Allmendingen bei Bern is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Besides the village of Allmendingen, the municipality includes the settlement of Märchligen.
History
Allmendingen is first mentioned in 1256 as Alwandigen under the control of Rudolf von Alwandingen.
Some traces of a prehistoric settlement and High Medieval fortifications were discovered in the Hüenliwald. The fortifications were abandoned by 1256, when the village was first mentioned. During the High Medieval period, Allmendingen Castle was built in the village. The castle was later abandoned and fell into ruin. The ruins were still visible in the village in 1729, but have since vanished.
In 1256 the Lords of Allmendingen sold both Allmendingen and the village of Märchligen to Interlaken Monastery. In 1528, the city of Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and began imposing it on the Bernese Oberland. The monastery and its villages rose up in an unsuccessful rebellion against the new faith. After Bern imposed its will on the monastery, they secularized it and annexed all its lands, including Allmendingen.
Starting in the 17th century, Bernese patricians, trying to escape the city, built country manor houses in Allmendingen. These included the 1607 Neue Schloss for Kaspar von Graffenrieds and the 1723 Märchligen Estate for Samuel Morlot, both of which were used as summer residences. Other nobles built country estates and became gentleman farmers, including the Alter Sandacker estate (which was built before 1794) and the Hübeli estate from 1846.
During the early 20th century agriculture remained the major source of income in the village, while Bern grew around the village. In 1972 a number of zoning restrictions were lifted which finally allowed new construction. The municipality is located outside Bern but has easy access to the city along the old Bern-Thun highway, the Bern-Thun railway line from 1859, the Bern-Langnau-Lucerne railway from 1864 to 1875 and the A6 motorway which was built in 1973.
Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 4.7% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.9%. Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 47.4% is used for growing crops and 14.7% is pastures, while 2.9% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.
Coat of arms
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per Chevron embowed Sable and Argent.
Demographics
Allmendingen has a population () of . , 6.8% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of -0.6%. Migration accounted for 0.4%, while births and deaths accounted for 2.3%.
Most of the population () speaks German (471 or 95.2%) as their first language, French is the second most common (7 or 1.4%) and English is the third (7 or 1.4%). There are 4 people who speak Italian.
, there were 46 households that consist of only one person and 11 households with five or more people. , a total of 198 apartments (90.8% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 18 apartments (8.3%) were seasonally occupied and 2 apartments (0.9%) were empty. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.44%.
The historical population is given in the following chart:
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Heritage sites of national significance
The Noble's Manor House, the Alter Sandacker and the Villa at Bergliweg 11 are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.
<gallery>
File:Villa Allmendingen BE Bergliweg 11 Eingangsfront im Osten.jpg|Allmendingen Villa
File:Allmendingen bei Bern, Herrenbauernhaus.jpg|The Noble's Manor House
</gallery>
Politics
In the 2011 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 31.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the BDP Party (21.7%), the SPS (13.9%) and the FDP (12.3%). In the federal election, a total of 256 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 63.5%.
Economy
, Allmendingen had an unemployment rate of 1.49%. , there were a total of 215 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 47 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 14 businesses involved in this sector. 18 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 3 businesses in this sector. 150 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 14 businesses in this sector.
, there were 99 workers who commuted into the municipality and 223 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net exporter of workers, with about 2.3 workers leaving the municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 23.6% used public transportation to get to work, and 46.6% used a private car.
During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 35 students attending classes in Allmendingen. There was one kindergarten class with a total of 9 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 11.1% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 22.2% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 2 primary classes and 26 students. Of the primary students, 3.8% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 3.8% have a different mother language than the classroom language.
, there were 8 students in Allmendingen who came from another municipality, while 41 residents attended schools outside the municipality.