Interlaken

Interlaken (; lit.: between lakes) is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, and the main transport gateway to the mountains and lakes of that region.

The town is located on flat alluvial land called Bödeli between two lakes, Brienz to the east and Thun to the west, and alongside the river Aare, which flows between them. Transport routes to the east and west alongside the lakes are complemented by a route southwards into the near mountain resorts and high mountains, e.g. the famous high Alpine peaks of Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau, following upwards the Lütschine.

Interlaken is the central town of a small agglomeration with the same name of 23,300 inhabitants.

The official language of Interlaken is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Bernese German.

History

thumb|right|View of Interlaken, 1821

Until 1891, Interlaken was known as Aarmühle. The mill on the left bank of the Aare was first mentioned in 1365 as Amuli, while the town on the right bank was mentioned in 1239 as villa Inderlappen.

During the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century, the monastery grew and prospered. However, in 1350 a period of crises and conflicts led to a decline in the number of monks and nuns and increasing debt. A document from 1310, indicates that there were 30 priests, 20 lay brothers, and 350 women at the monastery. In contrast, in 1472 there were only the provost, the prior, nine ordinary canons, seven novices and 27 nuns. At this time, the monastery also had problems with its tenants and neighbors. In 1348, the people of Grindelwald and Wilderswil joined a mutual defense league with Unterwalden. Bern responded with a military expedition to the Bernese Oberland, which ended in defeat for Unterwalden and its allies.

In the 16th century, the bäuert of Aarmühle and the surrounding bäuerten began quarreling over the use of common fields and woods. Attempts at arbitration in 1533, 1586, and 1618 were unsuccessful. Partly as a result of the quarreling, in 1633, Wilderswil separated from Matten and became an independent municipality. However, the dispute continued between Aarmühle and Matten, and in 1761, the governor of the Interlaken district attempted, unsuccessfully, to mediate. Finally, in 1810 the two villages divided their common property, though it took until 1838 for Aarmühle to become an independent political municipality.

With the opening up of transport links, hotels developed along the route to the Jungfrau. In 1860–75 and 1890–1914 several luxury hotels were built with views of the Jungfrau and surrounding mountains. The current Kursaal was built in 1898-99 and remodeled in 1909–10.

Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 5.3% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 21.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 16.0%. while parks, green belts, and sports fields made up 4.0%. Out of the forested land, 20.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 1.6% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 6.5% is used for growing crops and 16.3% is pastures, while 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. The climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round.

Politics

Coat of arms

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Semi Ibex rampant couped Sable langued Gules.

Government

The Municipal Council (Gemeinderat) constitutes the executive government of the municipality of interlaken and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of seven councillors (), each responsible for a portfolio (Ressort). The councillor of the executive portfolio acts as an executive president (Gemeindepräsident). In the mandate period (Legislatur) 2021–2024 the Municipal Council is presided by Gemeindepräsident Philippe Ritschard. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Grand Municipal Council are carried by the Municipal Council. The regular election of the Municipal Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any Swiss resident of Interlaken allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipal Council. The delegates are selected by means of a system of Proporz. The president is elected as such as well by public election by means of a system of Mayorz while the heads of the other portfolios are assigned by the collegiate.

, Interlaken's Municipal Council is made up of three members of the FDP (The Liberals) of whom one is also the mayor, and two members each of the SP (Social Democratic Party) and SVP (Swiss People's Party). The last regular election (Landsgemeinde) was held on 27 September and 1 November 2020. The voter turnout was 67%/49.4%.

{|class="wikitable"

|+ The Municipal Council (Gemeinderat) of Interlaken

! Municipal Councillor<br/>(Gemeinderat/-rätin) !! Party !! Portfolio (Ressort, since) !! elected since

| Philippe Ritschard|| FDP || Executive portfolio (Präsidiales, 2021) || 2020

| Kaspar Boss || SP || Civil Engineering (Tiefbau, 2021) || 2020

| Nils Fuchs || FDP || Social Services (Soziales, 2021) || 2020

| Franz Christ || SVP || Construction (Bau, 2021) || 2020

| Peter Michael || SVP || Security (Sicherheit, 2012) || 2011

| Christoph Betschard || FDP || Finances and Taxes (Finanzen und Steuern, 2021) || 2020

| Andreas Ritschard || SP || Education (Bildung, 2021) || 2020

Parliament

The Grand Municipal Council (Grosser Gemeinderat, GGR) holds legislative power. It is made up of 31 members, with elections held every four years. The Grand Municipal Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the Municipal Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of Proporz.

