Muri bei Bern is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

History

Muri is first mentioned in 1180 as ''Mure'' while Gümligen appears in 1239 as ''Gumelingen'' or ''Gumlingin'' Archaeological finds at Schlosshügel, unearthed in 1832, show that Muri was already settled in the era of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. The earliest documentary evidence for the name was in 1180 when a clergyman named Burkhard made transactions with wealthy residents. At that time Muri belonged to the dominion of Geristein, which in 1298 was conquered by the city of

. The holdings consisted of the four so-called parishes

Bolligen Bolligen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district of the canton of Bern, Switzerland. In the historical center is a twelfth-century church, with a benefice barn and parsonage from the 16th century. History Bolligen is fir ...

, Muri,

Stettlen Stettlen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Stettlen is first mentioned in 1146 as ''Stetelon''. Archeological excavations have found evidence of several prehistoric set ...

, and Vechigen. As the emerging Bern conquered the territories, it left the municipalities untouched, beginning the long-standing tradition of municipal autonomy. In the course of the centuries, the residents of the municipality lived in relative stability, in which the major changes in European and Swiss history seemed to pass them by. Major structural and commercial changes began to take place at the beginning of the 20th century. It followed

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

and the trains from the city to the countryside. In the decade between 1920 and 1930, the municipal population grew from 2435 to 3938, or 62%.

Geography

Muri bei Bern has an area of . Of this area, or 26.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 21.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 49.7% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.8% is either rivers or lakes and or 0.7% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2009 data accessed 25 March 2010 Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 3.0% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 32.1% and transportation infrastructure made up 11.7%. while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 2.2%. Out of the forested land, 20.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 18.2% is used for growing crops and 6.8% is pastures, while 1.2% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The highest point is on the Dentenberg Mountain; the lowest point is at the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...

River. The municipality is located on a terrace above the right bank of the

river and is part of the

agglomeration Agglomeration may refer to: * Urban agglomeration, in standard English * Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as " city cluster". * Economies of ag ...

of Bern. It consists of the villages of Muri and Gümligen. On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Bern, the municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland.Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz
accessed 4 April 2011

Coat of Arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

of the municipal coat of arms is ''per pale Sable and Argent, a Fess embattled counterchanged''.

Demographics

Muri bei Bern has a population () of . , 12.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals.Statistical office of the Canton of Bern
accessed 4 January 2012 Over the last 10 years (2000-2010) the population has changed at a rate of 2.1%. Migration accounted for 5.2%, while births and deaths accounted for -3.4%.
accessed 18-July-2012 Muri also provides a tram service called Bernmobil and a bus service from RBS. Most of the population () speaks

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

(11,180 or 88.9%) as their first language,

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

is the second most common (383 or 3.0%) and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

is the third (186 or 1.5%). There are 178 people who speak

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and 8 people who speak Romansh. , the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The population was made up of 5,252 Swiss men (41.6% of the population) and 842 (6.7%) non-Swiss men. There were 5,804 Swiss women (46.0%) and 727 (5.8%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality, 2,290 or about 18.2% were born in Muri bei Bern and lived there in 2000. There were 5,538 or 44.1% who were born in the same canton, while 2,448 or 19.5% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,652 or 13.1% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 56.5% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 25.7%. , there were 4,612 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 6,335 married individuals, 836 widows or widowers and 788 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 - 2000
accessed 2 February 2011 , there were 1,989 households that consist of only one person and 227 households with five or more people. , a total of 5,427 apartments (93.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 268 apartments (4.6%) were seasonally occupied and 103 apartments (1.8%) were empty.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB - Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 - Gebäude und Wohnungen
accessed 28 January 2011 , the construction rate of new housing units was 0.2 new units per 1000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.19%. The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:1020 height:210 PlotArea = top:10 left:100 bottom:50 right:100 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:13000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:3000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:600 start:0 PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1764 from:start till:446 text:"446" bar:1850 from:start till:1142 text:"1,142" bar:1860 from:start till:1211 text:"1,211" bar:1870 from:start till:1197 text:"1,197" bar:1880 from:start till:1176 text:"1,176" bar:1888 from:start till:1217 text:"1,217" bar:1900 from:start till:1341 text:"1,341" bar:1910 from:start till:1650 text:"1,650" bar:1920 from:start till:2435 text:"2,435" bar:1930 from:start till:3938 text:"3,938" bar:1941 from:start till:4927 text:"4,927" bar:1950 from:start till:5845 text:"5,845" bar:1960 from:start till:7855 text:"7,855" bar:1970 from:start till:10174 text:"10,174" bar:1980 from:start till:12285 text:"12,285" bar:1990 from:start till:12680 text:"12,680" bar:2000 from:start till:12571 text:"12,571"

