Hermrigen

History

Hermrigen is first mentioned in 1249 as Hermeringen. The oldest trace of a settlement in the area are scattered Stone Age (probably Mesolithic) items which were found at Schönbrünnefeld. A Hallstatt era grave mound has been found in the Hermrigenmoos-Holehölzli. A few Roman era artifacts were also found around the municipality. During the Middle Ages a number of Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) or knightly families owned land or rights in the village along with Frienisberg Abbey. In 1335 the Knight Ulrich von Sutz sold his land in Hermrigen to the Count of Neuchâtel-Nidau. In 1398, the city of Bern acquired the lands of the Counts, including Hermeigen. Under Bernese rule it was combined with the village of Merzligen-Niklaus to form the court of Hermrigen. That organization remained until the reorganization following the 1798 French invasion. The village is part of the parish of Täuffelen. The Jura water correction projects of 1868 to 1891 helped drain many of the marshes outside the village. Drainage projects in 1925-33 and 1977-89 helped open up additional farmland. A primary school was built in 1971 and is shared with the municipality of Merzligen. Today about two-thirds of the working population commutes to jobs in nearby towns and cities.

Geography

Hermrigen has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 50.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 42.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 7.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and or 0.3% is unproductive land. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 4.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.3%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 39.5% is used for growing crops and 9.1% is pastures, while 2.0% is used for orchards or vine crops.

Most-observed species

• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  10,403
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  6,936
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  5,089
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,301
• European hare

  Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 · Mammalia
  4,208
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  4,200
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,193
• Eurasian beaver

  Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  3,659

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 4.4 — 2023-03-22
  1 km NW of Pont-de-Roide, France
• M 3.9 — 2022-09-10
  1 km WSW of Zimmersheim, France
• M 2.7 — 2022-08-23
  4 km S of Turtmann, Switzerland
• M 4.1 — 2021-12-24
  2 km WSW of Blamont, France