Farnern

Farnern
Coat of arms
Farnern Show map of Switzerland Farnern Show map of Canton of Bern
Location of Farnern
Coordinates: 47°16′N 7°37′E / 47.267°N 7.617°E / 47.267; 7.617Coordinates: 47°16′N 7°37′E / 47.267°N 7.617°E / 47.267; 7.617
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Oberaargau
Government
• Mayor	Roland Guazzini
Area
• Total	3.69 km2 (1.42 sq mi)
Elevation	800 m (2,600 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	205
• Density	56/km2 (140/sq mi)
Postal code	4539
SFOS number	0975
Surrounded by	Aedermannsdorf (SO), Attiswil, Günsberg (SO), Herbetswil (SO), Rumisberg
Website	www.farnern.ch SFSO statistics

Farnern is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Farnern is first mentioned in 1329 as Varnerron.

The oldest trace of a settlement in the area are some Iron Age and Roman era coins which were found around Schmiedenmatt and Bettlerküche. The coins were probably offerings to an unknown shrine in the nearby mountain pass. During the Middle Ages the village was part of the court of Oberbipp. When Oberbipp was acquired by Bern, Farnern became part of the Bernese bailiwick of Bipp and the parish of Oberbipp.

Traditionally the local farmers practiced subsistence farming but raised a few crops for export. In the 19th century they shifted to raising cattle for meat and milk. In 1876 there were enough dairy farmers in the village to support a local dairy and cheese factory. Today, agriculture still provides about half of the local jobs, but most residents now commute to jobs in Solothurn or other nearby towns. Due to falling primary school enrollment, in 1975 the municipality formed the Farnern-Rumisberg-Wolfisberg school district, with a small school house in each municipality.

Farnern has an area of 3.69 km² (1.42 sq mi). As of the 2005 survey, a total of 2.39 km² (0.92 sq mi) or 64.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.1 km² (0.42 sq mi) or 29.8% is forested. Of rest of the municipality 0.16 km² (0.062 sq mi) or 4.3% is settled (buildings or roads).

From the same survey, housing and buildings made up 2.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.9%. A total of 26.0% of the total land area is heavily forested and 3.8% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 9.2% is used for growing crops and 25.5% is pasturage, while 2.2% is used for orchards or vine crops and 27.9% is used for alpine pastures.