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47-756: Wilderswil belongs to the Small Agglomeration Interlaken with 23,300 inhabitants (2014). The village of Wilderswil is situated at the southern border of the Bödeli , the tongue of land between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz in the Bernese Oberland region. It lies at the entrance to the mountain valleys containing the Lütschine river and its tributary the Saxetenbach, and is some 4 km (2.5 mi) south of Interlaken ,

94-544: A 54.7 km line from Lauterbrunnen to Visp , with stations at Stechelberg , Steinberg , Oberborn , and Blatten . It would have involved the construction of a 4,650 m tunnel at 2,200 m elevation under the Breithorn mountain. At Visp it would have had a connection with the Simplon line. Estimated at 15 million Swiss francs, finance was not forthcoming and by 1906 the plans were abandoned. By 1 July 1890

141-551: A company that also owns the 800 mm ( 2 ft  7 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) Schynige Platte Railway . Through that company it is part of the Allianz – Jungfrau Top of Europe marketing alliance, which also includes the separately owned Wengernalpbahn , Jungfraubahn , Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen–Mürren , Harderbahn , and Firstbahn . The first proposals for the Berner Oberland-Bahn, made in 1873, showed

188-405: A half-hour timetable can be operated with only five train compositions. Since 2005, every composition has been equipped with an articulated (three-part) low-floor driving trailer as standard. Two train compositions are usually coupled together to travel to Zweilütschinen where they are then split. The front portion travels to Lauterbrunnen, the other one to Grindelwald. The motor coach (power unit)

235-597: A history different from the other two villages. It remained under Unspunnen until the late 15th century. Between 1488 and 1515, the city of Bern gradually acquired rights and land in Unspunnen until they owned the entire Herrschaft . Under Bernese rule, Wilderswil was incorporated into the municipality of Unterseen , where it remained until 1798. Since 1805, the Unspunnenfest , a festival that highlights traditional Swiss culture, has been held at regular intervals in

282-421: A line from Interlaken (at that time Aarmühle) to Zweilütschinen with later options to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald with starting point at Bönigen. Four years later an 80 years concession was obtained for construction and operation of the line and the company, Berner Oberland-Bahnen AG was founded on 2 November 1888 and construction started the following year. In 1897 the company obtained a concession to construct

329-522: A need for servicing and construction facilities on the line a new depot was opened at Zweilütschinen in 1968. Since that time there has been a need for track capacity to be increased and in 1991 the Wilderswil to Gsteigwiler section was substantially improved. This was followed by the doubling of the Gsteigwiler to Zweilütschinen 4 years later. A bottleneck between Wilderswil and Zweilütschinen

376-420: A service every hour in each direction on both its lines, the trains leaving Interlaken Ost coupled together and dividing at Zweilütschinen. From mid December to late October, additional trains give a 30-minute service frequency in the morning and afternoon. The last services are often timetabled to be operated by buses. The passenger rolling stock of the line can be divided into that in regular use and that which

423-472: A total of 989 people employed in the municipality. Of these, there were 43 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 20 businesses involved in this sector. 380 people were employed in the secondary sector and there were 25 businesses in this sector. 566 people were employed in the tertiary sector , with 77 businesses in this sector. There were 1,167 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 43.7% of

470-488: Is a narrow-gauge mountain railway in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland . It runs, via a "Y" junction at Zweilütschinen to serve Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald from Interlaken . The railway is rack assisted (that is although an adhesion railway, rack and pinion operation is used on steep sections of the line to assist traction). The BOB is owned by the Berner Oberland-Bahnen AG ,

517-521: Is always positioned on the uphill side, a driving trailer (coach with a driver's cab) being positioned on the downhill side, to avoid any running round manoeuvres at the terminus stations. Like all Swiss railways the BOB operates to a clock – face timetable offering connections from the main line at Interlaken and, at its upper terminals, to the Wengernalpbahn . Throughout the year the BOB offers

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564-412: Is followed by three years of obligatory lower secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower secondary, students may attend additional schooling, or they may enter an apprenticeship . During the 2010−11 school year, there were a total of 322 students attending classes in Wilderswil. There were two kindergarten classes with a total of 26 students in

