Oppligen

Oppligen
Coat of arms
Oppligen Show map of Switzerland Oppligen Show map of Canton of Bern
Location of Oppligen
Coordinates: 46°49′N 7°36′E / 46.817°N 7.600°E / 46.817; 7.600Coordinates: 46°49′N 7°36′E / 46.817°N 7.600°E / 46.817; 7.600
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Bern-Mittelland
Area
• Total	3.41 km2 (1.32 sq mi)
Elevation	560 m (1,840 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	658
• Density	190/km2 (500/sq mi)
Postal code	3629
SFOS number	0622
Surrounded by	Brenzikofen, Heimberg, Herbligen, Kiesen, Wichtrach
Website	www.oppligen.ch SFSO statistics

Oppligen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Oppligen is first mentioned in 1234 as Oppelingen.

The oldest trace of a settlement is a Bronze Age earthwork on the Oppligerbergli. In addition, Roman coins and several early medieval graves indicate that the area remained inhabited. By the 13th century, Interlaken Abbey owned the village and its court. In 1336 the residents of Oppligen were listed as citizens of the Abbey. In 1528, Bern adopted the Protestant Reformation and secularized the Abbey and all its lands. Oppligen became part of the newly created Bernese district of Interlaken.

The chapel at Oppligerbergli was first mentioned in 1250, but was demolished during the secularization of 1528. The village was part of the parish of Oberwichtrach (now Wichtrach municipality).

The village was generally rural until the 1970s when the expanding agglomeration of Bern reached it. As of 2000 about three-quarters of the population commutes to jobs in the Bern region.

Oppligen has an area of 3.41 km² (1.32 sq mi). As of 2012, a total of 1.86 km² (0.72 sq mi) or 54.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.09 km² (0.42 sq mi) or 32.0% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.41 km² (0.16 sq mi) or 12.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.04 km² (9.9 acres) or 1.2% is either rivers or lakes.

During the same year, housing and buildings made up 5.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 4.4%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.8% of the area Out of the forested land, 29.9% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 39.0% is used for growing crops and 14.1% is pastures, while 1.5% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.