Belp is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Bronze Age cemeteries and La Tène artifacts show that there were villages near modern Belp before the Roman invasion.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire the area may have been uninhabited, but by the High Middle Ages there were villages and wooden castles here.

Very little is known about Fahrhubel Castle, located about 700 meters (2,300 ft) north-west of the Hunzigenbrücke (Hunzigen Bridge), and it was eventually completely demolished.

[4] Hohberg Castle, on the northern slope of the Belpberg, was the ancestral seat of the Freiherren of Belp-Montenach.

[5] During the 12th and 13th centuries, the family expanded their authority from Belp to include neighboring villages.

Eight years later, in 1306, they forced the Freiherren of Belp-Montenach to become citizens of Bern and give up their independence.

The Hölzernes Schloss or Wooden Castle was built in 1327 by the Freiherr in Belp village.

[6] By the 18th century, wealthy Bernese families began moving to Belp to escape the noise and crowding in the city.

This estate was followed in 1740 by the Schlössli or Neues Schloss on Rubigenstrasse which was built for the historian Alexander Ludwig von Wattenwyl.

In 1721 the von Wattenwyl family acquired the Herrschaft, which they ruled until the 1798 French invasion and creation of the Helvetic Republic abolished the old aristocratic order.

In 1810 the Canton of Bern bought the castle from Karl von Wattenwyl and used it as the center of the newly created Seftigen District.

In 1528, Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and Belp converted.

The Industrial Revolution reached Belp in 1844 when a cloth factory settled in the village.

[8] The municipality is located at the mouth of the Gürbetal and on the left bank of the Aare river.

It includes the village of Belp, the hamlets of Viehweide, Heitern and Hofmatt.

In recent years, a number of new developments have been built including Eissel (1956–75), Montenach (1960s), Schafmatt (1970s), Hühnerhubel (1980).

[13] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (8,505 or 92.5%) as their first language, French is the second most common (107 or 1.2%) and Albanian is the third (107 or 1.2%).

[18] The historical population is given in the following chart:[4][19][20] The Bider-Hangar at the airport and Oberried Estate are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 113, of which 108 were in agriculture, 4 were in forestry or lumber production and 1 was in fishing or fisheries.

In the tertiary sector; 760 or 33.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 251 or 11.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 134 or 5.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 78 or 3.5% were in the information industry, 67 or 3.0% were the insurance or financial industry, 190 or 8.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 153 or 6.8% were in education and 403 or 17.9% were in health care.

[34] From the 2000 census[update], 6,020 or 65.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 1,277 or 13.9% were Roman Catholic.

The wettest month was May during which time Belp received an average of 123 mm (4.8 in) of rain or snow.

The driest month of the year was February with an average of 66 mm (2.6 in) of precipitation over 9.6 days.

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.