The sessions of the Grand Municipal Council are public. Any resident of Interlaken allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Grand Municipal Council. The parliament holds its meetings six to eight times per year in the Kunsthaus (art museum) at Amman-Hofer-Platz.

In the 2015 Swiss federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the SVP which received 30.7% of the votes. The next five most popular parties were the SP (18.6%), the BDP (14.3%), the FDP (11.4%), the Green Party (7.9%), and EVP (6.1%). In the federal election, a total of 1610 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 45.5%.

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Interlaken is twinned with:

Ōtsu, Japan
Scottsdale, United States
Třeboň, Czech Republic
Huangshan, China
Zeuthen, Germany

Demographics

Population

thumb|upright|Jungfraustrasse

Interlaken has a population () of . , 26.4% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years (2000–2010) the population has changed at a rate of 5.3%. Migration accounted for 8.2%, while births and deaths accounted for −1.9%.

Most of the population () speaks German (4,271 or 83.4%) as their first language, Portuguese is the second most common (198 or 3.9%) and Italian is the third (145 or 2.8%). There are 64 people who speak French and 11 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the municipality, 988 or about 19.3% were born in Interlaken and lived there in 2000. There were 1,923 or 37.6% who were born in the same canton, while 805 or 15.7% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 1,185 or 23.1% were born outside of Switzerland.

, there were 2,418 private households in the municipality, and an average of 2.0 persons per household. There were 1,041 households that consist of only one person and 74 households with five or more people. A total of 2,292 apartments (83.5% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 329 apartments (12.0%) were seasonally occupied and 125 apartments (4.6%) were empty. , the construction rate of new housing units was 4.6 new units per 1000 residents.

the average price to rent an average apartment in Interlaken was 1013.98 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$810, £460, €650 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 642.58 CHF (US$510, £290, €410), a two-room apartment was about 741.20 CHF (US$590, £330, €470), a three-room apartment was about 945.28 CHF (US$760, £430, €600) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 1648.96 CHF (US$1320, £740, €1060). The average apartment price in Interlaken was 90.9% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.1%.

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Economy

thumb|right|Hotels on the Höheweg; roughly a quarter of all jobs in Interlaken are in hotels or restaurants.

Interlaken is classed as a tourist community. The municipality is the center of the agglomeration of Interlaken. , there were a total of 6,939 people employed in the municipality. Of these, 12 people worked in 5 businesses in the primary economic sector. The secondary sector employed 804 workers in 100 separate businesses. Finally, the tertiary sector provided 6,123 jobs in 724 businesses. In 2019 a total of 4.2% of the population received social assistance.

In 2011 the unemployment rate in the municipality was 3.4%.

In 2015 local hotels had a total of 710,116 overnight stays, of which 82.2% were international visitors. In 2017 there were about 27 hotels in the municipality, with 1,599 rooms.

thumb|left|upright|Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau

the total number of full-time equivalent jobs was 4,903. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 4, all of which were in agriculture. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 745 of which 281 or (37.7%) were in manufacturing and 397 (53.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 4,154. In the tertiary sector; 1,145 or 27.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 276 or 6.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1,170 or 28.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 57 or 1.4% were in the information industry, 168 or 4.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 308 or 7.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 119 or 2.9% were in education and 360 or 8.7% were in health care.

, there were 4,253 workers who commuted into the municipality and 1,117 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 3.8 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving. Of the working population, 12.5% used public transportation to get to work, and 28.5% used a private car.

During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 667 students attending classes in Interlaken. There were 4 kindergarten classes with a total of 72 students in the municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 36.1% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 47.2% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 15 primary classes and 275 students. Of the primary students, 33.8% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 43.1% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 16 lower secondary classes with a total of 301 students. There were 17.6% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 18.3% have a different mother language than the classroom language. , there were 450 students in Interlaken who came from another municipality, while 78 residents attended schools outside the municipality.

