Affoltern im Emmental

Geschichte

Affoltern im Emmental is a municipality in the district of Trachselwald in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.HistoryAffoltern is first mentioned in 1261/63 as Affolterra.The oldest trace of a settlement in the area comes from the Middle Ages. The village church of St. Michael was first mentioned in 1275. It remained a local chapel until 1484 when Teutonic Knights Commandry of Sumiswald provided funding for a permanent parish priest. In 1528 Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and Affoltern converted. However, the Commandry retained patronage rights over the church until 1698.By the 18th century many local farmers were raising cattle for meat and milk in the rolling Emmental hills. In 1764 the cheese exporting company Pionierbauern Sommer was founded in the municipality. It remained in business for over a century before closing in 1869. A cheese co-op opened in 1844 to support the local dairy farmers. In the early 20th century the municipality remained fairly isolated and cheese producers and exporters began to leave for other communities. Today about one-third of the jobs in Affoltern are in agriculture with the rest being in small manufacturers and service companies. In 1990 a dairy center with a cheese making demonstrations opened.