611-420: Is historic in nature. Present day passenger stock is painted in striking a blue/yellow livery. That in regular use can be divided as follows: Historical stock includes the following items, which still carry the former brown/cream livery for coaches and all-over brown for guards/parcels vehicles. Goods stock is a varied collection, much of which would not be out of place in a museum. The earliest wagon shown on

658-409: Is the second most common (23 or 1.0%) and Italian is the third (20 or 0.9%). There are 19 people who speak French and one person who speaks Romansh . As of 2008, the population was 49.8% male and 50.2% female. The population was made up of 1,108 Swiss men (44.3% of the population) and 137 (5.5%) non-Swiss men. There were 1,143 Swiss women (45.7%) and 113 (4.5%) non-Swiss women. Of the population in

705-458: Is used for agricultural purposes, while 7.77 km (3.00 sq mi) or 57.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 1.35 km (0.52 sq mi) or 10.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.18 km (0.069 sq mi) or 1.3% is either rivers or lakes and 1.57 km (0.61 sq mi) or 11.6% is unproductive land. Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 3.8% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.4%. Out of

752-461: The 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge line, was opened, using steam traction. On 18 August 1902 a disastrous fire destroyed the station buildings and goods shed at Grindelwald and these were later rebuilt, surviving to the present day. On 7 October 1908 a new station was added to the system, that at Schwendi on the Grindelwald section. Steam traction on

799-614: The Freiherr of Weissenau joined other local nobles in a war against the growing power of the city of Bern . After the defeat of the nobles, Weissenau was forced to sell the castle and his Herrschaft to Interlaken Monastery to pay his debts. 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, including Mülenen and Grenchen, joined in an unsuccessful rebellion against

846-589: The Interlaken ship canal and Thun ship canal connect the lake to Interlaken West railway station and Thun railway station respectively. Following World War II and up until 1964, the Swiss Government disposed of unused munitions into Lake Thun. The quantity of munitions dumped is reported to be from 3,000 to more than 9,020 tons. Bernese Oberland Railway The Bernese Oberland Railway ( German : Berner Oberland-Bahn , BOB )

893-420: The BOB stock list dates from 1888 and was rebuilt by the BOB in 1990. The collection of goods stock totals over 30 assorted wagons, most pre-First World War, many built by SIG and much rebuilt by the BOB over the years. More recently a few additions have been made, most of which are second-hand from CFF/SBB/FFS. The line is home to a snowplough (Series Xrot e) with was built in 1954 by SIG/BBC and rebuilt in 1990 at

940-521: The airfield, along with a tunnel which can be utilised as a drainage corridor in the event of severe flooding of the Lütschine River. The construction cost at 70million CHF. Because of its location, it is the point of departure for many excursions to the heart of the Jungfrau region. The town has 16 hotels, motels and hotels with 900 guest beds, 300 vacation homes, and one camping site (open in

987-589: The construction of hotels and resorts. By 1910, there were a dozen hotels in the municipality. The tourism industry suffered during the World Wars and the Great Depression , but in 1941 the Swiss Army built an airfield in Wilderswil. The airfield and the railroad became the largest employers in Wilderswil. The airfield closed in 2003 and, as of 2014, is used for racing and concerts. The blazon of

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1034-469: The construction rate of new housing units was 8.8 new units per 1,000 residents. The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2011, was 0.95%. The historical population is given in the following chart: The entire urbanized village of Wilderswil and the village of Gsteig bei Interlaken, which is shared with Gsteigwiler , are part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites . In the 2011 federal election ,

1081-507: The excess runoff. The lake is fed by water from Lake Brienz to the southeast, which is 6 metres (20 ft) higher than Lake Thun, and various streams in the Oberland, including the Kander . In 1835, passenger steamships began operating regularly on the lake. Ten passenger ships, operated by the local railway company BLS AG like Blümlisalp , serve the towns of Interlaken and Thun ;

1128-443: The forested land, 53.8% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.7% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 2.2% is used for growing crops and 7.7% is pastures and 9.5% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 6.7% is unproductive vegetation and 4.9% is too rocky for vegetation. On 31 December 2009, Amtsbezirk Interlaken,

