The Emmental (, ) is a valley in west-central

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, forming part of the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

. It is a hilly landscape comprising the basins of the rivers Emme and Ilfis. The region is mostly devoted to farming, particularly dairy farming. The principal settlements are the town of Burgdorf and the village of Langnau. Comprising Burgdorf, Trachselwald, and Signau

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

s in the canton of Bern, the Emmental became part of the Emmental-Oberaargau administrative region on 1 January 2010. The district of Fraubrunnen is divided between Emmental and Bern-Mittelland.

Geography

The region comprises relatively low mountains on the right bank of the Aare. It includes the basins of the Emme and the Ilfis between Burgdorf and the boundary with the canton of Solothurn. Its principal elevation is the

Napf The Napf is a mountain on the border between the Swiss cantons of Canton of Bern, Bern and Canton of Lucerne, Lucerne. With an altitude of , it is the summit of the Napfgebiet (Napf region), the hilly region lying between Bern and Lucerne. It is ...

, a mountain massif dominating the northwestern part of the

Emmental Alps The Emmental Alps () are a mountain range in the western part of the Alps, in Switzerland. They are located north-west of the Brünig Pass, mainly in the cantons of Lucerne, Bern, and Obwalden, with a small portion in the canton of Nidwalden. ...

. The landscape is dominated by meadows and pastureland, with forest interspersed.

Economy

The original Emmental cheese is produced there, and the dairy industry still dominates the local economy. Pottery from the region is also prized, and the ceramics of the region have endured practically unchanged since the 17th century. Tourism has had less impact on the region than on other parts of Switzerland.

Culture

The novelist Jeremias Gotthelf (1797–1854) was a pastor in the Emmental and wrote about the region. The Emmental also played a dominant role in the history of the

Mennonites Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

Architecture

The typical Emmental farmhouse has a steep roof with a large overhang that almost reaches the ground.

References

External links