Toffen

History

Toffen is first mentioned in 1148 as Toffen. The oldest trace of a settlement in the area is a Bronze Age grave which was discovered near the castle. During the Roman era there was a manor house near Bodenacker. In addition to the house, Roman coins and ceramics have been found around the municipality. The Romans also quarried Tuff stone from the area and the Latin word for Tuff, tofus probably becoming Toffen. By the 13th century it was part of the Herrschaft of the Freiherr von Belp-Montenach. Around 1300 the village was acquired by another noble family and for several centuries it was owned by a number of different noble families. By the mid-14th century Bern ruled over the village and the owners now included Bernese patrician families. The castle was first mentioned in 1306 and was the center of the local Herrschaft. In 1507 Bartholomew May expanded and renovated it into a late Gothic country manor house. In 1628 Loy Knoblauch redesigned the entire interior. In 1671-73 Johann Georg renovated the castle into a Baroque manor. Around 1750 Georg Samuel von Werdt expanded and renovated the castle again. Following the 1798 French invasion, and the creation of the Helvetic Republic the owners of the castle lost their medieval rights to rule over, judge and punish the villagers. However, they retained ownership of the castle and it remained in private hands. The Gürbe river correction projects of 1855 to 1911 drained the swampy valley floor and opened up additional farm and settlement land. The construction of the Gürbetal railroad in 1901 made it easier for residents to move to and from the municipality. In the 1960s, good road and rail links allowed it to grow into a bedroom community for the growing city of Bern. In the 1980s, Toffen became part of the Bern…

Geography

Toffen has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 62.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 19.4% is forested. The rest of the municipality is or 16.9% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes. During the same year, industrial buildings made up 1.6% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 8.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.3%. A total of 17.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 38.4% is used for growing crops and 22.2% is pasturage, while 1.8% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

Most-observed species

• Annual Fleabane

  Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. · Magnoliopsida
  3,429
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  3,184
• Southern Damselfly

  Coenagrion mercuriale (Charpentier, 1840) · Insecta
  3,032
• Common Toad

  Bufo bufo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Amphibia
  2,862
• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  2,704
• Eurasian beaver

  Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  2,405
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  2,208
• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  2,066

Most recent

• M 4.1 — 2025-07-21
  4 km E of Frutigen, Switzerland
• M 3.2 — 2024-05-09
  9 km SW of Evolène, 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
• M 4.1 — 2021-12-24
  2 km WSW of Blamont, France