Aefligen

Geschichte

Aefligen is a municipality in the Emmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.HistoryThe first mention of the town is in 1261 when it was known as Efflingen. During the 13th Century, the nearby Fraubrunnen Abbey became independent of the local nobility and brought Aefligen with them. By 1297 the neighboring villages were administered from Aefligen. However, it was far from fully independent. The Low justice court (petty crimes and punishments) for Aefligen was in Bätterkinden, it belonged to the county of Landshut and was part of the parish of Kirchberg. Around 1510-14 Landshut lost the rights to Aefligen and it became a vogtie of Bern.Starting in the 14th century, conflicts began between Aefligen and neighboring villages and the Abbey over shared fields and woods. It wasn't until 1847 that Aefligen acquired its own woods, when the Rüdtligerwald became part of the community. In 1856 part of Moos joined Aefligen.In 1838 the first bridge over the Emme River was completed which increased traffic through the community. In 1875 a railroad station of the Burgdorf-Solothurn-Bahn was built in Aefligen. Despite the construction of a fabric factory (1866–1920), foundry (1945) and a precision machining factory (1954) the community economy remained based on farming throughout the 20th Century.