Erlach, Switzerland

Erlach Abbey or St. Johannsen Abbey (German: Kloster Erlach, otherwise Abtei St. Johannsen) was a Benedictine monastery in Gals, Canton of Bern, Switzerland. It was founded between 1093 and 1103 by Kuno, Count of Fenis and Bishop of Lausanne, on land that was then an island in the river Thielle. After Kuno's death, the abbey church was completed by his brother, Burchard, bishop of Basel. The new monastery was settled by monks from Saint Blaise Abbey. The Vogtei, initially the property of the Counts of Fenis, passed from them to the Counts of Neuchâtel-Nidau, and from them at the end of the 14th century to the city of Bern, which in took over the domain of Erlach in 1474, definitively acquiring it in 1476. The abbey was secularised between 1528 and 1529. The nave of the abbey church was demolished, but the choir and transept remained to be used for grain storage. These structures were demolished in 1961 after they had become unsafe, but the choir was rebuilt between 1970 and 1971. The other buildings remained standing, and in the 19th century were put to various industrial uses, until in 1883 the Canton of Bern bought the site back and turned it into a prison. Since 1978, it has served as an adjustment centre for young men.

Erlach District is a constitutional district in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. Its capital is Erlach. From 1 January 2010, the district lost its administrative power while being replaced by the Seeland (administrative district), whose administrative centre is Aarberg. Since 2010, it remains a fully recognised district under the law and the Constitution (Art.3 al.2) of the Canton of Berne. The district has an area of 96 km2 and consists of 12 municipalities:

Vinelz is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

La Neuveville District is one of three French-speaking districts of the Bernese Jura in the canton of Bern with the seat being La Neuveville, the other two being Courtelary and Moutier. It had a population of about 6,083 in 2004. From 1 January 2010, the district lost its administrative power while being replaced by the Bernese Jura administrative district, whose administrative centre is Courtelary. Since 2010, it remains therefore a fully recognised district under the law and the Constitution (Art.3 al.2) of the Canton of Berne.

The river Thielle (French: La Thielle, or La Thièle, German: Zihl), is a tributary to the Aare, in the Swiss Seeland. The Thielle results from the merging of the Orbe and Talent, northeast of the little city of Orbe in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It flows as a channel northeastwards through an intensively cultivated plain called "Plaine de l'Orbe" and flows after only 9 km into the Lake of Neuchâtel at Yverdon-les-Bains. The natural course of the river was considerably modified during the Jura water correction. Between the Lakes of Neuchâtel and Biel/Bienne it was converted into a dug-out channel. However, the previous natural bed of La Thielle still exists in some parts. The river flows out of the lake in Biel/Bienne and after 2 km merges directly into the Nidau-Büren channel, which was also dug out during the Jura water correction, ensuring the outflow of the Aare, just before the regulating dam in Port which was commissioned in 1939. Before, La Thielle used to flow into the Aare 7 km further downstream in the vicinity of Büren an der Aare. In the seventeenth century, a grand project was formed to establish a waterway transport system connecting the rivers Rhône and Rhine via the Lake of Geneva - the Venoge - and the Canal d’Entreroches - La Thielle - Aare. It unfortunately remained unfinished. A commercial waterway of this nature would have had a very significant impact on the European commercial transportation system.

The Jolimont is a hill that stretches Southwest to Northeast for about 4 km along the Thielle canal, between the Lake of Neuchâtel and the Lake of Bienne, in the Seeland, Switzerland. The Jolimont elevation starts in Gampelen till Erlach (fr. Cerlier), where its promontory into the Lake of Bienne builds both the Isthmus and the St. Petersinsel peninsula. North, nestled between it and the Thielle canal lies Gals and, at its southern side, Tschugg.

Tschugg is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Le Landeron is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel.

Le Landeron railway station (French: Gare de Le Landeron) is a railway station in the municipality of Le Landeron, in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel. It is an intermediate stop on the standard gauge Jura Foot line of Swiss Federal Railways.

La Neuveville railway station (French: Gare de La Neuveville) is a railway station in the municipality of La Neuveville, in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is an intermediate stop on the standard gauge Jura Foot line of Swiss Federal Railways.

Schlossberg Castle (German: Schlossberg) is a castle in the municipality of La Neuveville of the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Gals (French: Chules) is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.