Bärschwil

Bärschwil
Coat of arms
Bärschwil Show map of Switzerland Bärschwil Show map of Canton of Solothurn
Location of Bärschwil
Coordinates: 47°23′N 7°28′E / 47.383°N 7.467°E / 47.383; 7.467Coordinates: 47°23′N 7°28′E / 47.383°N 7.467°E / 47.383; 7.467
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Solothurn
District	Thierstein
Area
• Total	11.22 km2 (4.33 sq mi)
Elevation	466 m (1,529 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	812
• Density	72/km2 (190/sq mi)
Postal code	4252
SFOS number	2611
Surrounded by	Corban (JU), Courchapoix (JU), Courroux (JU), Grindel, Laufen (BL), Liesberg (BL), Montsevelier (JU), Vicques (JU)
Website	www.baerschwil.ch SFSO statistics

Bärschwil is a village and municipality in the district of Thierstein in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland.

Bärschwil is first mentioned in 1194 as Bermeswile.

From the 19th century until 1957, Bärschwil was a source of gypsum. Initially, the gypsum was extracted on the surface but, subsequently, using underground mines accessed via adits. Until 1910, the mine was situated at Gupf and, when that was exhausted, a new mine was opened at Kirchacker.

In 1875, the Jura railway line was opened at the northern edge of Bärschwil municipality, and a station opened. Between 1894 and 1952, the gypsum mines were linked to the station by the Bärschwil gypsum railway, a narrow gauge line which used a combination of horse haulage and gravity.

Bärschwil has an area, as of 2009^[update], of 11.22 square kilometers (4.33 sq mi). Of this area, 4.64 km² (1.79 sq mi) or 41.4% is used for agricultural purposes, while 5.93 km² (2.29 sq mi) or 52.9% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.56 km² (0.22 sq mi) or 5.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km² (4.9 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km² (7.4 acres) or 0.3% is unproductive land.

Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 2.5% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.8%. Out of the forested land, 49.5% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.4% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 5.1% is used for growing crops and 31.7% is pastures, while 2.3% is used for orchards or vine crops and 2.2% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.

The municipality is located in the Thierstein district, in a side valley off the Birs river. It consists of the village of Bärschwil and the hamlets of Wiler and Schmelzi.