Leuzigen

Leuzigen
Leuzigen village school house
Coat of arms
Leuzigen
Location of Leuzigen
Coordinates: 47°11′N 7°28′E / 47.183°N 7.467°E / 47.183; 7.467Coordinates: 47°11′N 7°28′E / 47.183°N 7.467°E / 47.183; 7.467
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Seeland
Area
• Total	10.31 km2 (3.98 sq mi)
Elevation	456 m (1,496 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	1,251
• Density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Postal code	3297
SFOS number	0388
Surrounded by	Arch, Bettlach (SO), Bibern (SO), Lüterkofen-Ichertswil (SO), Nennigkofen (SO), Selzach (SO), Tscheppach (SO)
Website	www.leuzigen.ch SFSO statistics

Leuzigen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The village is situated between the cities Biel/Bienne and Solothurn and borders on the river Aare.

Leuzigen is first mentioned in 1235 as Loxingen. In 1270 it was mentioned as Loexigen. In old documents, the village was referred to as Loichfingen (1224), Loenzingen (1522) und Leutzigen (1661) and Leuzingen.

Archaeological excavations in the late 19th and early 20th century suggested that the area in and around Leuzigen was already populated by Celts and Romans more than 2000 years ago. In Roman times, the strategically important road connecting Avanches and Solothurn crossed present-day Leuzigen close to the old railway line. In the Middle Ages, monks founded a priory on the site where the village church is now. In 1662, a school building made of stone was constructed in the middle of the village. Although the building has long since ceased to function as a school, it is still preserved today as one of the oldest buildings in Leuzigen.

Before its integration with the canton of Bern, Leuzigen's fate was repeatedly troubled by struggles for territory amongst dukedoms and principalities, and it changed rulers a number of times.

In 1876, the railway line between Lyss and Solothurn opened and provided Leuzigen with its own train station. In the late 1990s, the service between Büren a. A. and Solothurn was shut down due to insufficient profitability and replaced by a bus line.

Before 1900, Leuzigen was one of the largest villages in the area. Although many surrounding villages have grown considerably since the 1960s, Leuzigen's population size has largely been stable for more than a century now. In the period of economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, expanding industries in the region, such as watchmaking in Grenchen, attracted many workers. However, it had little impact on Leuzigen, which remained predominantly rural.