1.
Canton of Bern
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The canton of Bern is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the canton of Jura, to the west lie the canton of Neuchâtel, the canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south lies the canton of Valais, east of the canton of Bern lie the cantons of Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Lucerne and Aargau. The canton of Bern is bilingual and has a population of 1,017,483, as of 2007, the population included 119,930 foreigners. The cantonal capital, also the capital of Switzerland, is Bern. Bern joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353 and was between 1803 and 1814 one of the six directorial cantons of the Napoleonic Swiss Confederation and these caves were used at various times during the last ice age. The first open-air settlement in the area is an upper paleolithic settlement at Moosbühl in Moosseedorf, during the warmer climate of the mesolithic period, increasing forest cover restricted the movement of hunters, fishers and gatherers. Their temporary settlements were built along lake and marsh edges, which remained free of trees due to fluctuations in water level, important mesolithic sites in the Canton are at Pieterlenmoos and Burgäschisee lake along with alpine valleys at Diemtig and Simmental. During the neolithic period, there were a number of settlements on the shores of Lake Biel, several of these sites are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of the best explored neolithic sites is at Twann, in the Twannbach delta there were about 25 Cortaillod culture and Horgen culture villages that existed between 3800 and 2950 BC. One of the oldest examples of bread from Switzerland, a sourdough from 3560–3530 BC, simple copper objects were already in use in the 4th millennium BC, including a copper pin from Lattrigen from 3170 BC and a knife blade from Twann. Shortly before 2000 BC bronze production entered the area and brought about a surge in development, settlements began to spread into the pre-Alpine and Alpine areas. The area between Lake Thun and the Niedersimmental were densely settled, Late Bronze Age settlements along Lake Biel have yielded up a wealth of items. During the early Iron Age changes in climate forced them to settlements along many waterways and in the valley floors and move to the plateaus. With increased trade contacts across the Alps, the influence of the Mediterranean grew in the area. Evidence of this include a hydria which was discovered in Grächwil. Burial rituals and social classes became more developed during this time, the so-called princely graves became more common, many of the burial mounds were over 30 m in diameter and 4 m high and richly outfitted with grave goods. In a grave mound in Bützberg the first burial in the mound was followed by later burials
2.
Wileroltigen
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Wileroltigen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Wileroltigen is first mentioned in 1263 as Wiler sita prope Oltingen, the municipality was formerly known by its French name Ostranges, however, that name is no longer used. During the Early Middle Ages the region around Wileroltigen belonged to St. Maurices Abbey, in 962, the Abbey donated the land to Payerne Priory, which held it until the 13th century when the Herrschaft of Oltigen acquired the land. In 1412 the entire Herrschaft, including Wileroltigen, was absorbed by Bern and it was eventually combined with the villages of Gurbrü and Golaten to form a court in the bailiwick of Laupen. The village shared a bridge over the Saane/Sarine river with the village of Marfeldingen by 1325, during the 15th century it was replaced with a ferry. After the Act of Mediation, in 1803, Wileroltigen was assigned to the Canton of Bern despite the protests of the Canton of Fribourg. In 1528 both Wileroltigen and the church at Kerzers converted to the new faith of the Protestant Reformation. However, the village St. Mary Magdalene chapel was abandoned after the Reformation, a village school opened in 1659. Wileroltigen has an area of 4.16 km2, as of 2012, a total of 2.55 km2 or 61. 3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.18 km2 or 28. 4% is forested. Of the rest of the land,0.27 km2 or 6. 5% is settled,0.11 km2 or 2. 6% is either rivers or lakes. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 3. 1%, out of the forested land,26. 7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1. 7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,47. 6% is used for growing crops and 12. 5% is pastures, all the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located on the bank of the Saane/Sarine river near where that river empties into the Aare river. On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Laupen, the former district, was dissolved. On the following day,1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland, the blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Vine tree Vert propped and fructed Or issuant from a Mount of 3 Coupaux of the last. Wileroltigen has a population of 384, as of 2010,10. 4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has changed at a rate of -0. 5%, migration accounted for -0. 5%, while births and deaths accounted for 0%. Most of the population speaks German as their first language, Albanian is the second most common, there is 1 person who speaks French and 1 person who speaks Italian
3.
