When is Fête d'Indépendance?
Fête d'Indépendance (Independence Day) is a regional public holiday held in the Republic and Canton of the Jura on June 23rd each year.
This day celebrates Jura becoming a canton of Switzerland on this date in 1979.
History of Fête d'Indépendance
After 800 years of being a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire, Jura turned its gaze towards the Swiss Confederation, becoming part of the Canton of Bern in 1815.
Did you know?
The famous Jurassic period of the geologic timescale is named after the Jura mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified
With Bern being a Protestant, German-speaking region, this wasn't a seamless partnership for the Catholic, French-speaking inhabitants of Jura and separatist rumblings started to grow louder in the late 1940s.
In 1978, the Swiss people voted in favour of Jura seceding from Bern. Jura duly joined the Swiss Confederation as the 26th Swiss Canton on June 23rd 1979.
