1.
Aarberg
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Aarberg is a historic town and a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Aarberg lies 20 kilometers from Bern above the river Aare, with an area of 7.93 km2, Aarberg borders Bargen, Kappelen, Lyss, Radelfingen and Seedorf. Aarberg is not to be confused with Aarburg in Aargau or with Aarbergen in Germany, the town was once located on an island with the Aare and Little Aare flowing around it. The old town grew up around the edge of the island with an open plaza in the middle. In addition to the old town, Aarberg also includes the new quarter. The official language of Aarberg is German, but the spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. Where Aarberg now stands was once an island surrounded by the Aare, by 1138 there was a small pilgrim home and hospital with a bridge, the Bargenbrügg, over the Aare. This bridge was a key river crossing from Bern to Büren an der Aare, the town itself was founded between 1220 and 1225 by count Ulrich III of Neuchâtel. The count had recently acquired the rulership over this region and needed a location from which to rule. The island and the key bridge was a location for a town. Aarberg is first mentioned in 1236 as Arberc, in 1267 it was mentioned as opidum de Arberch. By the 14th century, Aarberg lay along the most important of the three roads in the region. The old Roman roads that connected Solothurn, Aarberg and Murten as well as southern Germany with Lyon, the oldest official seal of citizenship in the town dates from 1249. Ulrich IV reaffirmed the privileges in 1271. Initially the town was unwalled with two rows of houses around a central narrow plaza. Following fires in 1419 and 1477 the town was rebuilt in stone and set back about 10 m creating the current, the town was besieged in 1339,1382 and 1386 but not taken. In 1358 the Graf Peter von Aarberg was in financial difficulties, after years of unsuccessful attempts, in 1377-79 he was able to sell the town and his rights as ruler to Bern. The Bernese bailiff took up residence in Aarberg Castle in 1379, in 1414, the toll on the bridges over the Aar as well as the expensive construction and repair on the bridges, was given to Bern
2.
Aarwangen
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Aarwangen is a village and a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Aarwangen is first mentioned in 1255 as villa Arwangen, Aarwangen grew from a fortified toll crossing over the river Aare, in a region where there were few realistic crossing places. The first bridge was built in the years of the 13th century. During the 18th century, by road, and the 19th century, by rail, the municipal coat of arms is black and silver. When the Aarwangen family died out in the year 1350 they were succeeded by, the Grünenberg family did not last long and had already disappeared from the archives by the early 14th century, when the city of Bern established sovereignty over the region. Thus the Bailiffs of Bern came to Aarwangen, altogether,75 Bailiffs resided in the castle, where their coat of arms, with its distinctive black bear, is still displayed prominently on the outer wall. They stayed until the revolt, and the end of the Bernese city state, in the spring of 1798, during which the castle sustained serious damage, in the year 1803 the canton Bern was divided into official districts and Aarwangen became seat of the district of Aarwangen. The castle was in private hands for a few years, until it was repurchased and restored by the Canton of Bern where it has become the district court, Aarwangen has an area of 9.87 km2. Of this area,4.5 km2 or 45. 6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.57 km2 or 36. 2% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.48 km2 or 15. 0% is settled,0.29 km2 or 2. 9% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km2 or 0. 3% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1. 4% of the area while housing and buildings made up 8. 8%. Of the agricultural land,31. 0% is used for growing crops and 12. 1% is pastures, all the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located on the bank of the Aare. It consists of the village of Aarwangen with the village sections of Bleuerain, Mumenthal, Schürhof, Vorstadt, Hard and Moosberg. The blazon of the coat of arms is Per pale Sable. Aarwangen has a population of 4,408, as of 2010,12. 3% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has changed at a rate of 4. 7%, migration accounted for 3. 9%, while births and deaths accounted for 2. 1%. Most of the population speaks German as their first language, Albanian is the second most common, there are 16 people who speak French,38 people who speak Italian and 4 people who speak Romansh
3.