Ferenbalm
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Ferenbalm is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Ferenbalm is first mentioned in 1123 as villa de Balmis, since the 16th Century it was called Feren-Balm to differenate it from Oberbalm. The oldest trace of settlements in the area are scattered grave mounds which are probably from the Hallstatt era, in addition, a grave mound from the La Tene era has been discovered. There was a Roman settlement at Gümirain, of which only bricks and ceramics remain, a document has been found which claims that the Kings of Burgundy gave this region to Payerne Priory in 961-62. However it is now believed to be a later forgery, however, by 1123, Ferenbalm was part of the estates of the Priory. During the 13th century the Counts of Kyburg acquired the village, in 1410, the Kyburg Counts were deep in debt and were forced to sell Oltigen and its Herrschaft to the city of Bern. Part of the municipality of Ferenbalm was placed in the district of Laupen in 1483. The villages of Biberen and Gammen were added later between 1502 and 1527, the village church of St. Peter and Paul was first mentioned along with the village in 1123. In 1528 Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation, in Ferenbalm, the village church converted to the new faith and became a Reformed parish church. The parish included many of the surrounding German speaking communities, some of which were part of the French-speaking Canton of Fribourg, the church of St. Peter and Paul was rebuilt following a fire in 1657. The villages that make up Ferenbalm have always profited from their location at the fork of the road from Bern to Lausanne, when the railroad built a station in the municipality, it brought additional revenue and residents. Beginning in the 1960s many commuters moved to Ferenbalm and the developments of Kleingümmenen, Biberen. Today about half of the residents commute to jobs in nearby cities. Municipal schools were built in Ferenbalm, Vogelbuch and Gammen, Ferenbalm has an area of 9.18 km2. As of 2012, a total of 6.27 km2 or 68. 3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.75 km2 or 19. 1% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.05 km2 or 11. 4% is settled,0.15 km2 or 1. 6% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km2 or 0. 1% is unproductive land. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 5. 2%, out of the forested land,17. 8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1. 3% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,54. 2% is used for growing crops and 12. 3% is pastures, all the water in the municipality is flowing water
4.
Kerzers
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Kerzers is a municipality in the district of See in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. Kerzers is first mentioned in 926 as Cartris, in 1153 it was mentioned as Kercers. Kerzers has an area of 12.23 km2, of this area,8.38 km2 or 68. 5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.81 km2 or 14. 8% is forested. Of the rest of the land,1.95 km2 or 15. 9% is settled,0.07 km2 or 0. 6% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km2 or 0. 1% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 2. 0% of the area while housing and buildings made up 6. 9%. While parks, green belts and sports made up 1. 2%. Out of the land,13. 7% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1. 1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land,62. 1% is used for growing crops and 5. 0% is pastures, all the water in the municipality is flowing water. The municipality is located in the See/Lac district, on the edge of the Grosses Moos wetlands. The blazon of the coat of arms is Azure two Candles lit proper. Since Kerze means candle in German, the coat of arms is an example of canting, Kerzers has a population of 4,848. As of 2008,18. 9% of the population are resident foreign nationals, over the last 10 years the population has changed at a rate of 20. 3%. Migration accounted for 10. 7%, while births and deaths accounted for 5. 1%, most of the population speaks German as their first language, Portuguese is the second most common and Albanian is the third. There are 95 people who speak French,40 people who speak Italian and 3 people who speak Romansh, as of 2008, the population was 49. 3% male and 50. 7% female. The population was made up of 1,752 Swiss men and 491 non-Swiss men, there were 1,877 Swiss women and 426 non-Swiss women. Of the population in the municipality,1,219 or about 31. 3% were born in Kerzers and lived there in 2000. There were 339 or 8. 7% who were born in the canton, while 1,590 or 40. 9% were born somewhere else in Switzerland. As of 2000, children and teenagers make up 27. 9% of the population, while adults make up 60. 8%, as of 2000, there were 1,716 people who were single and never married in the municipality
5.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
6.
Bern
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The city of Bern or Berne is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their Bundesstadt, or federal city. With a population of 141,762, Bern is the fourth-most populous city in Switzerland, the Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000, Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerlands cantons. The official language in Bern is German, but the language is an Alemannic Swiss German dialect. In 1983, the old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is ranked among the top ten cities for the best quality of life. The etymology of the name Bern is uncertain and it has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the find of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980s, it is now common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin. The bear was the animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s. No archaeological evidence that indicates a settlement on the site of city centre prior to the 12th century has been found so far. In antiquity, a Celtic oppidum stood on the Engehalbinsel north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC, during the Roman era, a Gallo-Roman vicus was on the same site. The Bern zinc tablet has the name Brenodor, in the Early Middle Ages, a settlement in Bümpliz, now a city district of Bern, was some 4 km from the medieval city. The medieval city is a foundation of the Zähringer ruling family, according to 14th-century historiography, Bern was founded in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. In 1218, after Berthold died without an heir, Bern was made an imperial city by the Goldene Handfeste of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of the eight cantons of the period of 1353 to 1481. The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare, the Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345. It was, in turn, succeeded by the Christoffelturm until 1622, during the time of the Thirty Years War, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small Schanze – were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula
7.
