Moosseedorf

History

Moosseedorf is first mentioned in 1242 as Sedorf. In 1389 it was mentioned as Mossedorf. In the 18th and early 19th century, it officially became Moosseedorf to avoid confusion with Seedorf in the District of Aarberg, which is also in the Canton of Bern. During the Middle Ages the village belonged to the Kyburg Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) family of Seedorf or Moser. The family only appears in historical records during the 13th and 14th centuries, so very little is known about their history or their rule. One well documented record comes from 1242 when they quarreled with the Priory of St. Peter's Island over the patronage rights to Moosseedorf's village church. They ruled over Moosseedorf from their water castle which was located about northeast of the village church. However, in 1256-57 the brothers Ulrich and Berchtold von Seedorf traded their estates in Moosseedorf to the Knights Hospitaller of Münchenbuchsee Commandery for other estates. The Commandery acquired control over the castle, church, land and people in the village. In 1528 Bern adopted the Protestant Reformation and secularized all Bernese monasteries including the Münchenbuchsee Commandery. Moosseedorf village became part of the secular bailiwick and low court of Münchenbuchsee. In 1721 Bern traded the village to Hieronymus von Erlach, who then combined the village with Hofwil, linking the local court with that in Hofwil. The Romanesque village church was built on top of at least one earlier church. The choir was rebuilt around 1520–25. Following the 1798 French invasion, the Erlach family lost their authority in Moosseedorf. With the Act of Mediation in 1803, Moosseedorf became part of the Fraubrunnen district. The first attempt to drain the marshy land around…

Geography

Moosseedorf has an area of . Of this area, or 30.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 35.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 30.4% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.7% is either rivers or lakes and or 1.6% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 3.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 9.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 7.6%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 9.0%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 23.0% is used for growing crops and 6.3% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.

Most-observed species

• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  7,874
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  5,606
• Southern Damselfly

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

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  4,221
• Common Toad

  Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  4,056
• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  3,944
• Eurasian beaver

  Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  3,538
• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  3,196

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 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