Sumiswald

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Sumiswald
Canton	Bern
District	Trachselwald
Coordinates	47°2′N 7°43′E
Population	5179 (2004)
Area	59.4 km²
Elevation	702 m
Postal code	3454
SFOS number	0957
Mayor	Hans Haslebacher-Frick
Website	www.sumiswald.ch/
Sumiswald

Sumiswald is a municipality in the district of Trachselwald in the canton of Bern, Switzerland.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Attractions
4 Economy
5 External links
6 References

[edit] Geography

Sumiswald consists of three localities (Sumiswald, Grünen and Wasen) in the lower Emmental. It is one of the largest municipalities in the canton with an area of 5933 ha. The town has a population of around 5,000.

[edit] History

The name Sumiswald is first mentioned in 1130. The name either comes from the Germanic settler "Suomolt", the Latin term summa vallis ("bank over the valley") or the designation "Zum Oswald" ("to Oswald"), because in the Middle Ages there was a chapel in Sumiswald dedicated to Oswald of Northumbria.

From 1225, Sumiswald was a commandery of the Teutonic Knights of the "Ballei" Swabia-Alsace-Burgundy. In 1525, the town bought its way out of serfdom, but stayed a part of the Teutonic Knights even after the Protestant Reformation was introduced in 1528; Sumiswald was sold to the city of Berne for 36,000 Reichsthaler in 1698.

Location of Sumiswald in the district Trachselwald

Hans Haslibacher, who was decapitated on October 20, 1571 in Berne because of his Anabaptist conviction came from Sumiswald; his decapitation was the last execution of an Anabaptist in Berne.

[edit] Attractions

The glass windows of the church Mariekirche depict benefactors with their patron saints.

The old Teutonic Knight castle is somewhat outside of Sumiswald. It was endowed in 1225 with the condition that a hospital be housed in it, therefore the castle's name is Spittel.

It is said that all the men in Sumiswald could have taken a seat at the large table in the inn "Bären" after the plague in 1434.