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Beatenberg
Bernvillage
Beatenberg
Total population
1,227
Demographic figures from Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Overview
Beatenberg is a municipality in the Interlaken district of the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
Beatenberg is first mentioned in 1275 as super rupes. In 1281 it was mentioned as ob den fluen and in 1357 as Sant Beaten berge. The earliest trace of a settlement in the area are some early medieval graves near the Beatushöhlen (Saint Beatus cave). According to legend, Saint Beatus was a Scottish or Irish monk who was sent to evangelize the Helvetii. After finding success in the Jura Mountains, he moved into the Beatenberg area where he defeated a dragon and established a hermitage in the cave overlooking Thun Lake. While the story is probably legendary, the caves became a pilgrimage destination. A chapel was built by the cave for the visiting pilgrims. By 1230 the chapel had grown into a parish church, which in the following century was brought under the control of Interlaken Monastery. During the 13th century a number of local nobles owned land or rights in and around the area. In 1334 Interlaken Monastery acquired some land in the village. The monastery eventually grew into the largest landlord in Beatenburg. However, in 1528, Bern adopted the Protestant Reformation and secularized Interlaken Monastery. The village was acquired by Bern and placed in the bailiwick of Interlaken. The Catholic pilgrimage chapel was promptly closed and the cave was walled up. The reformed leaders built a wooden reformed church on a nearby hill in 1534–40. In 1762 the village became part of the district of Unterseen. Following the 1798 French invasion and the Act of Mediation in 1803, Beatenberg became part of the newly recreated Interlaken District. The municipality is made up of several scattered farming hamlets. Traditionally they lived from seasonal alpine herding along with small farms. In the 18th century several wool spinning mills moved into the village and…
Geography
Beatenberg is located in the Bernese Oberland on a steppe beneath the Niederhorn and high above Lake Thun. Beatenberg affords good views of the Jungfrau Group (Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau). Beatenberg is linked to Beatenbucht on Lake Thun by the Thunersee–Beatenberg funicular, which connects with shipping services on the lake. The Beatenberg-Niederhorn gondola lift runs to the summit of the Niederhorn. Beatenberg has an area of . Of this area, or 32.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 53.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 4.2% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes and or 8.9% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.5%. Out of the forested land, 46.6% of the total land area is heavily forested and 6.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 9.5% is pastures and 23.2% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 5.6% is unproductive vegetation and 3.3% is too rocky for vegetation.
Excerpted from the corresponding Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA).
Geography
Coordinates & boundaries from the US Census TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Climate
Air quality
Walkability
Amenities nearby
Wildlife & biodiversity
Earthquake history
Photos
Sights & places nearby
Notable people from here
People born within ~10 km, from Wikidata (CC0). Click any name for their Wikipedia article.
Nearby places in Bern
- Sundlauenen0.7 mi away
- Merligen2.1 mi away
- Leissigen2.7 mi away · pop. 1,100
- Krattigen3.5 mi away · pop. 1,155
- Faulensee4.1 mi away
- Gunten4.1 mi away
- Schwanden4.2 mi away
- Goldswil4.4 mi away
- Saxeten4.5 mi away · pop. 128
- Habkern4.5 mi away · pop. 624
- Gsteigwiler5.1 mi away · pop. 434
- Bönigen5.3 mi away · pop. 2,514
Geography & sun
Elevation, sunrise/sunset and daylight from Open-Meteo. Solar climatology from NASA POWER.
Nearby airports
Public attention
Pageview totals from the Wikimedia Pageviews API.
Books about Beatenberg
Search results from Open Library.
Recent natural events nearby
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Events
Gallery
Official Identifiers
BFS — Swiss Federal Statistical Office
- BFS-Nr
- 571
- Population (Wikidata)
- 1,196
- Wikidata
- Q68108
Gemeindenummer via Wikidata P771
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • Wikidata
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • Open Library
- • Wikidata SPARQL (CC0) — population, area, elevation, inception, head of government, Commons image
- • BFS — Swiss Federal Statistical Office — Gemeindenummer via Wikidata P771