Sumiswald facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sumiswald
|
||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
|
||
 Sumiswald
Location in Switzerland
Sumiswald
Location in Canton of Bern
|
||
| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Bern | |
| District | Emmental | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 59.34 km2 (22.91 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 702 m (2,303 ft) | |
| Population
(Dec 2020 )
|
||
| • Total | 5,044 | |
| • Density | 85.002/km2 (220.15/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
3454
|
|
| Surrounded by | Affoltern im Emmental, Dürrenroth, Eriswil, Langnau im Emmental, Luthern (LU), Lützelflüh, Rüegsau, Trachselwald, Trub, Wyssachen | |
Sumiswald is a municipality in the district of the Emmental administrative district in the canton of Bern, Switzerland. It is mostly known for being the manufacturing location of the Swiss railway clock.
Contents
History
Sumiswald is first mentioned in 1225 as Smoldeswalt. The name either comes from the Germanic settler "Suomolt", the Latin term summa vallis ("bank over the valley") or the designation "Zum Oswald" ("to Oswald"), because in the Middle Ages there was a chapel in Sumiswald dedicated to Oswald of Northumbria.
The area was probably settled during the Middle Ages, when several castles were built. From 1225, Sumiswald was a commandery of the Teutonic Knights of the "Ballei" Swabia-Alsace-Burgundy. In 1525, the town bought its way out of serfdom, but stayed a part of the Teutonic Knights even after the Protestant Reformation was introduced in 1528; Sumiswald was sold to the city of Bern for 36,000 Reichs thaler in 1698.
The village Church of St. Mary was first mentioned in 1225 along with the village. The old church was replaced with a new building in 1510-12. When Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation, the village converted and the municipality acquired the patronage rights over the church.
Hans Haslibacher, who was executed on October 20, 1571 in Bern because of his Anabaptist conviction came from Sumiswald; he was the last execution of an Anabaptist in Bern.
The village was surrounded by a number of alpine meadows and seasonal alpine herding was an important part of the local economy. The first contracts governing ownership and access to the meadows are from 1498. In the following century many of the high forests were cleared to provide additional meadows for grazing. In 1572 the municipality passed laws to limit further clearing to prevent total deforestation. The settlements of Wasen, Ey and Grünen all developed out of small seasonal herding camps. In the following centuries ownership of the fields in the valley and the alpine meadows became firmly entrenched, creating a class of wealthy landowners and a class of poor artisans, day laborers and sharecroppers. The poor were forced to begin small scale spinning and weaving to supplement their income. By the 18th century, Sumiswald, was a local center of the yarn and cloth trade as well as horse breeding and cheese production. It attempted to become a market town, but other surrounding market towns blocked the attempt five times in the 18th century. Finally in 1801 Sumiswald was granted the right to hold five yearly fairs.
Following the 1798 French invasion, Sumiswald became the capital of the Helvetic Republic district of Unteremmental. After the collapse of the Republic and 1803 Act of Mediation it joined the newly created Trachselwald District. In the 19th century the local yarn and cloth industry declined and was replaced with other industries including manufacturing musical instruments. The construction of the Emmental road in 1875, the Ramsei-Huttwil railroad in 1908 and the Sumiswald-Wasen rail line in 1915 brought new factories and industry to the municipality. Today Sumiswald is a regional cultural and economic center, with workers commuting into the municipality from surrounding villages. There are secondary schools in Sumiswald and Wasen as well as a retirement home.
Geography
_078.JPG)
Sumiswald consists of three villages (Sumiswald, Grünen and Wasen), two hamlets (Gammenthal and Griesbach) and scattered farm houses and alpine meadows in the lower Emmental. It is one of the largest municipalities in the canton.
Sumiswald has an area of 59.34 km2 (22.91 sq mi). As of the 2006 survey, a total of 28.44 km2 (10.98 sq mi) or 47.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 27.45 km2 (10.60 sq mi) or 46.3% is forested. Of rest of the municipality 3.05 km2 (1.18 sq mi) or 5.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.38 km2 (0.15 sq mi) or 0.6% is either rivers or lakes and 0.06 km2 (15 acres) or 0.1% is unproductive land.
From the same survey, housing and buildings made up 2.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.7%. A total of 43.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.9% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 11.3% is used for growing crops and 25.0% is pasturage and 10.9% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Trachselwald, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Emmental.
Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Argent a Bar Gules and of the last.
Demographics
_093.JPG)
Sumiswald has a population (as of December 2020[update]) of 5,044. As of 2012[update], 5.5% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Between the last 2 years (2010-2012) the population changed at a rate of 0.0%. Migration accounted for -0.1%, while births and deaths accounted for -0.4%.
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (4,991 or 94.0%) as their first language, Albanian is the second most common (74 or 1.4%) and Serbo-Croatian is the third (48 or 0.9%). There are 17 people who speak French, 17 people who speak Italian and 2 people who speak Romansh.
As of 2013[update], the population was 49.5% male and 50.5% female. The population was made up of 2,349 Swiss men (46.7% of the population) and 140 (2.8%) non-Swiss men. There were 2,404 Swiss women (47.8%) and 137 (2.7%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 2,532 or about 47.7% were born in Sumiswald and lived there in 2000. There were 1,745 or 32.9% who were born in the same canton, while 410 or 7.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 396 or 7.5% were born outside of Switzerland.
Economy
The clock manufacturers Moser-Baer, manufacturer of the Swiss railway clocks, can be found in Sumiswald.
Agriculture, forestry or lumber production, manufacturing and construction are the other main industries.
Heritage sites of national significance
The Gasthof Bären (Bären Inn), the village rectory and the Swiss Reformed church are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire village of Sumiswald is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.
Attractions
The glass windows of the church Mariekirche depict benefactors with their patron saints.
The old Teutonic Knight castle is somewhat outside of Sumiswald. It was endowed in 1225 with the condition that a hospital be housed in it, therefore the castle's name is Spittel.
It is said that all the men in Sumiswald could have taken a seat at the large table in the inn "Bären" after the plague in 1434.
-
The Gasthof Bären
-
Village rectory
-
Village church
-
Stained glass window in the church depicting benefactors
-
Choir of the Swiss Reformed church
Education
In Sumiswald about 54.6% of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 13.8% have completed additional higher education.
The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten, followed by six years of Primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship.
See also
In Spanish: Sumiswald para niños
