Canton of Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
was created on 1 January 2010. It is part of the Bern-Mittelland administrative region, and is the only district in the region. It contains 75 municipalities with an area of and a population () of .
It is made up of the valley of the rivers
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 desce ...
Bernese Alps
, topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo
, photo=BerneseAlps.jpg
, photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau
, country= Switzerland
, subdivision1_type= Cantons
, subdivision1=
, parent= Western Alps
, borders_on=
, ...
, as well as the plain around the capital Bern, and has many small farms and hilly forested regions with small to mid-sized towns scattered throughout. It is perhaps best known by foreigners and visitors for the
Emmental
The Emmental ( en, Emme Valley) is a valley in west-central Switzerland, forming part of the canton of Bern. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dai ...
. The classic Swiss cheese with holes
Emmentaler
Emmental, Emmentaler, or Emmenthal is a yellow, medium-hard cheese that originated in the area around Emmental, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese.
Emmental was first mentioned in written re ...
comes from this region's forests and pastures, of hilly and low mountainous countryside in the range.
Belpberg
Belpberg is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality of Belpberg merged on 1 January 2012 into the municipality of Belp.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 21 December 2011
* On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Bleiken bei Oberdiessbach merged into the municipality of
Oberdiessbach
Oberdiessbach is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2010 the former municipality of Aeschlen and on 1 January 2014, Bleiken bei Oberdiessbach merged into the municipa ...
. The former municipalities of
Büren zum Hof
Büren zum Hof is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Büren zum Hof, Etzelkofen, Grafenried, Limpach, Mülchi, Schalune ...
,
Etzelkofen
Etzelkofen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Etzelkofen, Büren zum Hof, Grafenried, Limpach, Mülchi, Schalunen an ...
Mülchi
Mülchi is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Mülchi, Büren zum Hof, Etzelkofen, Grafenried, Limpach, Schalunen and Z ...
,
Schalunen
Schalunen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Schalunen, Büren zum Hof, Etzelkofen, Grafenried, Limpach, Mülchi and Z ...
and
Zauggenried
Zauggenried is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Zauggenried, Büren zum Hof, Etzelkofen, Grafenried, Limpach, Mülchi ...
merged into the municipality of Fraubrunnen, the former municipality of
Münchringen
Münchringen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Münchringen and Scheunen merged into the municipality of Jegenstorf.
and
Scheunen
Scheunen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipalities of Scheunen and Münchringen merged into the municipality of Jegenstorf.
merged into the municipality of Jegenstorf.
* The municipality of
Tägertschi
Tägertschi is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January ...
merged on 1 January 2017 into the municipality of
Münsingen
Münsingen (Highest Alemannic: ''Münsige'') is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipality of Trimstein merged into Münsingen, and on 1 January ...
.
* On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of
Gelterfingen
Gelterfingen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Gelterfingen, Mühledorf and Noflen merged into the municipality of Ki ...
Noflen
Noflen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipalities of Gelterfingen, Mühledorf and Noflen merged into the municipality of Kirchdorf ...
merged into the municipality of Kirchdorf.
* The municipality of
Schlosswil
Schlosswil is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Schlosswil merged into the municipality of Grosshöchstetten.
History
Schlo ...
merged on 1 January 2018 into the municipality of
Grosshöchstetten
Grosshöchstetten is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Schlosswil merged into the municipality of Grosshöchstetten.
History
Grossh� ...
.
* On 1 January 2019 the former municipality of
Golaten
Golaten is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2019 the former municipality of Golaten merged into the municipality of Kallnach.
History
Golaten is first m ...
merged into the municipality of
Kallnach
Kallnach (french: Chouchignies) is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2019 the former municipality of Golaten merged into the municipality of Kallnach.
History
Kallnach i ...
.
* On 1 January 2020 the former municipalities of
Kirchenthurnen
Kirchenthurnen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2020 the former municipalities of Kirchenthurnen, Lohnstorf and Mühlethurnen merged to form the munici ...
,
Lohnstorf
Lohnstorf is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2020 the former municipalities of Kirchenthurnen, Lohnstorf and Mühlethurnen merged to form the municipality o ...
and
Mühlethurnen
Mühlethurnen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2020 the former municipalities of Kirchenthurnen, Lohnstorf and Mühlethurnen merged to form the municip ...
merged into the new municipality of Thurnen.
* On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of
Rümligen
Rümligen is a former municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Rümligen merged into Riggisberg.
History
Rümligen is first mentioned in 10 ...
merged into Riggisberg.
* On 1 January 2022 the former municipality of
Clavaleyres
Clavaleyres was a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2022, it merged with Murten in the Canton of Fribourg.
History
Finds of bronze rings imply a settlement in the a ...
merged into
Murten
Murten (German) or Morat (French, ; frp, Morât ) is a bilingual municipality and a city in the See district of the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland.
It is located on the southern shores of Lake Morat (also known as Lake Murten). Morat is s ...
(
Canton of Freiburg
The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg (french: Canton de Fribourg ; german: Kanton Freiburg ; frp, Canton de Fribôrg rm, Chantun Friburg it, Canton Friburgo) is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French ...
)
Demographics
Bern-Mittelland has a population () of . , the population was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The population was made up of 156,642 Swiss men (40.3% of the population) and 31,135 (8.0%) non-Swiss men. There were 172,829 Swiss women (44.5%) and 2,794 (0.7%) non-Swiss women.Statistical office of the Canton of Bern accessed 4 January 2012