Aefligen

Aefligen
Coat of arms
Aefligen Show map of Switzerland Aefligen Show map of Canton of Bern
Location of Aefligen
Coordinates: 47°6′N 7°33′E / 47.100°N 7.550°E / 47.100; 7.550Coordinates: 47°6′N 7°33′E / 47.100°N 7.550°E / 47.100; 7.550
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Emmental
Area
• Total	2.03 km2 (0.78 sq mi)
Elevation	497 m (1,631 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	1,067
• Density	530/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Postal code	3426
SFOS number	0401
Surrounded by	Bätterkinden, Fraubrunnen, Kirchberg, Rüdtligen-Alchenflüh, Utzenstorf
Website	www.aefligen.ch SFSO statistics

Aefligen is a municipality in the Emmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

The first mention of the town is in 1261 when it was known as Efflingen. During the 13th Century, the nearby Fraubrunnen Abbey became independent of the local nobility and brought Aefligen with them. By 1297 the neighboring villages were administered from Aefligen. However, it was far from fully independent. The Low justice court (petty crimes and punishments) for Aefligen was in Bätterkinden, it belonged to the county of Landshut and was part of the parish of Kirchberg. Around 1510-14 Landshut lost the rights to Aefligen and it became a vogtie of Bern.

Starting in the 14th century, conflicts began between Aefligen and neighboring villages and the Abbey over shared fields and woods. It wasn't until 1847 that Aefligen acquired its own woods, when the Rüdtligerwald became part of the community. In 1856 part of Moos joined Aefligen.

In 1838 the first bridge over the Emme River was completed which increased traffic through the community. In 1875 a railroad station of the Burgdorf-Solothurn-Bahn was built in Aefligen. Despite the construction of a fabric factory (1866–1920), foundry (1945) and a precision machining factory (1954) the community economy remained based on farming throughout the 20th Century.

Aefligen has an area of 2.03 km² (0.78 sq mi). Of this area, 1.42 km² (0.55 sq mi) or 70.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.07 km² (0.027 sq mi) or 3.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.46 km² (0.18 sq mi) or 22.7% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.09 km² (22 acres) or 4.4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.01 km² (2.5 acres) or 0.5% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 1.5% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 14.3% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 2.5% of the area Out of the forested land, all of the forested land area is covered with heavy forests. Of the agricultural land, 57.1% is used for growing crops and 11.3% is pastures, while 1.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.