Aarwangen is a village and a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

[4] The Grünenberg family did not last long and had already disappeared from the archives by the early 14th century, when the city of Bern established sovereignty over the region.

Altogether, 75 Bailiffs resided in the castle, where their coat of arms, with its distinctive black bear, is still displayed prominently on the outer wall.

They stayed until the revolt, and the end of the Bernese city state, in the spring of 1798, during which the castle sustained serious damage, with the interior almost gutted.

The castle was in private hands for a few years, until it was repurchased and restored by the Canton of Bern where it has become the district court and administrative buildings.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Sable and Argent a Bar of the first.

[9] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (3,539 or 88.5%) as their first language, Albanian is the second most common (132 or 3.3%) and Serbo-Croatian is the third (121 or 3.0%).

[9] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] The Speicher (Warehouse) and Tierli house are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The hamlet of Meiniswil and the area around Aarwangen Castle are both part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

In the federal election, a total of 1,274 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 43.5%.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 51, of which 47 were in agriculture and 4 were in forestry or lumber production.

The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 428 of which 284 or (66.4%) were in manufacturing, 5 or (1.2%) were in mining and 129 (30.1%) were in construction.

In the tertiary sector; 212 or 36.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 11 or 1.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 52 or 8.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 3 or 0.5% were in the information industry, 10 or 1.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 72 or 12.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 52 or 8.9% were in education and 86 or 14.7% were in health care.

[9] From the 2000 census[update], 542 or 13.5% were Roman Catholic, while 2,582 or 64.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

Following the lower secondary, students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship.