Oberaargau

Coordinates: 46°14′N 7°39′E / 46.233°N 7.650°E / 46.233; 7.650 The Oberaargau is the region that encompasses the upper watershed of the Aar River in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. On the north, lie the Jura Mountains, and on the south the hills leading to the Emmental

Administratively, the Oberaargau forms a district within the region Emmental-Oberaargau of the canton of Berne. Historically (until 2009), the Oberaargau comprised the two administrative districts of Wangen and Aarwangen.

Geography

It lies in the extreme northeast corner of the canton and includes the districts of Aarwangen and Wangen, and part of the district of Trachselwald. It is surrounded by the cantons of Solothurn, Aargau, and Lucerne. It is connected to the rest of the canton of Bern only in the south, where it borders on the Emmenthal.

The Oberaargau lies on the Swiss Plateau between the large population centers of Bern and Zürich and has therefore become a major thoroughfare for traffic running both east and west and north and south. The Aar River traverses it from west to east, and the primary motorway of Switzerland (the A1) and the main Bern-Zürich railway run through it, making it a central transport region.

The primary city is Langenthal, and the towns of Herzogenbuchsee, Wangen, and Aarwangen are important transportation centers. Since the building of the motorway, the primary economic development has taken place in the north, at the foot of the Jura Mountains, particularly in the towns of Wiedlisbach and Niederbipp.

The highest point in the Oberaargaus is the Höllchöpfli in the municipality of Rumisberg, at 1231 meters, and the lowest point is on the Aare at Wynau, at 405 meters.

Administrative district

Oberaargau District Verwaltungskreis Oberaargau
District
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
Capital	Wangen an der Aare
Area
• Total	331 km2 (128 sq mi)
Population (2008)
• Total	76,485
• Density	230/km2 (600/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Municipalities	47

The Oberaargau District in the Canton of Bern was created on 1 January 2010.^[1] It is part of the Emmental-Oberaargau administrative region and includes 50 municipalities over an area of 330.86 km² (127.75 sq mi) with, as of December 2008, 76,485 inhabitants.

Border	Name	Population (31 December 2012)[2]	Area in km²
	Aarwangen	4,229	9.87
	Attiswil	1,324	7.64
	Auswil	452	4.63
	Bannwil	688	4.79
	Berken	42	1.38
	Bettenhausen	684	3.95
	Bleienbach	654	5.71
	Busswil bei Melchnau	200	2.87
	Eriswil	1,360	11.32
	Farnern	207	3.70
	Gondiswil	746	9.39
	Graben	305	3.16
	Heimenhausen	1,016	5.85
	Hermiswil	99	1.04
	Herzogenbuchsee	6,868	9.83
	Huttwil	4,663	17.28
	Inkwil	628	3.36
	Langenthal	15,184	17.25
	Lotzwil	2,482	6.18
	Madiswil	3,120	23.19
	Melchnau	1,529	10.30
	Niederbipp	4,249	17.37
	Niederönz	1,550	2.80
	Oberbipp	1,653	8.48
	Obersteckholz	431	3.90
	Ochlenberg	573	12.13
	Oeschenbach	241	3.90
	Reisiswil	189	2.00
	Roggwil	3,837	7.80
	Rohrbach	1,407	4.07
	Rohrbachgraben	417	6.48
	Rumisberg	467	5.16
	Rütschelen	573	3.98
	Schwarzhäusern	503	3.79
	Seeberg	1,426	15.74
	Thörigen	1,023	4.52
	Thunstetten	3,086	9.65
	Ursenbach	897	9.13
	Walliswil bei Niederbipp	218	1.48
	Walliswil bei Wangen	573	3.06
	Walterswil	541	7.89
	Wangen an der Aare	2,126	5.23
	Wangenried	410	2.93
	Wiedlisbach	2,207	7.47
	Wolfisberg	186	2.42
	Wynau	1,539	5.08
	Wyssachen	1,162	11.71
	Total (50)	77,964	330.86

History

The region was already known as the Oberaargau in the early Middle Ages (in Latin superior pagus Aragauginsis). However, this concept also included the Emmenthal.

In the High Middle Ages, the area was divided among the counts of Froburg, Aarwangen (later Grünenberg), Zähringen (later the Habsburgs).

As the political influence of the city of Bern increased in the late Middle Ages, the Oberaargau came more and more into its sphere of influence. In the 15th century, Bern conquered both the Oberaargau and the Unteraargau and ruled them as one.

When Bern lost its old power in 1798, the Unteraargau became the modern canton of Aargau. The boundary between the Oberaargau and Unteraargau was fixed in 1798 along the Wigger River. In 1802, however, it was shifted west to Murg. This action was confirmed by the Act of Mediation of Napoleon in 1803 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815.

References

External links

• Regional Web site (in German)
• Oberaargau in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.

v t e Subdivisions of the canton of Bern Regions Bernese Mittelland Bernese Oberland Emmental-Oberaargau Region Jura Bernois Region Seeland Districts Bern-Mittelland Bernese Jura Biel/Bienne Emmental Frutigen-Niedersimmental Interlaken-Oberhasli Oberaargau Obersimmental-Saanen Seeland Thun Districts of Switzerland Municipalities of the canton of Bern