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Steffisburg is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. ==History== Steffisburg is first mentioned in 1133 as ''Stevensburc''. The municipality was formerly known by its French name ''Steffisbourg'', however, that name is no longer used.〔 The area around Steffisburg has been inhabited since the Neolithic era and remained occupied during the Bronze Age. Traces of a Roman site were discovered in Schwäbis. Early medieval graves have been discovered at Zelgmatte and Klosterhubel. By the High Middle Ages the entire Zulgtal, including Steffisburg, was owned by the local Freiherr von Heimberg family. Under the Zähringer family, the Grafschaft of Thun expanded to include the village. When they died out in 1218 it passed to the Kyburgs, who made Steffisburg a fief for several different Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) families. One of these families, the von Kien, built what became known as the Kleine Höchhus in the 14th century, when they administered the municipality. Today, the Kleine Höchhus is one of the oldest buildings in the municipality. Steffisburg became the center of a local court jurisdiction. Over the following years portions of the village and surrounding farms were donated to several local monasteries.〔 On 11 November 1382, Rudolf II von Kyburg, attempted unsuccessfully to attack Solothurn. His attack started the ''Burgdorferkrieg'' (also ''Kyburgerkrieg'') with the Old Swiss Confederacy. Bern used the war to expand north into the Aargau and south into the Oberland. As part of the peace treaty, Bern bought the city of Thun and all its surrounding lands including Steffisburg. By the 15th century ownership of the town passed from former Kyburg nobles to Bernese patricians. In 1480 the Bernese Schultheiss Heinrich Matter built the Grosse Höchhus near the Kleine Höchhus and on the ruins of ''Stevensburc'' castle. While the Höchhus was rebuilt several times over the centuries it remained essentially unchanged.〔(Steffisburg Website Das Grosse Höchhus ) accessed 29 September 2014〕 Under Bernese rule, the town remained the center of a court. The court house was built in 1543 and in 1549 it became a tavern in addition to being the courthouse. While it was part of the District of Thun, Steffisburg retained a measure of independence. They had their own laws, which were first codified in 1405 and remained in effect until 1834. In 1476 they raised their own company of soldiers who marched under their own banner but were under Thun's overall command. In 1553 they raised a company of riflemen who drilled in Steffisburg, separate from Thun's military. During the 1641 and 1653 peasant revolts the soldiers from Steffisburg rose up against the cities of Thun and Bern. Though the revolt was unsuccessful, Steffisburg retained its position as a regional center and court.〔 A leader of the revolt, Hans Berger from Steffisburg, fled the country to escape execution for his role in the uprising.〔(Steffisburg Website History - Peasant Revolt ) accessed 29 September 2014〕 Following the 1798 French invasion, Steffisburg became the capital of the Helvetic Republic Steffisburg district. After the collapse of the Republic and 1803 Act of Mediation it joined the newly created Thun District.〔 The town's parish church was first built in the late 7th or early 8th century. It was replaced with a new building in the 9th or 10th century. It was first mentioned in 1224 as the Church of St. Stephan, which was the center of a large parish which covered the entire Zulg river valley (Zulgtal). The bell tower was added between 1320 and 1500. In 1528, Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and the church at Steffisburg converted. The attached ossuary chapel was demolished soon there after. In the following century the Anabaptist faith became popular in the upper Zulgtal. To help curb this faith's popularity, in 1693 a large parish church was built in Schwarzenegg (now part of Oberlangenegg) and the Steffisburg parish divided. In 1681 the current church building was built in Steffisburg, incorporating elements from the 9th or 10th century building.〔 Traditionally the local economy was fairly diverse. The farmers raised crops on the valley floor and raised livestock in alpine meadows during the summer before bringing them down for the winter. By the 14th century there were vineyards on the sunny south facing mountain slopes. The Zulg river provided power for a number of grain mills, saw mills, fulling mills and later gunpowder mills. In the 1700s pottery factories and several brick factories opened in the town. In 1809 a brewery opened, followed by a second in 1818. During the 19th century the Aare and Zulg river correction projects helped drain swampy land and protected the growing town from flooding. The town was located on the Bern-Thun road, which was expanded in the 19th century bringing additional business to the area. The completion of a road to the upper Emmental which passed though Steffisburg in 1895-1900 brought more traffic and money, as did the Burgdorf-Thun railroad on 1899 and the Steffisburg-Thun-Interlaken tram in 1913. Since 1900, the town has experienced several housing booms as commuters move to Steffisburg to be close to jobs in Thun.〔 In 1850 the Swiss Federal Government built the ''Regie'' in Schwäbis to house horses for cavalry for the Swiss Army. It was converted into a warehouse for military vehicles in 1982 and in 2008 became a museum that housed historic army equipment.〔 Steffisburg has ten kindergartens, eight primary schools and two secondary schools in a single school district.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Steffisburg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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