Meikirch

History

Meikirch is first mentioned in 1208 as Mönchilcha. Evidence of prehistoric settlements in Meikirch include rich Hallstatt sites in Grächwil and a Roman estate with wall paintings in Meikirch. The modern village was first settled and owned by the Monastery of Frienisberg. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the village was owned by the Bernburg family of Bolligen. During the 16th century, it was owned by the hereditary Schultheiss family of Aarberg, the Aebischers. In 1555 the Aebischer family sold the village to the city of Bern. The village church was first mentioned in 1275, but was built in the 7th and 8th century on top of the ruins of a Roman villa. Portions of the early medieval and medieval churches have been preserved in spite of later alterations. The church tower is from the 12th century. In 1528, after the Protestant Reformation, the church came under the authority of Bern. After the 1798 French invasion, it became part of the District of Zollikofen. Five years later, after the collapse of the Helvetic Republic, it was placed in the District of Aarberg. The municipality was on the old Bern-Frienisberg-Aarberg road and during the 18th and 19th centuries was part of the postal route between those towns. In 1851-52 a new road was built between Wohlen and Frieswil which bypassed Meikirch. The population began to decline after 1850 and the rate increased after World War I. During this time, the local farms changed from grain farming to cattle and dairy farming, which required fewer people and drove villagers away from Meikirch. The decline stopped with improved transport infrastructure, including the 1948 Postauto route to Bern. The population began to increase when, in 1960, a new road to Bern was completed. The old village houses were rebuilt and the new…

Geography

Meikirch has an area, , of . Of this area, or 63.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 26.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 9.4% is settled (buildings or roads). Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 6.2% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.3%. Out of the forested land, nearly all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 47.5% is used for growing crops and 14.6% is pastures, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. The municipality is a distant part of the agglomeration of Bern on the south-eastern edge of the Frienisberg plateau. It consists of the villages of Meikirch, Ortschwaben (first mentioned in 1185 as Nortsuaben) and Wahlendorf, the hamlets of Grächwil, Weissenstein and Äzikofen as well as scattered farms.

Most-observed species

• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  9,846
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  6,783
• Southern Damselfly

  Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) · Insecta
  4,741
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,527
• Eurasian beaver

  Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  4,504
• Common Toad

  Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  4,374
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  4,149
• Red Admiral

  Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  3,404

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