The slopes of the Jura Mountains above the village were covered with vineyards by the Middle Ages. The vineyards were owned by a variety of towns and monasteries including Biel, Bern, Erlach Abbey, Fraubrunnen Abbey and Thorberg Abbey. Over the following centuries, patricians from Bern and Biel bought the vineyards. During the 17th and 18th centuries these patrician families built elegant townhouses in the village, which they would visit during harvest. Until the 18th century the village had a French speaking majority and the village school was bilingual (French/German) until the end of that century. Today the official language in Ligerz is German