1175-472: The grounds of the now-ruined, Unspunnen Castle. The tourism industry began in Wilderswil in the 19th century with the construction of a road from Interlaken to the Lütschine river valleys. The Bernese Oberland Railway built a station in the municipality in 1890, followed by the base station of a funicular railway to the Schynige Platte two years later. These easy transportation links encouraged

1222-452: The line came to an end in 1914, the line becoming electrified at 1500 V d.c., overhead supply, on 17 March of that year, although steam locomotives have been used since that date on special services. Several changes were made during the 1950s and 1960s, the two most important being in 1957, the construction of an airfield at Interlaken causing the realignment of the line between Wilderswil and Interlaken Ost , but to no detriment and, with

1269-674: The main town of the Bödeli. The municipality extends for some 8 km (5.0 mi) from the village, along the west bank of the Lütschine river, and includes the flanks of the mountains that border that valley to the west. Its altitude ranges from some 580 m (1,900 ft), on the Bödeli plain, to 2,413 m (7,917 ft), at the summit of Sulegg . It consists of the villages of Wilderswil, Mülenen and Gsteigallmend. Wilderswil has an area of 13.19 km (5.09 sq mi). Of this area, 2.67 km (1.03 sq mi) or 19.7%

1316-710: The most popular party was the Swiss People's Party (SVP) which received 36.1% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP) (15.9%), the Social Democratic Party (SP) (14.5%) and the FDP.The Liberals (9.7%). In the federal election, a total of 868 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 46.6%. As of  2011, Wilderswil had an unemployment rate of 1.57%. As of 2008, there were

1363-490: The municipal coat of arms is Per bend sinister Argent and Sable overall a Buck counterchanged. Wilderswil has a population (as of December 2020) of 2,638. As of 2010, 10.0% of the population are resident foreign nationals. In the period from 2000 to 2010, the population changed at a rate of 12.7%. Migration accounted for 12%, while births and deaths accounted for −1%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (2,116 or 94.5%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian

1410-525: The municipality for every one entering. Of the working population, 16.9% used public transportation to get to work, and 46.4% used a private car. All three villages that make up Wilderwil belong to the large parish of Gsteigwiler. From the 2000 census, 267 or 11.9% were Roman Catholic , while 1,642 or 73.4% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church . Of the rest of the population, there were 13 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.58% of

1457-399: The municipality's former district, was dissolved. On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Interlaken-Oberhasli. The area was settled by Alamanni around the year 600. The name also comes from this period. In 1895, in excavations for the construction of a hotel, a graveyard of 15 graves from the seventh century, with 18 skeletons and burial objects,

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1504-565: The municipality, 668 or about 29.8% were born in Wilderswil and lived there in 2000. There were 970 or 43.3% who were born in the same canton, while 298 or 13.3% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 234 or 10.5% were born outside of Switzerland. As of 2010, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) made up 21% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) made up 61.5%, and seniors (over 64 years old) made up 17.6%. As of 2000, there were 927 people who were single and never married in

1551-590: The municipality. Wilderswil railway station is the primary connection in the town, Wilderswil with Berner Oberland Bahn trains passing through between Interlaken and up to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. The station is the terminus of the Schynige Platte Railway . The town has main road access to the A8 motorway . In August 2023, a project was completed to construct a new 2km bypass to reduce traffic in Wilderswil. The new road system included links to

1598-426: The municipality. Of the kindergarten students, 3.8% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 11.5% had a mother language different from the classroom language. The municipality had nine primary classes and 183 students. Of the primary students, 5.5% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 5.5% had a mother language different from the classroom language. During

1645-419: The municipality. There were 1,094 married individuals, 125 widows or widowers and 92 individuals who were divorced. As of 2000, there were 283 households that consist of only one person and 63 households with five or more people. In 2000, a total of 911 apartments (76.4% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 211 apartments (17.7%) were seasonally occupied and 71 apartments (6.0%) were empty. As of 2010,

