Büren An Der Aare

Büren an der Aare (usually abbreviated with Büren a.A., means ''Büren on the Aare'') is a historic town and a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

History

Büren an der Aare is first mentioned in 1185 as ''Buirro''. In 1236 it was mentioned as ''Buron''. The formerly independent village of Reiben was first mentioned in 1309. It became part of Büren an der Aare in 1911.

The earliest trace of humans in Büren are scattered neolithic and La Tene items. The Roman era road between Aventicum and Salodurum (Solothurn) runs through the area that would become the municipality. Roman ruins include part of the road and a milestone at Bürenmoos, a canal at Burgweg and what may have been a country estate on Kirchmatt. Above the town, on the Schlosshubel hill, was the high medieval Strassberg Castle, the home of the Baron of Strassberg. The town was built on a narrow strip of land between the Städtiberg and the Aare. The town received a town charter from Berchtold I of Strassberg in 1260, which was confirmed in 1288. Under the Barons, the town became the center of the Büren ''Herrschaft''. During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Counts of Neuchâtel gained power in the Herrschaft. In 1345, financial difficulties forced Imer of Strassberg to pledge some rights in the town to Solothurn. In 1369 Solothurn also acquired the right to collect duties and tolls in Büren. In 1375 Enguerrand de Coucy besieged the town, but did not take it. After Imer's death the town was inherited by the Counts of Neu-Kyburg, who then sold it to Austria. During the Sempach War, Büren was besieged and captured by Bern and in 1388 it was placed under joint Bern-Solothurn control. In 1393, the captured land was finally divided and Büren became the capital of a new Bernese bailiwick. In 1620-25 Büren Castle was built on the main street as the official residence of the Bernese bailiff.

The oldest part of the town church of St. Catherine is the choir from the third quarter of the 13th century. The rest of the church was completed between then and 1500. By 1375 it was an independent parish church.

The town council appointed its first recorded Schultheiss in 1254. The oldest town seal is from 1273. The 1288 town charter granted it the right to hold markets. In 1284, a toll bridge over the Aare was first mentioned. In 1478, the salt, iron, steel, wool and linen markets came under Bernese control. The town had both a market square and docks on the Aare as well as inns and warehouses to encourage traders to come to Büren. In 1481, weekly markets were added to the quarterly fairs that they had been holding. The town's economy was based on both trade and agriculture. During the 15th and 16th century a new town hall was built with a market hall on the ground floor. In the 16th century a hospital and school opened. Starting in the 15th century, the town began operating mountain pastures, a dairy and a cheese-maker as a fief of the Prince-Bishop of Basel. The now disused brickworks was first mentioned in 1630.

After the 1798 French invasion, it became the capital of the Helvetic Republic's Büren District. After the Act of Mediation and the Congress of Vienna the district remained as a part of the Canton of Bern.

During the 19th century, the town began to decline. No major railway line passes through it and water transportation had declined in importance. In 1876 the regional Lyss

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