Guggisberg

Geschichte

Guggisberg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern.HistoryGuggisberg is first mentioned in 1076 as Mons Guchani. The next earliest reference to the community dates from 1148, when Guggisberg (spelled Cucansperc) was mentioned in a document of Pope Eugene III. In 1423 the territory was divided in two and sold by Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy to Bern and Fribourg. It would remain as two separate entitites until reunified by Napoleon's Act of Mediation in 1803.In the early 19th century the village of Guggisberg was known as destination for tourists due to the view of the Guggershorn and other surrounding mountains. However, in 1819 the canton began moving many landless poor (Allmendsiedler literally: Common land settler) into the municipality. The large, poor population and famines in 1816-1818 and the 1840s overwhelmed the community. Many farmers had to sell their grazing rights (Alprechte) while others moved to America to escape the poverty. By 1850 Guggisberg was the poorest municipality in Canton Bern. To try to stabilize the economy, in 1860 the municipality was split into two, Guggisberg and Rüschegg.GeographyGuggisberg has an area of. As of 2012, a total of 28.83km2 or 52.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 21.68km2 or 39.5% is forested. The rest of the municipality is 1.64km2 or 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.9km2 or 1.6% is either rivers or lakes and 1.82km2 or 3.3% is unproductive land.