Municipalities of the canton of Bern facts for kids

Municipalities in the canton of Bern

Imagine Switzerland as a big puzzle! Each piece is a canton, like Bern. And inside each canton, there are even smaller pieces called municipalities. These are like towns or small districts, and they're super important for how things are run in Switzerland. As of 2024, the canton of Bern has 335 of these municipalities. They are the local communities where people live, work, and go to school, and they have their own local governments.

Exploring Bern's Municipalities

Here's a list of all the municipalities you can find in the canton of Bern:

How Municipalities Change: Mergers

Sometimes, smaller municipalities decide to join together. This is called a merger. They combine their resources and people to form a new, often larger, municipality. This can happen for many reasons, like making local government more efficient or sharing services better. Here are some of the recent mergers in the canton of Bern:

Mergers in the Early 2000s

• January 1, 2004
  • Englisberg and Zimmerwald joined to create Wald.
  • Niederwichtrach and Oberwichtrach combined to form Wichtrach.

• January 1, 2007
  • Forst and Längenbühl merged to become Forst-Längenbühl.
  • Gutenburg and Madiswil joined to form Madiswil.

• January 1, 2008
  • Oberönz and Herzogenbuchsee merged to become Herzogenbuchsee.

• January 1, 2009
  • Wanzwil, Heimenhausen, and Röthenbach bei Herzogenbuchsee combined to form Heimenhausen.
  • Rüti bei Riggisberg and Riggisberg merged to become Riggisberg.

Mergers in the 2010s

• January 1, 2010
  • Ballmoos and Jegenstorf joined to form Jegenstorf.
  • Twann and Tüscherz-Alfermée merged to create Twann-Tüscherz.
  • Untersteckholz and Langenthal combined to form Langenthal.
  • Aeschlen bei Oberdiessbach and Oberdiessbach merged to become Oberdiessbach.

• January 1, 2011
  • Bettenhausen and Bollodingen joined to form Bettenhausen.
  • Busswil bei Büren and Lyss merged to become Lyss.
  • Leimiswil, Kleindietwil, and Madiswil combined to form Madiswil.
  • Wahlern and Albligen merged to create Schwarzenburg.

• January 1, 2012
  • Belp and Belpberg joined to form Belp.

• January 1, 2013
  • Kallnach and Niederried bei Kallnach merged to become Kallnach.
  • Rapperswil BE and Ruppoldsried combined to form Rapperswil BE.
  • Münsingen and Trimstein joined to form Münsingen.

• January 1, 2014
  • A large merger happened when Büren zum Hof, Etzelkofen, Fraubrunnen, Grafenried, Limpach, Mülchi, Schalunen, and Zauggenried all joined to form Fraubrunnen.
  • Gadmen and Innertkirchen merged to become Innertkirchen.
  • Jegenstorf, Münchringen, and Scheunen combined to form Jegenstorf.
  • Bleiken bei Oberdiessbach and Oberdiessbach joined to form Oberdiessbach.
  • Lamboing, Diesse, and Prêles merged to create Plateau de Diesse.
  • Plagne and Vauffelin combined to form Sauge.
  • Höfen bei Thun, Niederstocken, and Oberstocken joined to form Stocken-Höfen.
  • Kienersrüti and Uttigen merged to become Uttigen.

• January 1, 2015
  • La Heutte and Péry joined to form Péry-La Heutte.
  • Châtelat, Monible, Sornetan, and Souboz combined to create Petit-Val.
  • Bévilard, Malleray, and Pontenet merged to form Valbirse.

• January 1, 2016
  • Ersigen, Niederösch, and Oberösch joined to form Ersigen.
  • Bangerten and Rapperswil BE merged to become Rapperswil BE.
  • Hermiswil and Seeberg combined to form Seeberg.

• January 1, 2017
  • Münsingen and Tägertschi joined to form Münsingen.

• January 1, 2018
  • Grosshöchstetten and Schlosswil merged to become Grosshöchstetten.
  • Gelterfingen, Kirchdorf, Mühledorf, and Noflen combined to form Kirchdorf.

• January 1, 2019
  • Golaten and Kallnach joined to form Kallnach.

Recent Mergers (2020s)

• January 1, 2020
  • Schwendibach and Steffisburg merged to become Steffisburg.
  • Niederbipp and Wolfisberg combined to form Niederbipp.
  • Kirchenthurnen, Lohnstorf, and Mühlethurnen joined to create Thurnen.

• January 1, 2021
  • Langenthal and Obersteckholz merged to become Langenthal.
  • Riggisberg and Rümligen combined to form Riggisberg.
  • Hindelbank and Mötschwil joined to form Hindelbank.

• January 1, 2022
  • Clavaleyres and Murten (from the Canton of Freiburg) merged to become Murten.

• January 1, 2023
  • Diemerswil and Münchenbuchsee joined to form Münchenbuchsee.

• January 1, 2024
  • Wangen an der Aare and Wangenried merged to become Wangen an der Aare.
  • Reutigen and Zwieselberg combined to form Reutigen.

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Comunas de Berna para niños