Adelboden
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Adelboden is a mountain village and a municipality in Switzerland, located in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the Bernese Oberland. Adelboden lies in the west of the Berner Oberland, at the end of the valley of the river Entschlige, Adelboden is a traditional Swiss mountain village on a terrace looking south to the Engstligen waterfalls. Also part of the village are the valleys of Gilbach, Stigelschwand, Boden, Hirzboden. Church and main street are at 1,350 m, the highest point of the area is the Grossstrubel with 3,242 m, the vegetation is alpine and sub-alpine, partially wooded, the slopes, the plateaus, and terraces usually alp meadows. The most salient mountains are Lohner, Steghorn, Wildstrubel, Fitzer, Tschenten, Adelboden has an area of 88.19 km2. Of this area,36.52 km2 or 41. 4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 16.07 km2 or 18. 2% is forested. Of the rest of the land,2.18 km2 or 2. 5% is settled,1.53 km2 or 1. 7% is either rivers or lakes and 31.93 km2 or 36. 2% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1. 5%, out of the forested land,14. 4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3. 0% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,8. 5% is pastures and 32. 9% is used for alpine pastures, all the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas,9. 6% is unproductive vegetation,25. 6% is too rocky for vegetation and 1. 1% of the land is covered by glaciers, on 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Frutigen, the municipalitys former district, was dissolved. On the following day,1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Frutigen-Niedersimmental, the blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent on a Mount Vert an Eagle displayed Sable beaked, langued and membered Gules. Adelboden is first mentioned 608 years ago in 1409 as in valle Adelboden, in 1453, it was mentioned as Adelboden alias silva. The alps Engstligenalp and Silleren belonging to Adelboden are mentioned for the first time in the 13th century, the inhabitants of Engstligental are called forest people. In the 15th century Adelboden got its own church and there were over 50 house fathers vouching for the salary of the minister, in the 16th century Adelboden joined the Reformation, the Catholic minister fled over the Hahnenmoospass to the Catholic Canton of Fribourg. Up to the 19th century, the way to Frutigen was high on the south slope of the Engstligen valley. In the late 19th century a road along the Engstligen river was built joining Adelboden to the rest of the world, in the 1870s the first boarding house was opened by one of the local teachers. It developed into a hotel, which is still in the possession of the same family, around the turn of the century tourism led to a big increase in the population. Adelboden was the destination of the first packaged winter sports holidays, into the 1930s the aerial ropeway to the Engstligenalp was built with further ropeways following
4.
Aegerten
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Aegerten is a municipality in the Biel/Bienne administrative district of the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Aegerten is first mentioned in 1225 as villa Egerdon, there has been a village here since at least the late-Roman era. It lay on the major Roman road from Aventicum to Petinesca over the Pierre-Pertuis pass to Basel, a bridge was built across Zihl river by 368-69. The ruins of the bridge have been discovered beneath the Bürglen village church, very little is known about the village after the collapse of the Roman Empire until the Late Middle Ages. By the late medieval era, Gottstatt Abbey was the landholder in the village. In 1388, the city of Bern acquired the village and in 1393 incorporated it into the Nidau bailiwick, Aegerten remained a small, agrarian village until the 18th century, when shipping on the Zihl river and seasonal work in the Principality of Neuchâtel began to provide additional income. Despite four bridges, the village remained isolated from the growing Swiss rail and road networks in the 19th, as the nearby town of Biel grew in the 1950s, Aegerten finally began to develop into a commuter town and was connected into the Swiss Federal Railways network. Aegerten has an area of 2.17 km2, as of 2012, a total of 0.81 km2 or 37. 3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.61 km2 or 28. 1% is forested. Of the rest of the land,0.63 km2 or 29. 0% is settled,0.11 km2 or 5. 1% is either rivers or lakes. During the same year, industrial buildings made up 2. 8% of the area while housing and buildings made up 15. 2%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other developed areas made up 1. 4% of the area while parks. Out of the land,26. 7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1. 4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,25. 3% is used for growing crops and 9. 2% is pastures, all the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located on the bank of the Nidau-Büren Canal. The municipality has grown together with Brügg and Studen and it consists of the villages of Aegerten and Bürglen along with the new housing developments of Tschannenmatte and Schüracher. On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Nidau, the former district, was dissolved. On the following day,1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Biel/Bienne, the blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Or a Lion rampant Sable langued and vilene Gules and overall a Bendlet wavy Azure. Aegerten has a population of 1,874, as of 2010,13. 8% of the population are resident foreign nationals
5.
