Zimmerwald facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Zimmerwald
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
||
 Zimmerwald
Location in Switzerland
Zimmerwald
Location in Canton of Bern
|
||
| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Bern | |
| District | Seftigen | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 8.94 km2 (3.45 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 840 m (2,760 ft) | |
| Population | ||
| • Total | 870 | |
| • Density | 97.3/km2 (252.0/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
3086
|
|
Zimmerwald was a small town in Switzerland, located in the Canton of Bern. It sat on a hill not far from the city of Bern. On January 1, 2004, Zimmerwald joined with another town called Englisberg to form a new town named Wald.
In 2002, about 870 people lived in Zimmerwald. The town's symbol, called a coat of arms, showed three fir trees on three green mountain peaks.
Contents
A Look Back: Zimmerwald's History
Zimmerwald was first settled a long time ago, between the years 800 and 900. People from a group called the Ciberni were among the first to live on the "Längenberg" (Long Mountain), which is where Zimmerwald is located. The town was first written about in official papers during the Middle Ages. In 1999, Zimmerwald celebrated its 700th birthday!
The Famous Zimmerwald Conference
Zimmerwald is known around the world because of a very important meeting that happened there in September 1915. This meeting was called the Zimmerwald Conference. Many important socialist leaders from all over Europe came to talk, including Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin.
The meeting was organized by Robert Grimm from Bern. At this conference, the international workers' movement split into two main groups: one that wanted to make changes through politics (social democrats) and another that wanted to make changes through revolution.
Cool Places to Visit in Zimmerwald
Wind Instruments Museum: A Musical Journey
The Zimmerwald wind instruments museum has a huge collection of musical instruments. It has about 1,000 wind instruments from different time periods, plus some percussion instruments. You can see some really rare items there, like old Germanic lures, serpents, and special flap trumpets. They also have Swiss alphorns, which are very long horns used in the Alps!
Zimmerwald Observatory: Looking at the Stars
The Zimmerwald Observatory is a special place that helps scientists with maps and measurements. It's the main point used for the CH1903+ Swiss coordinate system, which is like a giant grid that helps locate places in Switzerland very precisely.
Famous People from Zimmerwald
Many interesting people have lived in or come from Zimmerwald:
- Gunvor Guggisberg (born 1974), a Swiss entertainer.
- Bruno Messerli (born 1931), a geographer who studies the Earth's surface.
- Hans Rudolf Streit (1910–1982), a Swiss government official.
- Katrin Streit-Eggimann, a Swiss politician.
- Judith Wyder (born 1988), a talented athlete.
