Ittigen - History

History

Its placename is derived from the Alemannic German "at the people of the Ito", and first appeared in print in 1318 as Yttigen. In 1326 it was mentioned as villa de Ittigen.

Traces of prehistoric settlements have been found at Worblaufen (La Tene vessel with cremated remains, Roman coins and Early Medieval graves), in the Papiermühle neighborhood (5th or 6th century Early Medieval cemetery with about 30 graves), Neuhaus (Early Medieval graves) and in Wydacker (Seax).

While the small hamlets of Papiermühle, Schermen, Neuhaus, Badhaus developed on the valley floor, the farming villages of Ittigen and Worblaufen grew up on terraces in the low mountains above the valley. The two farming villages took advantage of extensive arable land for individual fields and shared common farm land and common forests. A number of scattered small farms grew up around the two villages and also had a share of the common land. While the villages in the mountains remained mostly agricultural, the hamlets on the valley floor were local centers for trade and industry. A paper mill (German: Papiermühle) opened in Papiermühle in 1466, followed by a toll house and an inn. There was also a mill at Schermen, a toll house and inn in Neuhaus and a 15th century spa and inn in Badhaus. A paper mill and several hammer mills eventually opened in Worblaufen. Around the 17th and 18th centuries, the agricultural villages focused on providing fruits, vegetables and hay for the weekly markets in the nearby city of Bern. The area's sunny weather and proximity to Bern encouraged several wealthy families to build country estates in Ittigen including Mannenberg in Ittigen village and Sandhof and Lindenhof in Worblaufen. In the 19th century, agriculture remained important, but small workshops and cottage industry work provided jobs for many of the residents. A pasta factory opened in Schermen in 1831 followed by a chocolate factory in 1917.

Until 1983, Ittigen was part of Bolligen. Within the Bolligen parish, Ittigen and the surrounding villages and formed a semi-independent congregation and elected their own member of the church council. The congregation fulfilled many of the essential municipal functions such as caring for the poor and orphans, providing education and collecting taxes. However, it remained subject to the municipality of Bolligen. In 1774 Ittigen attempted, unsuccessfully, to get their own coat of arms. In 1813 the village school was founded though it opened five years later in 1818. With the school the village finally got a measure of independence. In 1834 it became one of the four quarters within the municipality of Bolligen (the other three were Bolligen, Ferenberg and Ostermundigen). The quarters were responsible for the fire department, maintaining roads and primary education while the municipality handled finances, taxation and secondary education. Throughout the 20th century the municipality voted on whether they should be incorporated into Bern (1913, 1919), centralize all municipal functions (1930, 1945 and 1963) or split into separate municipalities (1956, 1962 and 1972). Finally in 1978 the residents voted to divide into independent municipalities and between 1980 and 1983 the new municipality took over functions from Bolligen.