Aeschi bei Spiez
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Aeschi bei Spiez is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Aeschi bei Spiez is first mentioned in 1228 as Asshes, in 1269 it was mentioned as Esche. The earliest traces of settlements in the area include scattered La Tene era graves, during the Middle Ages, it was part of the Herrschaft of Mülenen, under the Lords of Kien. The Herrschaft then passed through several nobles, including the Wädenswil. By the 13th century, Aeschi was the center of a large parish, the Romanesque parish church of St. Peter was first mentioned in 1228. The frescoes in the church were painted in the 14th century, in 1352, the city of Bern acquired the village land, while the low court rights remained with other noble families. Under Bernese rule, the village was part of the district of Mülenen. In the 15th and 16th centuries, it part of Frutigen. The town charter was first documented in 1469, in 1528, Bern forced the villagers to adopt the Protestant Reformation. In the following year, the parish was split and the village of Reichenbach became an independent parish, during the 19th century the economy stagnated and the village population began to decrease. The rise of tourism the late 19th century allowed the population to begin to once again. In 1855, the Bad Heustrich medical spa opened in Aeschi and it soon grew into a well known resort and tourist destination. In 1901 the Lötschberg railroad allowed a number of tourists to visit the village. A rail station opened in Mülenen in 1906, in the late 1960s the municipality experienced a building boom as the population grew and as demand for vacation homes rose. By 1990 almost two-thirds of the worked in the services industry. Aeschi bei Spiez has an area of 30.99 km2, of this area,14.35 km2 or 46. 3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 8.5 km2 or 27. 4% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.58 km2 or 5. 1% is settled,0.38 km2 or 1. 2% is either rivers or lakes and 6.11 km2 or 19. 7% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2. 6%, out of the forested land,22. 6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2. 4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees
6.
Affoltern im Emmental
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Affoltern im Emmental is a municipality in the district of Trachselwald in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Affoltern is first mentioned in 1261/63 as Affolterra, the oldest trace of a settlement in the area comes from the Middle Ages. The village church of St. Michael was first mentioned in 1275 and it remained a local chapel until 1484 when Teutonic Knights Commandry of Sumiswald provided funding for a permanent parish priest. In 1528 Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation, however, the Commandry retained patronage rights over the church until 1698. By the 18th century many farmers were raising cattle for meat. In 1764 the cheese exporting company Pionierbauern Sommer was founded in the municipality and it remained in business for over a century before closing in 1869. A cheese co-op opened in 1844 to support the dairy farmers. In the early 20th century the municipality remained isolated and cheese producers and exporters began to leave for other communities. Today about one-third of the jobs in Affoltern are in agriculture with the rest being in small manufacturers, in 1990 a dairy center with a cheese making demonstrations opened. Affoltern im Emmental has an area of 11.51 km2, as of the 2005/06 survey, a total of 8.32 km2 or 72. 3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.27 km2 or 19. 7% is forested. Of rest of the municipality 0.87 km2 or 7. 6% is settled and 0.01 km2 or 0. 1% is unproductive land, from the same survey, housing and buildings made up 4. 3% and transportation infrastructure made up 2. 4%. All of the land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land,42. 2% is used for growing crops and 28. 7% is pasturage, as indicated by the name Affoltern i. E. is situated in the Emmental. It is bordered by Walterswil, Dürrenroth, Sumiswald, Rüegsau, Heimiswil, the well-known mountain Lueg is located in Affoltern. The hamlets of Weier, Rinderbach, Eggerdingen, Heiligenland and Hirsegg belong to Affoltern im Emmental, on 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Trachselwald, the municipalitys former district, was dissolved. On the following day,1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Emmental, the name Affoltern is a derivation of the old German for apple-tree, Affal Tra. The apple-tree features prominently in Affolterns coat of arms, making it an example of canting arms, the blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent an Apple Tree eradicated Vert fructed Gules. Affoltern im Emmental has a population of 1,159, as of 2012,3. 5% of the population are resident foreign nationals
