Allmendingen b. Bern

History

Allmendingen is first mentioned in 1256 as Alwandigen under the control of Rudolf von Alwandingen. Some traces of a prehistoric settlement and High Medieval fortifications were discovered in the Hüenliwald. The fortifications were abandoned by 1256, when the village was first mentioned. During the High Medieval period, Allmendingen Castle was built in the village. The castle was later abandoned and fell into ruin. The ruins were still visible in the village in 1729, but have since vanished. In 1256 the Lords of Allmendingen sold both Allmendingen and the village of Märchligen to Interlaken Monastery. In 1528, the city of Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and began imposing it on the Bernese Oberland. The monastery and its villages rose up in an unsuccessful rebellion against the new faith. After Bern imposed its will on the monastery, they secularized it and annexed all its lands, including Allmendingen. Starting in the 17th century, Bernese patricians, trying to escape the city, built country manor houses in Allmendingen. These included the 1607 Neue Schloss for Kaspar von Graffenrieds and the 1723 Märchligen Estate for Samuel Morlot, both of which were used as summer residences. Other nobles built country estates and became gentleman farmers, including the Alter Sandacker estate (which was built before 1794) and the Hübeli estate from 1846. During the early 20th century agriculture remained the major source of income in the village, while Bern grew around the village. In 1972 a number of zoning restrictions were lifted which finally allowed new construction. The municipality is located outside Bern but has easy access to the city along the old Bern-Thun highway, the Bern-Thun railway line from 1859, the Bern-Langnau-Lucerne railway from…

Geography

Allmendingen has an area of . Of this area, or 65.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 21.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 9.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.6% is either rivers or lakes and or 1.8% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 47.4% is used for growing crops and 14.7% is pastures, while 2.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

Most-observed species

• Southern Damselfly

  Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) · Insecta
  4,430
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  3,914
• Common Toad

  Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  3,255
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  3,177
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  2,793
• Eurasian beaver

  Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  2,643
• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  2,525
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  2,452

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 3.5 — 2024-06-27
  1 km SSW of Todtmoos, Germany
• M 4.2 — 2024-06-04
  2 km NNW of Unteriberg, Switzerland
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-09
  9 km SW of Evolène, Switzerland
• M 4.4 — 2023-03-22
  1 km NW of Pont-de-Roide, France
• M 3.9 — 2022-09-10
  1 km WSW of Zimmersheim, France