Transportation

thumb|right|Berner Oberland train at Interlaken

thumb|right|Lake Brienz ship Jungfrau at Interlaken

Interlaken has two railway stations, Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West, which are both served by the BLS AG's Thunersee line that provides direct services to Spiez, Thun, Bern and beyond, with onward connections at Bern to the rest of Switzerland. Through international services are provided by TGV to Paris and ICE to Frankfurt and Berlin.

Besides being the terminal of the Thunersee line, Interlaken Ost is also the terminus of the Zentralbahn's Brünig line to Brienz, Meiringen and Luzern, with onward connections to north-eastern Switzerland. The Berner Oberland railway also operates from Ost station, providing the first stage of several mountain railway routes into the Jungfrau region and, most notably, to Europe's highest station at the Jungfraujoch.

Boat services across Lake Brienz to Brienz and across Lake Thun to Spiez and Thun are operated by the BLS AG. The boats on Lake Thun operate from a quay adjacent to the West station, connected to Lake Thun by the Interlaken ship canal. The boats on Lake Brienz operate from a quay on the Aare by the Ost station. The remainder of the Aare between the two lakes is controlled by several weirs and is not navigable.

Interlaken is connected by the A8 motorway to Thun and Lucerne, with onward connections by other Swiss motorways to the rest of Switzerland. Local roads also follow both banks of the lakes to east and west and follow the valley of the Lütschine south into the Jungfrau region. However, there is no direct road connection across the mountains of that region into the canton of Valais to the south, with the nearest such connections being the Grimsel Pass to the east, or using the vehicle transport service through the Lötschberg rail tunnel to the west.

In the more immediate area, two funicular railways, the Harderbahn and the Heimwehfluhbahn, provide service to nearby vantage points. Local and regional bus services are provided by PostBus Switzerland, whilst Verkehrsbetriebe STI operates a regional bus service to Thun.

Culture

Events

thumb|right|Unspunnenfest in 2006

The Jungfrau Marathon is held in Interlaken each September.
The Unspunnenfest is a festival held in Interlaken and the neighbouring communities of Matten and Wilderswil approximately every twelve years. The festival highlights traditional Swiss culture and features competitions of Steinstossen (stone put), Schwingen (wrestling) and yodelling. The last Unspunnenfest was held in 2017. The next celebration is scheduled for the year 2029.
During summer, there is the Greenfield Festival on the outskirts of Interlaken.
On 15 July 2007, the Red Bull Air Race World Series was held on the airport situated near Interlaken.
From 27 August 1968 to 1 September 1968, World Constitutional Convention was held at Theatre Hall of the Kursaal in Interlaken.

Heritage sites of national significance

The former Monastery Building, the Hotel Royal-St. Georges, the Hotel Victoria-Jungfrau and the Kursaal are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire urbanized village of Interlaken is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Notable people

140px|thumb|Polo Hofer, 2011

140px|thumb|Lucas Tramèr, 2013

Marie Fillunger (1850–1930 in Interlaken), an Austrian singer, lived in Interlaken from 1919
Georgia Engelhard (1906–1985 in Interlaken), an American mountaineer, painter and photographer; lived in Interlaken
Hans Schaffner (1908 in Interlaken–2004), politician and former Federal Councillor
Dölf Reist (1921–2000), photographer and alpinist
Adrian Frutiger (1928–2015), typographer, served his apprenticeship in Interlaken
Elisabeth Glauser (born 1943 in Interlaken), a Swiss operatic mezzo-soprano and an academic teacher of voice
Polo Hofer (1945 in Interlaken – 2017), rock musician

; Sport

Walter Balmer (1948–2010 in Interlaken), a Swiss international footballer
Suzanne Müller (born 1963 in Interlaken), a Swiss rhythmic gymnast, competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics
Sandra Dombrowski (born 1967 in Interlaken), a Swiss ice hockey player and referee
Nelson Ferreira (born 1982 in Interlaken), a Swiss and Portuguese footballer
Marcel Marti (born 1983 in Interlaken), a Swiss ski mountaineer
Sven Michel (born 1988), a Swiss curler from Interlaken
Kilian Moser (born 1988), racing cyclist
Sascha Stulz (born 1988 in Interlaken), a Swiss professional football goalkeeper
Lucas Tramèr (born 1989 in Interlaken), a Swiss rower, gold medallist at the 2016 Summer Olympics