking Rome to Switzerland ran through Aventicum, Murten, Kerzers and Kallnach before joining Solothurn and Windisch along the eastern shore of the Seeland, while a second road crossed the Grand Marais toward the settlement of Witzwil, between Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Murten. A branch, at the Roman fortification of Petinesca, ran up toward the Jura and, beyond it, Germania, passing through the Taubenloch Gorge, the Pierre-Pertuis pass and Augusta Raurica.

The name Taubenloch first appears in a document of 1532. Its origin remains debated: it has been linked to the doves (Taube) that once nested in the gorge, or to 'Daube', meaning a precipice or ditch; linguist Andres Kristol instead traces it to an older Alemannic form, 'Dubeloch', built on the Celtic root dubo- ('black'), also found in the Doubs river and the Douanne. A local legend instead recalls a girl nicknamed 'the dove', who is said to have thrown herself into the gorge to escape the tyrant of Rondchâtel.

A company created for the purpose laid out a footpath through the gorge in 1889; it was placed partly under nature protection from 1927. Rockslides have caused several temporary closures over the years, followed by safety works led among others by the City of Biel; the A16 Transjurane motorway now runs alongside the gorge on both sides, with two lanes climbing and two descending.

Why this place is remarkable

Over millennia the Suze cut a narrow slot through the first ridge of the Jura, one the Roman road already used to reach Germania via the Pierre-Pertuis pass. The name Taubenloch, attested since 1532, still sets learned etymology — a Celtic root meaning 'black' — against the legend of the girl nicknamed 'the dove'.

History and origin

The gorge was carved by the Suze through the first ridge of the Jura, between Frinvillier (517 m) and Boujean (447 m). The region was occupied from Roman times: a road linking the fortification of Petinesca to Germania ran through it, via the Pierre-Pertuis pass and Augusta Raurica. The place-name Taubenloch, attested since 1532, has received several competing explanations, including that of linguist Andres Kristol, who links it to the Celtic root dubo- ('black') rather than to doves (Taube). A footpath was laid out there in 1889, and the gorge was placed under nature protection from 1927.