Oberhasli
| |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 | |
| Country |  Switzerland |
| Canton |  Bern |
| Region | Interlaken-Oberhasli |
| Area | |
• Total | 551 km2 (213 sq mi) |
| Population (2007) | |
• Total | 7,843 |
| • Density | 14/km2 (37/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Municipalities | 6 |
TheOberhasli is a historicalLandvogtei orTalschaft in theBernese Highlands,Switzerland, bordering on the cantons ofObwalden (OW),Nidwalden (NW),Uri (UR) andWallis (VS).
From 1833 to 2009, Oberhasli was incorporated as theOberhasli district, the easternmost of the 26districts of thecanton of Bern, bordering the district ofInterlaken to the west. Since 2010, Oberhasli and Interlaken have been administratively united as theadministrative district Interlaken-Oberhasli.The local dialect is of theHighest Alemannic variety.
With its area of 551 km2, it is larger than the canton ofBasel-Landschaft. It consists of the six municipalities ofGadmen,Guttannen,Hasliberg,Innertkirchen, Meiringen andSchattenhalb, with a total population of just below 8,000, corresponding to a population density of less than 15/km2 (compared to a Swiss average of 181/km2), due to a significant portion of the area of Oberhasli being uninhabitableHigh Alps.
Haslital is used to refer to the entire region,[1] but as a geographical term the Haslital proper is the main upperAare valley, not including the many side valleys, such asGadmertal,Ürbachtal,Gental andReichenbachtal. The nameHaslital is first attested in 1234. The prefixOber- ("UpperHasli") first appears in the 16th century for disambiguation withHasle bei Burgdorf,Oberhasli is in official use since 1798. The origin of the name is likelyOld High Germanhasal "hazel".
The upper parts of the Haslital are part of theWorld Heritage Site of theJungfrau–Aletsch–Bietschhorn as defined in 2007.
Oberhasli has historically been of great strategical significance due to its central location in theCentral Alps, commanding several passes. Among them are:
Besides the main valley, theHaslital, which includes the alluvial plain of theAare between Meiringen andLake Brienz, there are several lateral valleys. Among them are:
Hasli has a particularly strong tradition of independence, even within Switzerland. It was de facto self-governing from its first settlement in the early medieval period (according to legend by "Swedes and Frisians") until its incorporation into theHelvetic Republic in 1798.[2]It was nominally part of theHoly Roman Empire as animperial bailiwick until 1334, and from 1334 to 1798 a nominal subject of Berne, but remained effectively self-governed with the exception of the forced imposition of theReformation during 1528–1557.
In 1234 the bailiwick ofMeiringen, which included all of Haslital, is recorded asreichsfrei. Hasli remained animperial bailiwick until its acquisition by Berne in 1334. Meiringen church is elevated built on top of a number of predecessor buildings, the oldest is estimated to date to the 9th or 10th century.The rights to the parish were given toSeedorf Abbey byHenry (VII) of Germany in 1234. They were acquired byInterlaken Monastery in 1272.
In 1275, Hasli formed an alliance with the city ofBern. In 1311, Oberhasli was given to the house of Weissenburg byHenry VII. After an unsuccessful revolt in 1334, Oberhasli passed to the city of Bern as a subject territory in name but regained most of its earlier privileges. Bern was careful to appoint men native to Hasli to administrative posts and as judges.Oberhasli proved an important ally to Bern militarily. In 1339, Oberhasli provided a force of 300 men participating in theBattle of Laupen. The arrangement of Oberhasli as a nominal subject territory withde facto self-governance endured until 1528, when Bern enforced theProtestant confession in Oberhasli. About half of the population of Oberhasli participated in an armed revolt against Bern. After this, Bern tried to enforce Bernese administration in Oberhasli, but met such resistance that in a 1557 treaty the old privileges were re-instated.[3]
In the 17th to 18th century, an upper class of influential families native to Oberhasli emerged, the so-calledEhrbarkeit. Before the introduction of a separate parish in Innertkirchein in 1709, there was a single parish in Meiringen for all of Oberhasli. In the 19th century, parishes in Gadmen (1808) and Guttannen (1816) followed.
In 1558, there were 253 hearths (households) registered in Oberhasli, in 1653 the number had grown to 360.In 1669, population had declined to ca. 500 individuals following an outbreak of plague.Parts of Haslital were affected by theEvangelical Awakening of the 1730s.[4]
In 1764, there were 3,253 inhabitants, and population more than doubled over the following century, to 7,054 in 1850. During the existence of theHelvetic Republic, Oberhasli was part of theKanton Oberland. Oberhasli was traditionally organized in fifteen collectives of independent farming estates, the so-calledBäuerten, between them forming theTalschaft of Oberhasli. This structure was replaced by the six municipalities of the Oberhasli district in 1834. From 1834 until 2009, Oberhasli formed a district of thecanton of Bern.The sovereign law of Oberhasli (Landrecht) became inactive in 1843, during theSwiss Restauration.
