Gränichen

History

History's first mention of Gränichen was around 1184 under the name of Cranechon. However, archaeological discoveries dating from the Neolithic, as well as the remains of a Celtic castle, show that the area around Gränichen has been settled for quite some time. In the 12th century Gränichen belonged to the monastery of Engelberg and later came under the reign of the Habsburgs, who passed the government of the village to the Lords of the Castle of Liebegg. After 1415, Gränichen belonged to Bern. The construction of the Wynentalbahn railway in 1904 promoted the settlement of local industries.

Geography

The river Wyna flows north at first and heads northwest thereafter. The valley has an average width of about . On both sides of the valley there are steep hills with tributary valleys and small high plateaus. The landscape is not dissimilar to that of the Tafeljura, even though - geographically and geologically speaking - Gränichen lies in the Midland of Switzerland. The hills on the left side of the valley are (from north to south): Manzenberg ( ), Wällenen (559 m), Moosberg (550 m), Heidberg () and Pfendel (). These are foothills of the Schornig (), which marks the transition to the valley of the river Suhre. The hills on the right side of the valley are called Fuden (), Räckholderen (), Breitenberg () and Surberg (). In front of the Breitenberg is the Schulthess () which has almost the shape of an ellipsis. The Dossen () und the high plateau of the Liebegg are foothills of the Surberg. Near the southern border, at an average distance of two kilometers, there are three hamlets, which also belong to the municipality of Gränichen: Rütihof () on Moorbergs, Bleien () and Refental () between Breitenberg, Dossen and Surberg. Gränichen has an area, , of . Of this area, 30.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 56.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 13.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.1%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes). The highest point is at above main sea level on the 'Pfendel', the lowest point is at where the river wyna leaves the village. The seven neighbouring villages are Suhr in the nordwest, Hunzenschwil in the north, Schafisheim in the northeast, Seon in the east, Teufenthal in the south, Unterkulm in the south, Muhen in the southwest and Hirschthal in the west.

Most-observed species

• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  12,034
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  7,705
• Common Blue

  Polyommatus icarus (von Rottemburg, 1775) · Insecta
  6,849
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  5,991
• Marbled White

  Melanargia galathea Linnaeus, 1758 · Insecta
  5,887
• Small Heath

  Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,245
• Indian Balsam

  Impatiens glandulifera Royle · Magnoliopsida
  3,540
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  3,373

Most recent

• M 3.7 — 2026-04-26
  4 km N of Quarten, Switzerland
• 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 3.9 — 2022-09-10
  1 km WSW of Zimmersheim, France
• M 4.1 — 2021-12-24
  2 km WSW of Blamont, France