of the Holy Roman Empire. Through the Bishop of Basel, the Counts of Neuch�tel and later the Counts of Neuch�tel-Nidau began to exercise their power in the foothills of theJura Mountains. In 1140 the counts built Nidau Castle in the neighboring village of Nidau to help secure their land on the eastern end of the lake. The town was probably built by the Bishop of Basel, Heinrich II von Thun, between 1225 (mention of domum de Bilne) and 1230 (mention of in urbe mea de Beuna). Biel Castle was built either shortly before or shortly after the foundation of the town, to help support Nidau Castle.
Officially, Biel remained under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Basel throughout the 11th to 18th centuries. However, the early history of the town is filled with conflict between the town council and the Bishop's representative. In 1252, the town council partly succeeded in becoming afree imperial city. In 1275 King of Germany Rudolph of Habsburg granted Biel a town charter. The town's legal position was strengthened in 1296 when Bishop Peter Reich von Reichenstein signed an agreement with the town. This original agreement was strengthened in 1352 and remained in force until 1798.
The town's church, the Church of St. Benedict, was first mentioned in 1228. The current church was built in 1451-70 and is regarded, after Bern Cathedral, as the second most important late gothic building in the Canton of Bern.
An associate of the Swiss Confederation
While it officially remained part of the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel, starting in the 13th century Biel began making alliances with neighboring nobles and cities. In 1279 it allied with Bern. This first alliance was followed in 1311 by an alliance with Fribourg, a 1334 alliance with Solothurn, 1342 with Murten and 1395 with La Neuveville. The alliance with Bern became an eternal alliance in 1352, as Bern itself joined the Old Swiss Confederacy. Contradictory obligations to the Bishop
