Zimmerwald () was an independent municipality in 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 ...

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 ...

until 31 December 2003. It is located on a hill in the proximity of the city of

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

in the Bernese Mittelland. On 1 January 2004 Zimmerwald united with the municipality of Englisberg to form the new municipality of

Wald __NOTOC__ Wald is the German word for forest. Surname * Wald (surname) Places Austria * Wald am Schoberpass, in Styria * Wald im Pinzgau, in Salzburger Land Germany * Wald, Baden-Württemberg * Wald, Upper Palatinate, in the district of Cham, ...

. On 31 December 2002 the population was 870. The coat of arms is three fir trees on three green mountain peaks with a background that ranges from silver to green. Zimmerwald entrance

History

Zimmerwald was only settled in the late phase of the Germanic colonisation of Switzerland. Between 800 and 900, Ciberni entering Southern Germany first settled on the ''Längenberg'' (Long Mountain), the hill on which Zimmerwald lies. The town is first mentioned in documents in the later Middle Ages. In 1999, Zimmerwald celebrated its 700th anniversary. Zimmerwald is remembered in world history for the

Zimmerwald Conference The Zimmerwald Conference, held in Zimmerwald, Switzerland, from September 5 to 8, 1915, was the first of three international conferences convened by anti-militarist socialists in response to the outbreak of World War I and the resulting virtu ...

held in September 1915. Prominent

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

s met from across Europe, among them

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

and

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. The conference was called by

Robert Grimm Robert Grimm (16 April 1881, in Wald – 8 March 1958) was the leading Swiss Socialist politician during the first half of the 20th century. As a leading member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland he opposed the First World War. Grimm ...

of Bern. The international workers' movement split as a result of the conference into a

social democrat Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...

ic and a revolutionary wing.

Sites of interest

Wind instruments museum

The collection of the Zimmerwald wind instruments museum covers some 1,000

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitch ...

s from all periods, as well as percussion instruments. They include rare pieces such as

bull horn A megaphone, speaking trumpet, bullhorn, blowhorn, or loudhailer is usually a portable or hand-held, cone-shaped acoustic horn used to amplify a person's voice or other sounds and direct it in a given direction. The sound is introduced in ...

s, old Germanic lures, serpents and

flap trumpet Flap may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film * Flap, a boss character in the arcade game '' Gaiapolis'' * Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland'' Biology and h ...

s, but also Swiss

alphorn The alphorn (; ; ) is a traditional lip-reed wind instrument. It consists of a very long straight wooden natural horn, with a length of , a conical bore and a wooden cup-shaped mouthpiece. Traditionally the alphorn was made in one piece from ...

Zimmerwald Observatory

The

Zimmerwald Observatory The Zimmerwald Observatory () is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the AIUB, the Astronomical Institute of the University of Bern. Built in 1956, it is located at Zimmerwald, 10 kilometers south of Bern, Switzerland. Numerous com ...

is the reference point for the CH1903+

Swiss coordinate system The Swiss coordinate system (or Swiss grid) is a geographic coordinate system used in Switzerland and Liechtenstein for maps and surveying by the Swiss Federal Office of Topography (Swisstopo). A first coordinate system was introduced in 1903 und ...

Prominent citizens and residents

Gunvor Guggisberg Switzerland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "", written by Egon Egemann and Gunvor Guggisberg, and performed by Gunvor herself. The Swiss participating broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR), ...

(1974), Swiss entertainer *

Bruno Messerli Bruno Messerli (17 September 1931, in Belp – 4 February 2019) was a Swiss geographer and university professor who focused on high mountains and highland-lowland linkages. He was appointed Full Professor of Geomorphology in 1968 by the Universit ...

(1931), geographer
Hans Rudolf Streit
(1910–1982), Swiss federal official

Swiss politician *

Judith Wyder Judith Wyder (born 25 June 1988) is a Swiss orienteering and ski orienteering competitor and runner. Her achievements include gold medals at the World Orienteering Championships and the European Orienteering Championships, both individually and ...

(1988), athlete

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in Switzerland Former municipalities of the canton of Bern