Biglen

Geschichte

Biglen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.HistoryBiglen is first mentioned in 894 as Pigiluna. In 1236 it was mentioned as Biglun.The earliest traces of a settlement in the area are scattered Roman era artifacts which have been found throughout the municipality. Very little is known about the village in the Middle Ages. In the 14th century Heinrich von Biglen, a citizen of Bern, acquired much of the village. He donated the village to the Niederspital of Bern in 1359. The village was part of several districts before being assigned to the Amtsbezirk Konolfingen in 1803.The first village church was probably built in the 11th century and was mentioned in 1236 as the Church of St. Peter. The current church building is from 1521. It was the parish church for a parish that included several near by farms and villages.Traditionally the village economy relied on subsistence agriculture. However, in the 18th century local farmers began to raise grass which they could harvest as hay for cattle. By the 19th century, dairy farming had replaced traditional agriculture. The first dairy and cheese maker opened in the area in 1828. A village school opened in 1878. In 1899 the Burgdorf-Thun Railway connected the village to the growing rail network. Easy transportation links allowed industry to flourish in Biglen. By 1990 over half of the jobs in Biglen were in industry and many other workers commuted to Bern or other towns for jobs.