The small town of Grenchen lies at the foot of the Jura between the towns of Solothurn and Biel. Thanks to the watch industry, within the space of 150 years the one-time farming village has grown into a prosperous regional town.

With over 16,000 inhabitants, Grenchen is the second largest town in Canton Solothurn (after Olten and before Solothurn!). The Grenchenberg and the Witi wetland landscape are an invitation to take long walks and the meeting zones in the town centre have traffic-calming measures, an inviting place to stroll.

Many pilots took to the air for the first time here and the regional airfield with its gliding and flying schools is an important national pilot training centre. But Grenchen also has a second international airfield: 33 species of wading birds use the Grenchen Witi as a resting place as they migrate between Northern Europe and their winter habitats in the south.

About 12,000 years ago, an enormous lake called the Solothurnersee existed between Wangen an der Aare and Orbe near Yverdon. The surface was about 20 metres higher than the level of today’s marshland. Today only the Bielersee, Neuenburgersee and Murtensee lakes remain, as well as the Witi water meadows of the alte Aare at Grenchen, with an exceptional home to countless hares and storks. In Altreu, popular as a cyclists’ stop on the ride along the Aare, an information centre provides details on hares, storks & co.

Highlights

• Witi nature conservation area – of national importance, home to many rare species of fauna and a major resting place for migratory birds.
• Allerheiligen – idyllic 16th-century pilgrimage chapel above Grenchen.