Wengi

Wengi
Wengi village administration building
Coat of arms
Wengi Show map of Switzerland Wengi Show map of Canton of Bern
Location of Wengi
Coordinates: 47°5′N 7°24′E / 47.083°N 7.400°E / 47.083; 7.400Coordinates: 47°5′N 7°24′E / 47.083°N 7.400°E / 47.083; 7.400
Country	Switzerland
Canton	Bern
District	Seeland
Area
• Total	7.07 km2 (2.73 sq mi)
Elevation	480 m (1,570 ft)
Population (Dec 2015)
• Total	609
• Density	86/km2 (220/sq mi)
Postal code	3251
SFOS number	0394
Surrounded by	Balm bei Messen (SO), Diessbach bei Büren, Grossaffoltern, Rapperswil, Ruppoldsried, Schnottwil (SO)
Website	www.wengi-be.ch SFSO statistics

Wengi is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Wengi is first mentioned around 1261-63 as Wengw. In 1303 it was mentioned as Wengi.

The earliest traces of human settlement come from neolithic tools discovered at Wengimoos. A few scattered Roman era artifacts were discovered at Äbeni. During the Early and High Middle Ages the wooden castle of Guldige Hubel in Übererlenacher guarded the village. During the Middle Ages, the village of Wengi and the hamlets of Scheunenberg and Waltwil were all part of the municipality of Grossaffoltern and were owned by the House of Kyburg. After the extinction of the Kyburgs, the villages passed through the hands of a number of nobles.

The village St. Mary's Church was probably first built during the 8th or 9th century. The first church was replaced with a new building in the 13th century and was built as the seat of a dean. In 1521 the second church was destroyed in a fire. It was rebuilt with a nave and dedicated to St. Maurice.

Beginning in the 18th century and continuing until World War II, peat was harvested for heating from the Wengimoos bog. The extensive peat bogs proved to be a difficult obstacle during the amelioration of the Limpach valley between 1944-51. In 1961, the Wengimoos was made into a nature preserve to protect the delicate bog ecosystem.

Wengi has an area of 7.07 km² (2.73 sq mi). Of this area, 5.15 km² (1.99 sq mi) or 72.8% is used for agricultural purposes, while 1.18 km² (0.46 sq mi) or 16.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.54 km² (0.21 sq mi) or 7.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.09 km² (22 acres) or 1.3% is either rivers or lakes and 0.1 km² (25 acres) or 1.4% is unproductive land.