Parish
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A parish is a church territorial unit constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the care and clerical jurisdiction of a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates. Historically, a parish often covered the same area as a manor. By extension the term refers not only to the territorial unit. In England this church property was technically in ownership of the parish priest ex-officio, the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tarsus appended the parish structure to the Anglo-Saxon township unit, where it existed, and where minsters catered to the surrounding district. In the wider picture of ecclesiastical polity, a parish comprises a division of a diocese or see, parishes within a diocese may be grouped into a deanery or vicariate forane, overseen by a dean or vicar forane, or in some cases by an archpriest. Some churches of the Anglican Communion have deaneries as units of an archdeaconry, in the Roman Catholic Church, each parish normally has its own parish priest, who has responsibility and canonical authority over the parish. These are called assistant priests, parochial vicars, curates, or, in the United States, associate pastors, each diocese is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place. An example is that of personal parishes established in accordance with the 7 July 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum for those attached to the form of the Roman Rite. Most Catholic parishes are part of Latin Rite dioceses, which cover the whole territory of a country. There can also be overlapping parishes of eparchies of Eastern Catholic Churches, the Church of England geographical structure uses the local parish church as its basic unit. The parish system survived the Reformation with the Anglican Churchs secession from Rome remaining largely untouched, Church of England parishes nowadays all lie within one of 44 dioceses divided between the provinces of Canterbury,30 and York,14. A chapelry was a subdivision of a parish in England. It had a status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church. In England civil parishes and their parish councils evolved in the 19th century as ecclesiastical parishes began to be relieved of what became considered to be civic responsibilities. Thus their boundaries began to diverge, the word parish acquired a secular usage. Since 1895, a council elected by public vote or a parish meeting administers a civil parish and is formally recognised as the level of local government below a district council. The parish is also the level of church administration in the Church of Scotland
8.
Reformation
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The period is usually considered to have begun with the publication of the Ninety-five Theses by Luther in 1517 to the Thirty Years War and ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The Protestant position, however, would come to incorporate doctrinal changes such as sola scriptura, the initial movement within Germany diversified, and other reform impulses arose independently of Luther. The spread of Gutenbergs printing press provided the means for the dissemination of religious materials in the vernacular. The largest groups were the Lutherans and Calvinists, Lutheran churches were founded mostly in Germany, the Baltics and Scandinavia, while the Reformed ones were founded in Switzerland, Hungary, France, the Netherlands and Scotland. The new movement influenced the Church of England decisively after 1547 under Edward VI and Elizabeth I, there were also reformation movements throughout continental Europe known as the Radical Reformation, which gave rise to the Anabaptist, Moravian and other Pietistic movements. The Roman Catholic Church responded with a Counter-Reformation initiated by the Council of Trent, much work in battling Protestantism was done by the well-organised new order of the Jesuits. In general, Northern Europe, with the exception of most of Ireland, southern Europe remained Roman Catholic, while Central Europe was a site of a fierce conflict, culminating in the Thirty Years War, which left it devastated. The oldest Protestant churches, such as the Unitas Fratrum and Moravian Church, the later Protestant Churches generally date their doctrinal separation from the Roman Catholic Church to the 16th century. The Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice. They especially objected to the teaching and the sale of indulgences, and the abuses thereof, and to simony, the reformers saw these practices as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Churchs hierarchy, which included the pope. Unrest due to the Great Schism of Western Christianity excited wars between princes, uprisings among the peasants, and widespread concern over corruption in the Church, New perspectives came from John Wycliffe at Oxford University and from Jan Hus at the Charles University in Prague. Hus rejected indulgences and adopted a doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone, the Roman Catholic Church officially concluded this debate at the Council of Constance by condemning Hus, who was executed by burning despite a promise of safe-conduct. Wycliffe was posthumously condemned as a heretic and his corpse exhumed and burned in 1428, the Council of Constance confirmed and strengthened the traditional medieval conception of church and empire. The council did not address the national tensions or the theological tensions stirred up during the century and could not prevent schism. Pope Sixtus IV established the practice of selling indulgences to be applied to the dead, Pope Alexander VI was one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes. He was the father of seven children, including Lucrezia and Cesare Borgia, in response to papal corruption, particularly the sale of indulgences, Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. The Reformation was born of Luthers dual declaration – first, the discovering of Jesus and salvation by faith alone, the Protestant reformers were unanimous in agreement and this understanding of prophecy furnished importance to their deeds. It was the point and the battle cry that made the Reformation nearly unassailable
9.
