St. Stephan, Bern One Place Study

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St. Stephan, Bern One Place Study

This profile is part of the St. Stephan, Bern One Place Study.

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Name

St. Stephan is first mentioned in 1352 as Sant Stephan.^[1] It was named after the first century martyr.^[2][3]

Geography

St. Stephan

Continent: Europe

Country: Switzerland

Canton: Bern

GPS Coordinates: 46.5, 7.383333

Elevation: 1247.1 m or 4091.4 feet

Geographical Location

St. Stephan 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.^[4]

Neighboring Communities

Neighboring communities are (clockwise starting from the north): Zweisimmen, Diemtigen, Adelboden, Lenk im Simmental, and Saanen.

Community Structure

The municipality has 7 parts (the settlement type is given in parenthesis):

• Grodey (hamlet)
• Hüsere (hamlet)
• Matten (village)
• Ried (hamlet)
• St Stephan (village)
• Stalde (hamlet)
• Zil (hamlet)

History

Population

Notables

• August Fetscherin (1849 - 1882) was the first Swiss doctor to follow up on the development of cretinism in a young girl after a complete thyroidectomy.

Church

St. Stephan Reformed Church

According to the 2000 Census, the majority of the population of St. Stephan (about 74.2%) belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 4.8% were Roman Catholic. The remaining 21% 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.^[6]

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. ↑ Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephan,_Switzerland : accessed 1 January 2023). "St. Stephan".
2. ↑ Wikiwand (https://www.wikiwand.com/en/St._Stephan,_Switzerland : accessed 1 January 2023). "St. Stephan, Switzerland".
3. ↑ Einwohnergemeinde St. Stephan (https://www.ststephan.ch/de/Portrat_und_Geschichte/Geschichte : accessed 1 January 2023). "Story".
4. ↑ Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simmental : accessed 1 January 2023). "Simmental".
5. ↑ Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephan,_Switzerland : accessed 1 January 2023). "St. Stephan".
6. ↑ FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Switzerland_Cemeteries : 1 January 2023), "Switzerland Cemeteries".