Roches is first mentioned in 1308 as Roschers. For most of its history the village was owned by provost of Moutier-Grandval under the Prince-Bishop of Basel. After the 1798 French invasion, Roches 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, Roches was assigned to the Canton of Bern in 1815. In 1791 a glass factory opened was built in the village. In 1817 Célestin Châtelain acquired the factory and operated it until its closure in 1840. Two years later, he opened the Verrerie de Moutier glass factory in nearby Moutier, which grew to become the most important window glass company in Switzerland. Even while the glass factory was in operation, the village remained generally agrarian. In 1876 the Basel-Moutier railroad opened a station in Roches and the village became a local industrial center. However, this industrial growth was short-lived and today only small firms operate in Roches. More information...
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