Saicourt is a municipality in the Jura bernois administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It comprises the localities of Le Fuet, Bellelay, La Bottiere and Montbautier. It is located in the French-speaking Bernese Jura (Jura Bernois). History Saicourt is first mentioned in 1262 as Zacurt. Bellelay Abbey was established in the nearby Bellelay valley in 1140. The Abbey owned land and rights in the village of Saicourt for most of its history. However, both Saicourt and Le Fuet belonged to the provost of Moutier-Grandval under the Prince-Bishop of Basel. After the 1798 French invasion, the Abbey was secularized and Saicourt became an independent political municipality. The municipality 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, Saicourt was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815. During the 18th century a number of German speaking Anabaptists settled in the village of Montbautier. The villages of Saicourt and La Fuet were part of the parish of Tavannes-Chaindon until 1928. At that time Le Fuet and Bellelay went to the Tavannes parish while Saicourt became part of the Reconvilier parish. A Swiss Reformed chapel was built in Le Fuet in 1938. During the Middle Ages and into the Early Modern era most of the local economy was based on the production of Tête de Moine cheese at the Abbey. Beginning in the 18th century the watchmaking industry and mining silica sand were added. Peat cutting became common in Bellelay and La Bottière. By the early 20th century watchmaking and sand mining both died out, followed by peat producing in 1945. In 1899 Bellelay Abbey was converted into a psychiatric clinic. It has grown into the largest employer in the municipality. In 2008 a total of 341 people worked in the clinic. Geography Saicourt has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 44.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 50.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 4.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.1% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.9% is unproductive land. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 2.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 46.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.0% is covered with orchards or