Worben

History

Worben is first mentioned in 1228 as apud Worbun. The oldest trace of a settlement in the area is a single Neolithic artifact discovered during construction of the Binnen Canal. Part of the Roman era station of Petinesca is located in the modern municipal borders, as well as a Roman road. During the Middle Ages the two villages of Oberworben and Unterworben were ruled by the Counts of Neuchâtel-Nidau. The monasteries at Gottstatt and Frienisberg owned most of the land in the villages. In 1398 the entire Neuchâtel-Nidau district of Inselgau, including Worben, was acquired by the city of Bern. While the two villages had their own fields, they were always administered as a single municipality. In 1463, the hamlet of Worbenbad was mentioned as part of the municipality. In 1783, all three settlements had a total of 26 houses. Both villages were periodically flooded by the Aare river. The Jura water correction projects of 1868-91 finally ended the flood risk. A bridge replaced a ferry on the Lyss road in 1886-87. In 1890 the Seeland Baumschulen company opened a nursery in the municipality. Worben was part of the parish of Bürglen until 1952 when it became the center of the Worben parish. In the 1960s the population of Worben grew as the surrounding towns of Biel, Lyss, Bern and Aarberg grew into industrial centers. A number of new houses, schools and sport facilities were built for the growing population. In 1991 a regional group home and workshop for the disabled opened. In Worbenbad, a home for the poor opened in 1876. It later became a regional nursing home and in 2011 had about 400 residents.

Geography

Worben has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 62.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 7.5% is forested. The rest of the municipality is or 29.3% is settled (buildings or roads), or 0.7% is either rivers or lakes. During the same year, industrial buildings made up 2.5% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 18.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 5.4%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.1%. A total of 6.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 47.5% is used for growing crops and 10.4% is pasturage, while 4.3% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is in lakes.

Most-observed species

• European roe deer

  Capreolus capreolus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  13,333
• red fox

  Vulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Mammalia
  8,794
• Meadow Brown

  Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  5,067
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,888
• European hare

  Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778 · Mammalia
  4,332
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,156
• Small Tortoiseshell

  Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) · Insecta
  3,934
• Eurasian beaver

  Castor fiber Linnaeus, 1758 · Mammalia
  3,803

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