Moorland
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Moorland nowadays generally means uncultivated hill land, but includes low-lying wetlands. It is closely related to heath although experts disagree on precisely what distinguishes the types of vegetation, generally, moor refers to highland, high rainfall zones, whereas heath refers to lowland zones which are more likely to be the result of human activity. Most of the worlds moorlands are very diverse ecosystems, in the extensive moorlands of the tropics biodiversity can be extremely high. Moorland also bears a relationship to tundra, appearing as the tundra retreats, the boundary between tundra and moorland constantly shifts with climate change. Heathland and moorland are the most extensive areas of vegetation in the British Isles. The eastern British moorlands are similar to heaths but are differentiated by having a covering of peat, on western moors the peat layer may be several metres thick. There is uncertainty about how many moors were created by human activity, how much the deforestation was caused by climatic changes and how much by human activity is uncertain. A variety of habitat types are found in different world regions of moorland. The wildlife and vegetation forms often lead to high endemism because of the severe soil, for example, in Englands Exmoor is found the rare horse breed the Exmoor Pony, which has adapted to the harsh conditions of that environment. In Europe, the fauna consists of bird species such as red grouse, hen harrier, merlin, golden plover, curlew, skylark, meadow pipit, whinchat, ring ouzel. Other species dominate in moorlands elsewhere, reptiles are few due to the cooler conditions. In Europe, only the common viper is frequent, though in other regions moorlands are commonly home to dozens of reptile species, amphibians such as frogs are well represented in moorlands. When moorland is overgrazed, woody vegetation is often lost, being replaced by coarse, unpalatable grasses and bracken, some hill sheep breeds, such as Scottish Blackface and the Lonk, thrive on the austere conditions of heather moors. Burning of moorland has been practised for a number of reasons and this is recorded in Britain in the fourteenth century. Uncontrolled burning frequently caused problems, and was forbidden by statute in 1607, with the rise of sheep and grouse management in the nineteenth century it again became common practice. Heather is burnt at about 10 or 12 years old when it will regenerate easily, left longer, the woodier stems will burn more aggressively and will hinder regrowth. Burning of moorland vegetation needs to be carefully controlled as the peat itself can catch fire. In addition, uncontrolled burning of heather can promote alternative bracken, as a result, burning is now a controversial practice, Rackham calls it second-best land management
10.
Swiss Plateau
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The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau constitutes one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland alongside the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of the Swiss surface and it comprises the regions between the Jura and the Alps, partly flat but mostly hilly, and lies at an average height between 400 and 700 m AMSL. It is by far the most densely populated region of Switzerland, in the north and northwest, the Swiss Plateau is sharply delimited geographically and geologically by the Jura Mountains. In the south, there is no border with the Alps. Usually, the rising of the terrain to altitudes above 1500 metres AMSL, however, if a division into the three main regions Jura Mountains, Swiss Plateau and Alps is considered, the Alpine foreland belongs clearly to the Swiss Plateau. In the southwest, the Swiss Plateau is confined by Lake Geneva, in the northeast, by Lake Constance, geologically, the Swiss Plateau is part of a larger basin that extends beyond the border of Switzerland. At its southwestern end, in France, the plateau, in the Genevois, ends at Chambéry where Jura, at the other side of the Lake Constance, the plateau continues in the German and Austrian Pre-Alps. Many cantons of Switzerland include a part in the Swiss Plateau, the geological layers of the Swiss Plateau are relatively well known. Around 2500 –3000 metres below the surface, but considerably deeper near the Alps and it is covered by unfolded strata of Mesozoic sediments, which are part of the Helvetic nappes. Its depth gradually decreases from about 2.5 km in the west to 0.8 km in the east and these layers, like the ones of the Jura Mountains, were deposited in a relatively shallow sea, the Tethys Ocean. Above the Mesozoic layers, is the Molasse, consisting of conglomerate, sandstone, marl, the uppermost layer consists of gravel and glacial sediments that have been transported by the glaciers of the ice ages. Geologically the most important layer of the Swiss Plateau is the thick molasse sequence that accumulated at the border of the Alps due to the erosion of the concurrently uplifted mountains. The thickness of the molasse increases from west to east, the former alpine rivers built huge fans of sediment at the foot of the mountains. The eroded material has been sorted by grain size, the coarse material was predominantly deposited near the Alps. In the middle of the plateau, there are sandstones and near the Jura, clays. During the Tertiary orogenic uplift, around 60 –40 millions years ago, through processes of rising and lowering that were brought by the folding of the Alps, the area was twice flooded by a sea. The corresponding sediments are distinguished as sea molasse and freshwater molasse, even though the latter consists rather of fluvial, lower sea molasse, The limestone plateau subsided gradually, and a shallow sea invaded, spreading east to the Carpathian Mountains. The sediments consisted of fine-grained sands, clay and marl, there were no conglomerate fans since the proper Alpine folding began only at the end of that period
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