Rapid population growth in the 19th century resulted inpoverty, and forcedemigration, primarilyto America.From about 1880, economic recovery set in as Meiringen became a center oftourism. Population still declined from 7,574 in 1880 to 6,507 in 1920 (loss of employment in tourism during World War I)and began to rise again during the mid-to-late 20th century, to 7,878 in 1950 and 8,189 in 2000.It has slightly declined since, to 7,843 in 2007 and 7,824 in 2016.While total population has remained more or less stable since the mid-20th century, population distribution has shifted from the traditionaldispersed settlement structure to the core settlement in Meiringen. Meiringen accounted for 30% of the population of Hasli in 1764 (33% in 1850), but for 60% as of 2016.
Oberhasli district was merged withInterlaken district in 2010 to form the newInterlaken-Oberhasli district. The population ofGadmen declined from 739 in 1850 to 250 in 2007, Gadmen municipality being merged intoInnertkirchen in 2014.
TheOberhasli district is the easternmost of the 26districts of thecanton of Bern, from 1833 to 2009, encompassing an area of 550 km2. The administrative capital is Meiringen.Oberhasli since 1843 comprised sixmunicipalities, reduced to five in 2014 whenGadmen (population 250 as of 2007, area 116.4 km2) was merged withInnertkirchen.[5]
From 1 January 2010, the district lost its administrative power while being replaced by theInterlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), whose administrative centre is Interlaken.
Since 2010, it remains therefore a fully recognised district under the law and the Constitution (Art.3 al.2) of the Canton of Berne.
| municipality | population(2016) | area (km2)(2016) |
|---|---|---|
| Meiringen | 4,692 | 40.7 |
 Hasliberg | 1,193 | 41.7 |
 Innertkirchen | 1,087 | 236.6 |
 Schattenhalb | 585 | 31.5 |
 Guttannen | 267 | 200.7 |
| Total | 7,824 | 551 |
The black eagle on a golden field formerly represented the entireTalschaft of Oberhasli.It is theimperial coat of arms. The right to use of theReichsadler as an at least formal claim ofimperial immediacy was one of the special privileges granted to the people of Hasli by Berne. When municipal coats of arms were introduced, Meiringen insisted to retain the imperial coat of arms without modification, and other municipalities conceded by using the eagle in combination with other heraldic designs.[6]
The economy of Oberhasli was based on agriculture andtranshumance (goats, sheep) in the Late Middle Ages, shifting tolivestock breeding (cattle, horses) andcheese production during the Early Modern period.
Livestock and cheese was exported to Italy across theGrimsel andNufenen passes.
In the 18th century, there were three yearly livestock markets. There was also some iron mining, beginning in the 15th century, and phased out after 1798. From the 17th century, there wasrockhounding forcrystals, intensified with the rise oftourism in the 19th century. Booming tourism triggered significant investments in structure, notably theBrünig road in 1857 and theBrünig railway in 1888, connecting Oberhasli toLucerne viaObwalden, and from there toGreater Zürich and theSwiss plateau in general; theGrimsel road opened in 1894 and theSusten road in 1945.The number of hotels in Meiringen grew from two in 1831 to eighteen in 1900.
After 1973, additional infrastructure turnedHasliberg into a majorskiing resort.
As of 2005, employment in the primary sector (agriculture) was down to below 20%, while the tertiary sector (mostly tourism) had risen to above 65%.
Another important branch of industry is the production ofhydroelectricity,Kraftwerke Oberhasli AG currently producing about 1.1 GW or 12% of Swiss electricity consumption. TheSwiss Air Force has an airbase in Unterbach, Meiringen municipality.
Oberhasli is situated at the core ofHighest AlemannicAlpine culture and preserves a number of elements typical ofSwiss folklore.
Oberhasli became affected by themodern era comparatively late, in the second half of the 19th century with the booming oftourism in Switzerland, and it preserved a rich tradition of folklore into the 20th century.
The main yearly festival of Oberhasli is theUbersitz (lit. the "sitting out" of the night drinking) culminating a week ofTrychel marches in Meiringen.
In 1846,Johann Georg Kohl travelled to Oberhasli, describing both its natural landscape and its population. Kohl recorded a tradition claimingScandinavian origin of the people of Oberhasli, telling of amarch of 6,000 Frisians and Swedes exiled from their homes by a famine. The names of the leaders of the immigrating Swedes is reported asRestius andHastus. Kohl describes the architecture of the Meiringen church as reminiscent of North Frisian and Scandinavian types. This legend was first recorded byPetermann Etterlin in his 1507Chronicle.[7]
The Oberhasli legend was received in ScandinavianRomantic nationalism, with e.g. Danish poetAdam Oehlenschläger publishing a poemHaslidalen in 1849.
A collection of folk tales was published in 1943 by Melchior Sooder (1885–1955), a teacher atRohrbach and a native of Schattenhalb, asZelleni us em Haslital.Dwarves figure prominently in these tales, with a dwarf king calledMuggestutz. They also tell of the disappearance of the dwarves after their help was not appreciated by the people of Oberhasli. A grammar of theHasli dialect was published by Hans Dauwalder (born 1925) in 1992.
| Regions | |
|---|---|
| Districts | |
