Hermiswil

Geschichte

Hermiswil is a former municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2016 it merged into the municipality of Seeberg.HistoryHermiswil is first mentioned in 1289 as Hermanswile.During the 13th and 14th Centuries, the Hermiswil area had been granted by the Kyburg family to the vom Stein family. In 1466 the city of Solothurn inherited all the vom Stein holdings, which included Hermiswil. Following the Wyniger Vertrag, of 1665, the village was given to Bern. It was placed under the authority for low justice from Bollodingen and administered by the Landvogtei of Wangen. The Roman Catholic citizens of Hermiswil were placed under the guidance of the Reformed parish of Herzogenbuchsee.While the village is located along two transportation routes (the road from Bern into the Aargau, and since 1857 the rail line from Olten to Bern) it has remained a small farming community.GeographyHeimiswil has an area, of 23.35km2. Of this area, 14.27km2 or 61.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.88km2 or 33.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.18km2 or 5.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04km2 or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes.