Alchenstorf

Geschichte

Alchenstorf is a municipality in the Emmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.HistoryAlchenstorf is first mentioned in 1221 as Alchirstorf.Traces of neolithic settlements have been found at Rain and Kastenmoos in the municipal borders. A Roman manor and coin depot were discovered in Ischbergwald. The first village church was in operation between 1275 and 1471. While the exact location of the church is no longer known, it was probably in the Unterdorf or lower village. After the church was demolished, Alchenstorf became part of the parish of Koppigen.Even today the village remains rural and agricultural. In 1990, 64% of the workers commuted to nearby towns and cities for work.GeographyAlchenstorf has an area of. Of this area, 3.99km2 or 60.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.1km2 or 32.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.51km2 or 7.8% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02km2 or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 2.4%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 45.1% is used for growing crops and 14.0% is pastures, while 1.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.It consists of the village of Alchenstorf (made up of Oberdorf and Unterdorf) and scattered hamlets and farm houses.