Seftigen

Seftigen
Coat of arms
Seftigen Show map of Switzerland Seftigen Show map of Canton of Bern
Location of Seftigen
Coordinates: 46°47′N 7°32′E / 46.783°N 7.533°E / 46.783; 7.533Coordinates: 46°47′N 7°32′E / 46.783°N 7.533°E / 46.783; 7.533
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Thun
Government
• Mayor	Leandro Manazza
Area
• Total	3.89 km2 (1.50 sq mi)
Elevation	578 m (1,896 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	2,211
• Density	570/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Postal code	3662
SFOS number	0883
Surrounded by	Burgistein, Gurzelen, Noflen, Uetendorf
Website	www.seftigen.ch SFSO statistics

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

Seftigen is first mentioned in 1277 as Seftingen.

The oldest trace of a settlement in the area is a Roman estate house discovered in Räbzälg. The house's hypocaust and well are still visible. Following the Collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the area remained inhabited, evidenced by a early medieval cemetery at Leimeried. By the Late Middle Ages Seftigen was part of the Herrschaft of Burgistein. Around 1388 it became the capital of the Seftigen district. In the 15th century Louis von Seftigen turned the village into the center of a semi-independent court. However, the right to hold court in Seftigen was divided in half between his descendents. Eventually, Jakob von Wattenwyl reunited the two halves of the court in 1523 and incorporated it into the Burgistein Herrschaft again. From then until the 1798 French invasion the Lords of Burgistein and the von Buren family alternated presiding over the court.

Originally it was part of the Kirchdorf parish, but in 1664 it joined the much nearer Gurzelen parish.

In 1901-02 the Gürbetal railway opened up stations in Burgistein and Seftigen and began to transform the rural farming village. In the 1960s it became more of a bedroom community and the new developments of Zälg, Berg and Allmend opened up to house the growing population. Today agriculture still provides slightly less than one-quarter of the jobs in the municipality with small businesses making up the rest. However, over three-quarters of the workforce commute to jobs in nearby cities and towns.