Champion (Berne)

Geschichte

Gampelen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Gampelen should not be confused with the municipality Gampel in the canton of Valais.HistoryGampelen is first mentioned in 1179 as Champion and again in 1228 as Champlun.The area around Gampelen was home to several mesolithic, neolithic and Bronze Age settlements. One of the largest was a Late Bronze Age lake front settlement on Witzwil Island. Bricks, money and a dam from Roman era settlements have been found stretching from Zihlbrücke in Gals through Gampelen to Witzwil in Ins. During the Middle Ages it was part of the Herrschaft of Erlach. In 1395 the area became part of the County of Savoy. Almost a century later, in 1474, it was acquired by Berne and was placed in the bailiwick of Erlach.The village church of St. Martin was first mentioned in 1228. It was destroyed in a fire and rebuilt in 1513 and the nave was expanded and renovated in 1674-75. The church was probably built over a Roman inn and way station. During the Protestant Reformation it became the parish church of the local parish, which eventually grew to include the neighboring municipality of Gals.