Trachselwald

Trachselwald
Coat of arms
Trachselwald Show map of Switzerland Trachselwald Show map of Canton of Bern
Location of Trachselwald
Coordinates: 47°1′N 7°43′E / 47.017°N 7.717°E / 47.017; 7.717Coordinates: 47°1′N 7°43′E / 47.017°N 7.717°E / 47.017; 7.717
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Emmental
Government
• Mayor	Gemeindepräsident Christian Kopp (as of January 2009)
Area
• Total	15.97 km2 (6.17 sq mi)
Elevation	685 m (2,247 ft)
Highest elevation	1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Lowest elevation	660 m (2,170 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	977
• Density	61/km2 (160/sq mi)
Postal code	3456
SFOS number	0958
Surrounded by	Langnau im Emmental, Lauperswil, Lützelflüh, Rüderswil, Sumiswald
Website	www.trachselwald.ch SFSO statistics

Trachselwald is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the Swiss canton of Bern.

The name of this municipality means "Drechsler-Wald" ("Woodturner-Forest) and was first mentioned in 1131 as Trahselwalt. The village around Trachselwald Castle first belonged to the barons of Trachselwald, then to the barons of Rüti bei Lyssach, and then finally to the barons of Sumiswald until the sovereignty over the village was sold to the city of Bern in 1408. The castle became the sheriffhood.

In 1574 the village was destroyed by a fire. During the Swiss Peasants' War, on 3 April 1653, there was a gathering in the inn Tanne, which became the first public appearance of the peasants' leader Niklaus Leuenberger, who was executed in Trachselwald Castle on August 27 of the same year.

The village church was first mentioned in 1275 and was destroyed in the 1574 fire. It was rebuilt in 1668. The bell tower was first added in 1464 and was rebuilt to its current appearance in 1786.

Trachselwald has an area of 15.97 km² (6.17 sq mi). As of the 2006 survey, a total of 9.03 km² (3.49 sq mi) or 56.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while 6.12 km² (2.36 sq mi) or 38.3% is forested. Of rest of the municipality 0.73 km² (0.28 sq mi) or 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.06 km² (15 acres) or 0.4% is either rivers or lakes and 0.03 km² (7.4 acres) or 0.2% is unproductive land.

From the same survey, housing and buildings made up 3.0% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.4%. A total of 34.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.2% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 7.9% is used for growing crops and 46.8% is pasturage, while 1.7% is used for orchards or vine crops. All the water in the municipality is flowing water.