Vauffelin: Wooded pastures, orchards and village history

Vauffelin is a locality in the municipality of Sauge, in the Bernese Jura administrative district of the canton of Bern. It lies at an altitude of around 707 metres, seven kilometres as the crow flies northeast of Biel. Nature, village history and driving safety offer different starting points, which you can prioritise depending on the purpose of your trip.

Landscape and orchard heritage

East of Vauffelin, dry meadows and pastures are home to an exceptional variety of plant and animal species. The «Droit de Vauffelin» wooded pasture in the municipality of Sauge covers around 35 hectares. Of this, 17 hectares are part of the Swiss Federal Inventory of Dry Meadows and Pastures of National Importance. These figures refer to different areas: around 35 hectares for the wooded pasture as a whole, and 17 hectares for the listed area.

Tall-standard fruit orchards shape the landscape around Les Prés-Dieu. The fruit-tree heritage has also been well preserved south of the village, where restoration measures were carried out between 2008 and 2021. A historical perspective is offered by aerial photographs from 1937 and 1956: in them, tall-standard fruit orchards form a belt of trees around Vauffelin. This lets you encounter both the orchards as a feature of today’s landscape and their former extent in the village’s history.

Village history and buildings

Excavations on the grounds of the Temple de Vauffelin uncovered remains of three successive medieval churches. The present-day church of Vauffelin was built in 1715, reusing older walls. As of 1 January 2026, the Reformed Church in Vauffelin is listed as a Category B object in the Canton of Bern’s inventory of cultural property under «Sauge (Vauffelin)».

A row of old farmhouses stands along the main road. On the village square is a statue honouring Elise Benoit-Huguelet (1820–1906). The «ExceptionnELLES» project also has a station there featuring the statue. The village’s municipal history also helps put its name in context: Vauffelin was an independent political municipality and was merged with Plagne to form the municipality of Sauge.

Driving safety, hiking and getting here

The DTC Dynamic Test Center offers driving safety courses on its test track in Vauffelin. Exercises include acceleration, braking and high-speed cornering. The test site can also be used for group events. If a course like this is the reason for your trip, you can take the course content into account when planning; the exercises mentioned give you a concrete idea of its focus.

A hiking trail also passes through Vauffelin: «Au-dessus des pâturages jurassiens à la frontière linguistique» runs via Romont through Vauffelin and onwards to Plagne. This route is a useful reference when planning your hike. Bus routes 70 and 71 serve Vauffelin; rail connections are available in Frinvillier. Route 71 runs several times a day directly from Biel railway station to the Dynamic Test Center in Vauffelin. If you plan to use this connection, check the timetable before travelling. Visitor parking is available in front of the DTC site.

For an overview of the wider region: Bern.