Heritage sites of national significance

The Hofgut and

Gümligen Castle Gümligen Castle is a castle in the municipality of Muri bei Bern of the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. History The manor house was built around 1736-39 for head postmaster Beat Fischer by ...

are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Notable sights and recreation

* Aarebad Muri, popular site for swimming * Muri Castle (privately owned) * Gümligen Castle (privately owned) * Hofgut, a country estate *

Villa Mettlen The Villa Mettlen is a country estate in the municipality of Muri bei Bern in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while othe ...

, country estate * Muri Church, a

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...

Auguetbrücke The Auguetbrücke is a bridge over the Aare between the municipalities of Muri bei Bern and Belp in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland. During the 18th and at the beginning of the 19th century, four ferries crossed the Aare river between Be ...

, bridge across the Aare finished in 1836. * Natural Protected Area along the Aare * Between Belp and Köniz there are still ferries between Bern and

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thou ...

along the Aare File:Guemligen Hofgut Eingang.jpg, Hofgut Castle File:Guemligen Schloss Baumgarten.jpg, Gümligen Castle File:Aarebad.jpg, Aarebad Muri swimming pool

Religion

From the , 2,065 or 16.4% were

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

, while 7,826 or 62.3% belonged to the

. Of the rest of the population, there were 71 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.56% of the population), there were 20 individuals (or about 0.16% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 696 individuals (or about 5.54% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 33 individuals (or about 0.26% of the population) who were

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and 197 (or about 1.57% of the population) who were

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic. There were 41 individuals who were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, 68 individuals who were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and 25 individuals who belonged to another church. 1,323 (or about 10.52% of the population) belonged to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficien ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 533 individuals (or about 4.24% of the population) did not answer the question.

Politics

The greater municipal council is the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

of the municipality. It has 40 members, elected every four years by

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

. The municipal council is the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

. It has seven members. With the exception of the mayor, the other members keep other jobs. The council is chosen every four years at the same time and in the same manner as the greater council. The mayor is chosen by

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster2011 federal election the most popular party was the FDP which received 20.7% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the

SPS SPS may refer to: Law and government * Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO * NATO Science for Peace and Security * Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy * The Standard Procurement System, ...

(19.7%), the SVP (19.1%) and the BDP Party (14.1%). In the federal election, a total of 5,799 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...

was 60.9%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office 2011 Election
accessed 8 May 2012

Economy

In January 2003 the trade and industry association of the canton of Bern ranked 51 major municipalities in the Bern metropolitan area and

Biel , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) ...

- Seeland region according to favourable economic practices. Muri led the list, followed by

Lyss Lyss () is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2011, the former municipality of Busswil bei Büren was merged with Lyss.Belp Belp is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is close to Bern's Belp Airport. The municipality of Belpberg merged on 1 January 2012 into the municipality of Belp.

