Heiligenschwendi

Heiligenschwendi
Coat of arms
Heiligenschwendi Show map of Switzerland Heiligenschwendi Show map of Canton of Bern
Location of Heiligenschwendi
Coordinates: 46°44′N 7°41′E / 46.733°N 7.683°E / 46.733; 7.683Coordinates: 46°44′N 7°41′E / 46.733°N 7.683°E / 46.733; 7.683
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Thun
Government
• Mayor	Christian Zwahlen
Area
• Total	5.55 km2 (2.14 sq mi)
Elevation	1,123 m (3,684 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	709
• Density	130/km2 (330/sq mi)
Postal code	3625
SFOS number	0927
Surrounded by	Hilterfingen, Homberg, Oberhofen am Thunersee, Sigriswil, Teuffenthal, Thun
Website	www.heiligenschwendi.ch SFSO statistics

Heiligenschwendi is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Heiligenschwendi is first mentioned in 1285 as Helgeswendi.

Originally the municipality was part of the lands of the Kyburg. After a failed raid on Solothurn on 11 November 1382 and the resulting Burgdorferkrieg, the Kyburgs lost most of their lands to Bern in 1384. Under Bernese rule it became part of the court of Steffisburg in the Thun District. Under both Kyburg and Bernese rule it was part of the parish of Hilterfingen.

Originally it was made up of three village; Heiligenschwendi, Schwendihaus and Hünibach. By 1782 Heiligenschwendi had a population of 109, Schwendihaus had 79 and Hünibach had 84. Heiligenschwendi and Schwendihaus shared a school house between the two communities and gradually drew closer together. In contrast, Hünibach had its own school and was slowly moving away from the other two. When the political municipality of Heiligenschwendi was formed it included all three communities but separate Burgergemeinden. In 1884 the Seestrasse (Lake road) opened, connecting Hünibach and the rest of Heiligenschwendi with Thun. When a station on the Steffisburg-Interlaken tram opened in Hünibach in 1913, the community became increasingly attractive to commuters. All three communities grew, but Hünibach grew disproportionately. In 1950, Hünibach had a population of 369 and was politically much closer to Hilterfingen than the rest of Heiligenschwendi. After prolonged negotiations, in 1958, it left Heiligenschwendi and joined Hilterfingen.

A simultaneum chapel was built in 1925 near the Heiligenschwendi school house. It held services for both the Swiss Reformed Church and the local Methodist congregation. A cemetery was added four year later.