|
Utzenstorf is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is regionally famous for its medieval castle, Landshut Castle. ==History== Utzenstorf is first mentioned in 1175 as ''Uzansdorf''.〔 The oldest trace of a settlement in the municipality is the neolithic hilltop settlement at Bürglenhubel. The Bürglenhubel site includes traces of an earthen wall, turf houses and flint tools. There are several other prehistoric sites in the municipality, including scatter neolithic items at Lindenrain and a La Tene culture grave at Schnäggefeld.〔 When the area was part of the Kingdom of Burgundy, the county of Uranestorfus was mentioned in a record from 1009. Under the Dukes of Zähringen Landshut Castle was the administrative center of the ''Amt'' or township of Utzenstorf. The ''Amt'' included both the upper village (Ober-Utzenstorf) and the lower village (Unter-Utzenstorf) and included ownership of all land along with the right to hold both the high and low courts. When the Zähringen line died out, the ''Amt'' was inherited by the Counts of Kyburg. During the Gümmenenkrieg in 1332, the castle was attacked by troops from Bern and Solothurn and destroyed. It was rebuilt shortly thereafter. At the end of the 14th century, the Kyburgs were forced to pawn the castle and the ''Amt''. It was acquired by Rudolf von Ringoltingen from Bern, who combined several estates into the ''Amt''. In 1479 Ludwig von Diesbach inherited the estate from the Ringoltingen family. However, in 1514 the city of Bern bought the castle and ''Amt'' from the Diesbachs. Under Bernese rule, the castle became the center of the bailiwick of Landshut.〔 During the High Middle Ages the villages were part of the parish of Kirchberg. A village church was probably built in the 11th or 12th centuries, but it was first mentioned in 1275. A new church, dedicated to St. Martin, was built on the same site in 1457. In 1481, Bern acquired the right to collect tithes from the two villages. The villages adopted the Protestant Reformation when Bern converted. The church became the Reformed parish church over a parish that included the two villages, Wiler bei Utzenstorf and Zielebach. In 1804 the father of the future novelist Albert Bitzius, who would be better known by his pen name Jeremias Gotthelf, became the pastor at Utzendorf. Young Albert lived in the village until 1812 when he left to continue his education. He returned a few years later and worked as his father's vicar, though he left to be a vicar in Herzogenbuchsee after his father's death in 1824. Many of his novels feature peasants from the Emmental and are probably influenced by his time in Utzenstorf.〔 The municipality remained mostly Protestant, but in 1960 a Roman Catholic church was built in Utzenstorf for the surrounding 24 municipalities. During the 16th century, Utzenstorf began to expand, causing border conflicts and disagreements with neighboring municipalities. It quarreled with Bätterkinden from 1505 until 1526 and with Wiler and Zielebach in 1596. The villages and surrounding fields were often devastated when the Emme flooded. The municipality tried to built levees along the river in the 17th century, but they still suffered floods until the Canton adjusted the river course in 1884. A village school was built in 1892. The Solothurn-Burgdorf Railroad built a rail line and station in Utzenstorf in 1875. The line connected the municipality to rest of the country and allowed industry to move into the area. The first industrial factory, a paper mill, opened in 1892. Two years later, a biscuit factory opened and remained in operation until 1952. The first two factories were followed by other factories. A proposal to build an international airport along the banks of Emme river in 1945 failed due to opposition from the residents. However, the municipality continued to expand. In the 1970s and 80s several new neighborhoods were built to house the growing population.〔 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「Utzenstorf」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|