Lenk im Simmental

Geschichte

Lenk im Simmental is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.HistoryLenk is first mentioned in 1370 as An der Leng.The oldest traces of a settlement in the area come from neolithic artifacts that have been found scattered around the municipality. During the Bronze Age Burgbühl and Bürstehubel were both fortified. Under the Romans the area was on along a major North-South road that passed over the Rawil and Kaltwasser Passes. They built a way station and a small shrine at the Iffigsee and a road and lime kiln at Iffigenalp. By the Middle Ages the Bronze Age fortifications were reoccupied and the area was split between the Herrschaft of Mannenberg and the estates of the Freiherr von Raron. The lands passed through several owners and by 1502 Bern ruled over the lands of the modern municipality. The municipality split from the neighboring St. Stephan in 1504-1505. In 1522 it achieved its sovereignty in the canton of Bern.