- Aarwangen
Infobox Swiss town
subject_name = Aarwangen
municipality_name = Aarwangen
municipality_type = municipality
imagepath_coa = Aarwangen-coat of arms.svg|pixel_coa=
image_photo = SchlossAarwangenAare.pngSchloss Aarwangen .
languages = German
canton = Berne
iso-code-region = CH-BE
district = Aarwangen
lat_d=47|lat_m=14|lat_NS=N|long_d=7|long_m=46|long_EW=E
postal_code = 4912
municipality_code =
area = 9.90
elevation = 437|elevation_description=
population = 4145|populationof=2002
website = www.aarwangen.ch
mayor = |mayor_asof=|mayor_party=
mayor_title = |list_of_mayors =
places =
demonym =
neighboring_municipalities=Bannwil ,Graben , Langenthal, Roggwil,Schwarzhäusern ,Thunstetten ,Wynau
twintowns = Vodnany (Czech Republic)|Aarwangen is a municipality in the district of Aarwangen in the canton of Berne in
Switzerland .History
Aarwangen grew from a fortified toll crossing over the
River Aare , in a region where there were few realistic crossing places. The first bridge was built in the early years of the 13th century, and by the 16th century this had developed into a covered wooden bridge and customs post, defended by a castle.During the 18th century, by road, and the 19th century, by rail, this became a busy and important trade route for the movement of goods between the western and eastern parts of Switzerland.
The municipal coat of arms is black and silver. It represents the seal of the Aarwangen family, who built the first Schloss Aarwangen on the southern riverbank, though the present structure only dates back to the Landvögte, or Bailiffs, of Bern in the 16th and 17th centuries. When the Aarwangen family died out in the year 1341 they were succeeded by, the closely allied Grünenberg family, both families being vassals of the
Habsburg family. The Grünenberg family did not last long and had already disappeared from the archives by the early 14th century, when the city of Bern established sovreignity over the region. In 1432, after the conquest of the neighbouring Aargau, Schloss Aarwangen was purchased by the city of Bern, which then acquired the remainder of the former Grünenberg estate, including the area of the current district of Aarwangen, in 1480.Thus the Bailiffs of Bern came to Aarwangen. Altogether, 75 Bailiffs resided in the castle, where their coat of arms, with its distinctive black bear, is still displayed prominently on the outer wall. They stayed until the revolt, and the end of the Bernese city state, in the spring of 1798, during which the castle sustained serious damage, with the interior almost gutted.
In the year 1803 the canton Bern was divided into official districts and Aarwangen became seat of the
district of Aarwangen . The castle was in private hands for a few years, until it was repurchased and restored by the Canton of Bern where it has become the district court and administrative buildings. It is a heritage site of national significance. [Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance (1995), p. 101.]Personalities
* Gottfried Egger (1830-1913), brewer.
Footnotes
External links
* [http://www.aarwangen.ch Official Website of Aarwangen]
*HDS|184
* [http://www.swisscastles.ch/Bern/aarwangen.html Bern: Schloss Aarwangen - Le château de Aarwangen] ("in French but with stunning photos")
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
