Saxeten

Coat of arms

Saxeten

Location of Saxeten

Coordinates: 46°38′N 7°50′E / 46.633°N 7.833°ECoordinates: 46°38′N 7°50′E / 46.633°N 7.833°E

Country

Area

• Total

19.14 km² (7.39 sq mi)

Elevation

1,103 m (3,619 ft)

Population (Dec 2015)

• Total

• Density

5.1/km² (13/sq mi)

Postal code

3813

SFOS number

0591

Surrounded by

Aeschi bei Spiez, Därligen, Lauterbrunnen, Leissigen, Wilderswil

Website

www.saxeten.ch
SFSO statistics

Saxeten is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

In 1999 it was the site of an incident where 21 tourists and local canyon guides were killed in a flash flood in Saxetenbach canyon.

Saxeten is first mentioned in 1303 as Sachsaton.

During the Middle Ages, the Saxetenbach valley belonged to the Unspunnen Herrschaft. During the 13th century the Freiherr of Weissenburg inherited a half share of the village from Unspunnen. In 1334, Weissenburg sold his share to Interlaken Abbey. The other half share remained with Unspunnen. In 1348-49, the village joined an unsuccessful rebellion of the Bernese Oberland against the Abbey. In 1500, the Unspunnen half of the village was acquired by the city of Bern. In 1528, the city of Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and began imposing it on the Bernese Oberland. Iseltwald joined many other villages and the Abbey in an unsuccessful rebellion against the new faith. After Bern imposed its will on the Oberland, they secularized the Abbey and annexed all the Abbey lands, finally combining the two shares of the village.

Saxeten has always been part of the large parish of Gsteig bei Interlaken, now a village in the municipality of Gsteigwiler.

Today the local economy is built on seasonal alpine farming and herding and some tourism.

On 27 July 1999, there was an accident in the Saxetenbach Gorge, just above the village of Saxeten, in which 21 young people from Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, and Switzerland died.

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Wikipedia