Därstetten, Bern One Place Study

Location: Därstetten, Bern, Switzerland
Surnames/tags: One_Place_Studies Bern Switzerland

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Boltigen | Därstetten | Diemtigen
Erlenbach im Simmental | Lenk im Simmental | Oberwil im Simmental
St. Stephan | Wimmis | Zweisimmen

Contents 1 Därstetten, Bern One Place Study 1.1 Name 1.2 Geography 1.2.1 Geographical Location 1.2.2 Neighboring Communities 1.2.3 Community Structure 1.3 History 1.4 Castle 1.5 Population 1.6 Church 1.7 Cemeteries 1.8 Resources 2 Sources

Därstetten, Bern One Place Study

• Official Website
• Wikidata: Item Q65721, de:Wikipedia | Wikidata: Item Q65721, en:Wikipedia
• WikiTree Profiles that link here

Name

Därstetten owes its name to the 2,079 m high Turnen mountain.^[1] It was first mentioned in the directory of the Bishop of Lausanne in 1228 as "Tarenchat" (in the shadow of Mount Turnen). The name then developed into Terenchatten, then Thern Schatten, and finally Därstetten.^[2]

Geography

Därstetten

Continent: Europe

Country: Switzerland

Canton: Bern

GPS Coordinates: 46.67202, 7.48831

Elevation: 1360.0 m or 4462.0 feet

Geographical Location

Därstetten is part of a string of villages along the alpine valley floor of the Simmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The Simmental comprises the municipalities of Lenk im Simmental, St. Stephan, Zweisimmen, Boltigen, Oberwil im Simmental, Därstetten, Erlenbach im Simmental, Diemtigen and Wimmis.^[3]

Neighboring Communities

Neighboring communities are (clockwise starting from the north): Blumenstein, Pohlern, Stocken-Höfen, Erlenbach im Simmental, Diemtigen, Oberwil im Simmental, and Rüschegg.

Community Structure

The municipality has 10 parts (the settlement type is given in parenthesis):

• Därstetten (village)
• Hasli (hamlet)
• I der Fribrig (hamlet)
• I der Insel (hamlet)
• Nidflue (hamlet)
• Richenbach (hamlet)
• Weissenburg (village)
• Weissenburgberg (hamlet)
• Wiler (hamlet)
• Zur Obere (hamlet)

History

Castle

Weissenburg Castle is a ruined hill castle which dates back to the 13th century and was the residence of Freiherr von Weissenburg.

Population

Year	Residents
1764	535
1850	1,046
1860	921
1870	979
1880	975
1888	942
1900	897
1910	831
1920	832
1930	841
1941	878
1950	885
1960	900
1970	887
1980	759
1990	854
2000	879
2010	834
2020	862

^[4]

Church

Därstetten Church

According to the 2000 Census, the majority of the population of Därstetten (about 85%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 5.3% were Roman Catholic. The remaining 9.7% practiced other religions, did not belong to a church, or declined to answer.

Cemeteries

The area of land used for cemeteries in Switzerland has remained the same for many years. There is no extra ground to expand them thus forcing them to cycle through their various plots. Many cemeteries have headstones that only date back 25 years, but varies according to location. Seldom will you find a headstone dating back more than 40 years unless it is a headstone of a pastor or very prominent citizen in their town. Even in smaller, more rural communities the headstones are not older than about 30 years.^[5]

Resources

• Canton of Bern Record Books
• Index of Record books available for Canton of Bern
• Register of Swiss Surnames
• Historical Dictionary of Switzerland
• State Archive of Bern

Sources

1. ↑ Därstetten Weissenburg (https://www.daerstetten.ch/de/portrait/wussten-sie-das : accessed 1 January 2023). "Did you know that ... ?".
2. ↑ Därstetten Weissenburg (https://www.daerstetten.ch/de/portrait/geschichte : accessed 1 January 2023). "Story".
3. ↑ Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmental : accessed 1 January 2023). "Simmental".
4. ↑ Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Därstetten : accessed 1 January 2023). "Därstetten".
5. ↑ FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Switzerland_Cemeteries : 1 January 2023), "Switzerland Cemeteries".