1692-547: The new faith. After Bern imposed its will on the Oberland, they secularized the monastery and annexed all the monastery lands. The two villages became a part of the Bernese bailiwick of Interlaken. During the 15th century, the alpine village of Gsteigallmend was built above the village of Grenchen. In the following century, Grenchen was gradually abandoned. Wilderswil village was part of the Herrschaft of Unspunnen and had

1739-417: The older electric locomotives still survive and are used for special trains. The centre of operations is Zweilütschinen with the depot headquarters and the modern main workshops. From the introduction of the 1999 timetable, the newly constructed 2.5 km section of dual track between Gsteigwiler and Zweilütschinen allows trains to pass without one having to wait in a loop, off the main line. This means that

1786-655: The population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist , and 53 individuals (or about 2.37% of the population) did not answer the question. In Wilderswil, about 998 or (44.6%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education , and 200 or (8.9%) have completed additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule ). Of the 200 who had completed tertiary schooling, 69.5% were Swiss men, 22.5% were Swiss women, 5.5% were non-Swiss men and 2.5% were non-Swiss women. The canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory Kindergarten , followed by six years of primary school. This

1833-541: The population), there were two individuals (or about 0.09% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church , and there were 119 individuals (or about 5.32% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 38 (or about 1.70% of the population) who were Muslims . There were three individuals who were Buddhist , six individuals who were Hindu and six individuals who belonged to another church. 148 (or about 6.61% of

1880-432: The repair of motor vehicles, 30 or 6.6% were in the movement and storage of goods, 156 or 34.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, nine or 2.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 30 or 6.6% were in education and 26 or 5.8% were in health care. In 2000, there were 300 workers who commuted into the municipality and 811 workers who commuted away. The municipality was a net exporter of workers, with about 2.7 workers leaving

1927-441: The same year, there were five lower secondary classes with a total of 97 students. There were 2.1% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 4.1% had a mother language different from the classroom language. The remainder of the students attended a private or special school. As of 2000, there were 113 students in Wilderswil who came from another municipality, while 69 residents attended schools outside

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1974-530: The steep sections of both arms of the line. On 7 August 2003 two trains collided head-on on a single track section between Zweilütschinen and Wilderswil, 1 person was killed and 64 injured. The regular train coming down from Zweilütschinen had passed a red signal at the end of the double track section and collided with an extra train near Gsteigwiler. Automatic train stop system ZSI-127 had already been in place but not yet in use, awaiting final completion and approval. Since 1949 railcars have predominated. Some of

2021-490: The summer). Lake Thun Lake Thun ( German : Thunersee ) is an Alpine lake in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland named after the city of Thun , on its northern shore. At 48.3 km (18.6 sq mi) in surface area, it is the largest Swiss lake entirely within a single canton. The lake was created after the last glacial period . After the 10th century, it split from Lake Brienz , before which

2068-512: The two lakes were combined, as Wendelsee ("Lake Wendel"). The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Finsteraarhorn at 4,274 metres (14,022 ft) above sea level. Lake Thun's approximate 2,500 square kilometres (970 sq mi) catchment area frequently causes local flooding after heavy rainfalls. This occurs because the river Aare ( German : Aare ), which drains Lake Thun, has only limited capacity to handle

2115-465: The workforce. In 2008 there were a total of 843 full-time equivalent jobs. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 27, of which 26 were in agriculture and one was in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 364 of which 288 or (79.1%) were in manufacturing and 76 (20.9%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 452. In the tertiary sector, 167 or 36.9% were in wholesale or retail sales or

2162-567: Was discovered. Wilderswil is first mentioned in the year 1224 as Wilderswile . Unspunnen Castle , within the municipality, was first mentioned in 1232. Wilderswil was governed by the barons of Rotenfluh-Wilderswil, later also by the barons of Waediswil, Weissenburg and Scharnachtal. During the Middle Ages, the villages of Mülenen and Grenchen (now part of the municipality) were part of the Herrschaft of Weissenau Castle . Around 1334,

2209-467: Was eased when, in 1999, a 2.5 km. double track section was opened between those places meaning that trains could run through without the need to use the passing loop and, as necessary, awaiting the train in the opposite direction. The BOB has a total length of 23.608 km and is a mixed rack and adhesion railway with four rack and pinion sections, using the Riggenbach rack system , two each on

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