Mirchel

Geschichte

Mirchel is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.HistoryMirchel is first mentioned in 1320 as Mirchlon.The oldest traces of a settlement in the area are a La Tene grave and iron tools. During the Middle Ages Mirchel was part of the Herrschaft of Signau. In 1529 the Herrschaft came under Bernese control and Mirchel became part of the Bernese bailiwick of Signau. It has always been part of the parish of Möschberg. Beginning in the 1970s many commuters settled in the municipality and today about two-thirds of the working population commutes to jobs nearby cities and towns.GeographyMirchel has an area of. Of this area, 1.8km2 or 76.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.25km2 or 10.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.31km2 or 13.2% is settled (buildings or roads).Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 5.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 6.0%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.3% of the area Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 51.9% is used for growing crops and 19.6% is pastures, while 5.1% is used for orchards or vine crops.