Sorvilier is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (Jura Bernois). History Sorvilier is first mentioned in 1148 as Sorurvilier, though this comes from a 12th-century forgery. In 1179 it was mentioned as Sororviler. The municipality was formerly known by its German name Surbelen, however, that name is no longer used. For most of its history Sorvilier was part of the district of Orval under the provost of Moutier-Grandval Abbey, which was part of the lands of the Prince-Bishop of Basel. In 1531, Sorvilier accepted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation. In 1773 a stone bridge was built over the river, connecting the village core with the left bank of the Birs river. After the 1797 French victory and the Treaty of Campo Formio, Sorvilier became part of the French Département of Mont-Terrible. Three years later, in 1800 it became part of the Département of Haut-Rhin. After Napoleon's defeat and the Congress of Vienna, Sorvilier was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815. The mid-19th century saw the establishment of the watch industry in the village. In 1877 the Delémont-Sonceboz-Biel railroad opened a station in Sorvilier and connected the growing watch industry with additional suppliers and customers. By 1900 about 100 workers produced watches and watch parts, while the village's population was only 438. Geography Sorvilier has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 45.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 48.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 3.5% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.4% is unproductive land. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 1.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. Out of the forested land, 42.7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 6.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 10.4% is used for growing crops and 16.5% is pastures and 18.4% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located in the Tavannes valley on both sides of the Birs river. The municipalities of Bévilard, Court, Malleray, Pontenet and Sorvilier are considering a merger on 1 January 2015 into the new municipality of Valbirse. On 31 December 2009 District de Moutier, the