. Muri is known as a

tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

within the canton. Space for new enterprises is being made available with authorized construction plans. The areas designated Gümligen Station and Gümligen Field are currently centres of development within the canton. , Muri bei Bern had an unemployment rate of 1.48%. , there were a total of 7,656 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 25 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 7 businesses involved in this sector. 1,724 people were employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...

and there were 109 businesses in this sector. 5,907 people were employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

, with 597 businesses in this sector. there were a total of 6,520

full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a ...

jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 21, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 1,639 of which 850 or (51.9%) were in manufacturing and 757 (46.2%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 4,860. In the tertiary sector; 767 or 15.8% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 155 or 3.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 131 or 2.7% were in a hotel or restaurant, 501 or 10.3% were in the information industry, 766 or 15.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 808 or 16.6% were technical professionals or scientists, 247 or 5.1% were in education and 783 or 16.1% were in health care. , there were 4,999 workers who commuted into the municipality and 4,717 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 1.1 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving.Swiss Federal Statistical Office - Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010 Of the working population, 35.8% used public transportation to get to work, and 41.9% used a private car.

Education

Within the municipality, there are six primary schools. There is also a private school, which conducts classes in English, the

International School of Berne International School of Berne (ISBerne) is an international school in Gümligen, Muri bei Bern, Switzerland. Founded in 1961, It serves primarily international students aged 3 to 18. and offers 2 diploma options. The curriculum is the Internation ...

in Gümligen. The community also has 4 Kitas (Kindertagesstätte), or preschool daycare centres, where children can be taken care of even before they are of age for regular kindergarten. Three of them are in Gümligen, while one is in Muri. There is also a new Cinedome open in Muri with an amazing IMAX theatre In Muri bei Bern about 5,128 or (40.8%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 3,100 or (24.7%) have completed additional higher education (either

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

or a ''

Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied art ...

''). Of the 3,100 who completed tertiary schooling, 65.3% were Swiss men, 26.8% were Swiss women, 4.8% were non-Swiss men and 3.1% were non-Swiss women. The Canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

, 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 Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

. During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 1,218 students attending classes in Muri bei Bern. There were 9 kindergarten classes with a total of 176 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 7.4% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 16.5% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 30 primary classes and 602 students. Of the primary students, 13.1% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 18.8% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 15 lower secondary classes with a total of 289 students. There were 11.4% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 16.6% have a different mother language than the classroom language.Schuljahr 2010/11 pdf document
accessed 4 January 2012 , there were 226 students in Muri bei Bern who came from another municipality, while 605 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Notable residents

Rudolf Maria Holzapfel Rudolf Maria Holzapfel (1874, Cracow – 1930, Muri (Kanton Bern)) was a Poland-born Austrian psychologist, philosopher. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded ...

(1874 – 1930 in Muri) a Poland-born Austrian psychologist and philosopher; nominated for the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

six times * Marthe Gosteli (1917 – 2017 in Muri) a Swiss suffrage activist and archivist *

Etienne Jornod Etienne Jean Jornod (born 6 January 1953 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland) is a Swiss entrepreneur and manager. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the pharmaceutical and logistics group Galenica and the NZZ Mediengruppe. Life and education ...

(born 1953) a Swiss entrepreneur, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the pharmaceutical and logistics group

Galenica Galenica AG, headquartered in Bern, is an internationally active Swiss pharmaceutical and logistics company group, named after the ancient physician Galenus. It dates back to the 1927 Collaboration Pharmaceutique SA, a purchasing center for pharma ...

and the

NZZ Mediengruppe NZZ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung) Mediengruppe (also known as ''AG für die Neue Zürcher Zeitung'') is a media company which deals with the activities related to newspaper, magazine, book publishing and television broadcasting in Zurich, Switzerland. ...

, he lives in Muri bei Bern * Andreas Meyer (born 1961) lawyer and since 2007 Chairman of the Management Board of the

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...

(SBB), he lives in Muri bei Bern *

Joëlle Brupbacher Joëlle Brupbacher (3 August 1978 – 22 May 2011) was a Swiss mountaineer. Brupbacher lived in Muri bei Bern and was employed as an IT specialist with Swiss Federal Railways. She was the first Swiss woman to climb five of the fourteen eight-thous ...

(1978–2011) a Swiss mountaineer, she lived in Muri bei Bern

References

External links

*
Official website

Website of Villa Mettlen

Bärtschihus recreation and youth center
{{Authority control Cities in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern