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Oberbalm
Bernvillage
Oberbalm
Total population
835
Demographic figures from Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Overview below cites Wikipedia and may reference a different year.
City facts
Facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Overview
Oberbalm, is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
Read more on WikipediaHistory & geography
History
Oberbalm is first mentioned in 1228 as Balmes. The village grew up around a medieval pilgrimage site. It was part of the lands of the counts of Laupen-Sternberg, who lived in a castle near Oberbalm above the Scherliau river. In 1388, Bern acquired rights over the region, and Oberbalm became part of the Bernese court of Sternberg. It remained a part of Sternberg until 1803 when it became part of the Oberamt of Bern. In 1831 the Oberamt was dissolved and Oberbalm was transferred to the successor Amtsbezirk of Bern. The counts founded and supported the village church of St. Sulpitius, which was built before 1215 and first mentioned in 1228 in the Lausanne Chartular. Portions of the original romanesque building are still visible in the nave. The murals were painted in 1480 while the tower and choir were built between 1517 and 1527. Pilgrimages to Oberbalm to see the relics of St. Sulpitius became so profitable that in 1462, the Bernese City Council voted to move them to the new Cathedral of Bern. During the Protestant Reformation the village converted to the new religion and in 1528 the village church was placed under the authority of the city of Bern. Until the 20th century, the village of Oberbalm was only barely larger than the surrounding hamlets. In 1838, there were only 19 houses in the village proper, while the surrounding hamlets had a total of 114. The village was the center of the surrounding communities because it had a church, a schoolhouse, a blacksmith and a tavern. However, during the 20th century, the village of Oberbalm grew as commuters moved from Bern and settled in the village.
Geography
Oberbalm has an area of . Of this area, or 74.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 20.8% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.7%. Out of the forested land, 18.2% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 21.2% is used for growing crops and 50.5% is pastures, while 2.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
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
Nearby places in Bern
- Aekenmatt2.1 mi away
- Zimmerwald3.2 mi away
- Englisberg3.6 mi away
- Rüeggisberg4 mi away · pop. 1,810
- Kehrsatz4.1 mi away · pop. 4,164
- Albligen4.3 mi away · pop. 468
- Schwarzenburg4.8 mi away · pop. 6,773
- Neuenegg4.9 mi away · pop. 4,881
- Rümligen5.3 mi away · pop. 440
- Rüschegg-Graben5.4 mi away
- Bern5.7 mi away · pop. 128,848
- Belpberg5.7 mi away · pop. 373
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 this place
Recent natural events nearby
Ground air-quality sensors
Recently spotted species
Events
Gallery
Official Identifiers
BFS — Swiss Federal Statistical Office
- BFS-Nr
- 357
- Population (Wikidata)
- 853
- Wikidata
- Q65883
Gemeindenummer via Wikidata P771
Sources
- • Wikipedia
- • Wikidata
- • Open-Meteo / sunrise-sunset.org
- • Wikipedia Pageviews API
- • BFS — Swiss Federal Statistical Office — Gemeindenummer via Wikidata P771