Oberburg

Upper Castle is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Geography

Upper castle is situated on 547 m above sea level. M., 2 km south of the town of Burgdorf (air line). The hamlet extends Emmental, on the western edge of here around 1 km wide Talniederung the Emme, in Molassehügelland the higher Swiss plateau.

The area of ​​14.1 km ² large municipality area includes a portion of the Emmental. In the east the artificially drawn border runs in the valley of the Emme and separates the structurally upper castle belonging to the station quarter with industrial zones of the municipality from. The Emmen Schachen was formerly used by the Anstössergemeinden Burgdorf, Upper Castle and Hasle bei Burgdorf together as Allmendfeld. However, after disputes had broken out because of the use between the municipalities, the territory was divided in 1704 so that the east adjacent to the upper part of the castle is now part of Burgdorf.

From the valley floor, the communal land extends to the southwest on the adjacent Molassehöhen with Rothöchi ( 691 m above sea level. M. ), Gibelwald (715 m above sea level. M. ) and Hasliberg (up to 800 m above sea level. M. ). Between Rothöchi and Gibelwald the Luterbachtal opens with an approximately 300 m wide flat valley floor into the Emmental. It formed together with the Unterbergental once a meltwater channel at the edge of the glacial Rhone Glacier. Further south, the municipality spell extends into the upper Luterbachtal. The landscape is characterized by numerous short side valleys and trenches by hill ridges (called harrows ) are separated. These often show very strong slope angles, which makes agricultural practices of the area. At higher altitudes, therefore, prevail forest and pasture. The hills in the area of the upper Luterbachtals reaching average heights 750-850 m above sea level. M.

In the further upper castle has two enclaves, each having an area of ​​approximately 1 sq. km. The exclave fir trees located in the headwaters of Luterbachs. Here is 899 m above sea level. M. reached on the hill above the Tannehüsli the highest point of the upper castle. In contrast shows the exclave tube Moos ( 564 m above sea level. M. ) comprising a trough west of Burgdorf and from the hills Obernholz ( 633 m above sea level. M. ), Pleerwald and Rohrmishubel (611 m above sea level. M. ) is surrounded, much lower relief differences. From the municipality surface 1997 8 % were settlements, 34 % of forest and shrubs, 57% to agriculture and slightly less than 1% was unproductive land.

At the upper castle include numerous hamlets, groups of farms and individual farms, which are located southwest of the village scattered in the valleys and on the hills. The important ones are:

• Tube Moos ( 564 m above sea level. M. ) in a broad trough west of Burgdorf, at the foot of the mountain and Snowed on the main road from Burgdorf to Bern
• Zimmerberg (714 m above sea level. M. ) on a plateau between the Unterbergental and the Luterbachtal
• Yard ( 609 m above sea level. M. ) on a terrace on the west slope of the Luterbachs
• Joyful ( 639 m above sea level. M. ) on a terrace on the eastern side of the valley of the Luterbachs
• Upper Oschwand (712 m above sea level. M. ) at the height south of Upper Castle
• Lower Oschwand (614 m above sea level. M. ) on the western slope of the Emmental
• Breitenwald (703 m above sea level. M. ) on the eastern side of the valley terrain projections of Luterbachs
• Firs ( 734 m above sea level. M. ) in the headwaters of Luterbachs

Neighboring communities of the upper fortress are Burgdorf, Hasle bei Burgdorf, Lutzelfluh, Vechigen, Krauchtal and Ruti bei Lyssach.

Population

With 2924 inhabitants ( 31 December 2012) Upper Castle is one of the medium-sized municipalities in the canton of Bern. Of the residents 89.7 % are German, 3.0 % speak Serbo-Croatian and 2.1 % Italian ( as of 2000). The population of Upper Castle amounted in 1850 to 2,200 inhabitants, 1900 to 2745 inhabitants. The peak was reached in 1910 with 3041 inhabitants. After that, the population fluctuated always in the range 2930-3030 persons. Since 1970 (3015 inhabitants), a slight decrease in population was recorded again.

Economy

Upper Castle was until the second half of the 19th century, mainly coined by agriculture village. Thanks to the water kick (channel and streams ) and the favorable traffic situation developed very early a number of commercial enterprises, for example, in the 17th century, a hammer mill. In the 19th century, weaving mills, brick kilns and foundries joined them.

Because of the large surrounding area have the farming, fruit growing and cattle breeding and dairy farming still have an important place in the economic structure of the population. Many other jobs are in the manufacturing and services available.

Larger commercial and industrial zones developed along the main road on the northern and southern outskirts of the village and the station quarter, however, the political part of Burgdorf. In Upper Castle several companies in the electrical industry, the building industry, mechanical engineering, precision mechanics, computer science and wood processing are represented today. Some companies are known throughout Europe, the Jenni Power Engineering AG, a company for solar energy utilization.

In recent decades, high castle has also developed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who work mainly in Burgdorf and in the agglomeration of Bern.

Traffic

The community is conveniently technically quite well developed. It lies on the main road from Burgdorf to Langnau in the Emmental. The nearest links to the A1 ( Bern- Zurich ) is located approximately 7 km from the town center. On May 12, 1881, the railway line from Burgdorf to Langnau was opened to the upper castle station ( on Burgdorfer communal land ).

History

The first written mention of the village was carried out in 1240 under the name Obrunburc. Later, the names Obirnburch ( 1242 ), Upper Burch (1250 ), Obrunburch ( 1251 ) and Upper Castle ( 1376 ) published. The place name means at the upper castle ( in contrast to the Lower Castle in Burgdorf ). This high medieval " Upper Castle " stood on the Rothöchi.

Since the first mention of the gentlemen of the upper fortress are mentioned, whose rule was under the suzerainty of the Counts of Kyburg. In 1406 the village came under Bernese domination of the Kyburgs and the Schultheissen Office Burgdorf has been assigned. Because of the oppression of the Burgdorfer gentlemen came in 1653 to a rebellion, which was however defeated.

After the collapse of the Ancien Régime (1798 ) Upper castle belonged during the Helvetic Republic to the district of Burgdorf and from 1803 to Oberamt hamlet, was given the status of an office district with the new cantonal constitution of 1831. With industrialization in the second half of the 19th century Upper Castle experienced a modest economic recovery.

Attractions

A native of the Middle Ages St. George's parish church contains important frescoes of 1517. In the old town of Upper Castle numerous characteristic farmhouses and town houses in the Emmental style have been preserved from the 17th to 19th centuries. Some of them date back even into the 15th century.