Finsterhennen

Coat of arms

Finsterhennen

Location of Finsterhennen

Coordinates: 47°1′N 7°10′E / 47.017°N 7.167°ECoordinates: 47°1′N 7°10′E / 47.017°N 7.167°E

Country

Area

• Total

3.56 km² (1.37 sq mi)

Elevation

445 m (1,460 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

533

• Density

150/km² (390/sq mi)

Postal code

2577

SFOS number

0493

Surrounded by

Brüttelen, Kallnach, Lüscherz, Siselen, Treiten

Website

http://www.finsterhennen.ch
SFSO statistics

Finsterhennen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Finsterhennen is first mentioned around 1220 as Freineshun and in 1453 as Veisten Hennen. In French it was known as Grasse Poule.

The earliest trace of humans in Finsterhennen are some neolithic ceramics which were found at Steinacker-Büne. Other prehistoric tracces include prehistoric items at Moos, flints at Usserfeld, tumuli at (Ischlag-Outer Canal), wooden poles for stilt houses at Längäcker, graves in the gravel pit at Pfaffenholz) and graves with just bodies by the railroad tracks. From the Roman era, a cache of tools and items were found at Reben and fragments of what appears to be a Roman road at Moos. During the Middle Ages, the village was part of the Herrschaft of Erlach. In 1474 Erlach and the surrounding land was acquired by Bern and became the Bernese bailiwick of Erlach.

The village church was part of the parish of Siselen.

The village lay on the Aarberg-Müntschemier road, which ran along a dry moraine through the Grosses Moos marsh. The Jura water correction project of 1874, drained the marsh and allowed development of the Grosses Moos. In 1916 the Biel-Täuffelen-Ins railroad built a rail station between Siselen and Finsterhennen and a small rail stop in Finsterhennen. This allowed small industry to move into the village. Today the local economy is based on grain, vegetable and dairy farming along with small businesses.

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Wikipedia