Finsterhennen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
[3] The earliest trace of humans in Finsterhennen are some neolithic ceramics which were found at Steinacker-Büne.
Other prehistoric traces include prehistoric items at Moos, flints at Usserfeld, tumuli at (Ischlag-Outer Canal), wooden poles for stilt houses at Längäcker, graves in the gravel pit at Pfaffenholz and graves with just bodies by the railroad tracks.
[3] The village lay on the Aarberg-Müntschemier road, which ran along a dry moraine through the Grosses Moos marsh.
The Jura water correction project of 1874, drained the marsh and allowed development of the Grosses Moos.
Today the local economy is based on grain, vegetable and dairy farming along with small businesses.
[5] It is located in the Grosses Moos, a particularly productive area with nearly black soil in the Bernese Seeland.
[6] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Hen Sable crested, beaked, unguled and membered Gules and in chief sinister a Mullet of the last.
[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (376 or 91.5%) as their first language, Portuguese is the second most common (12 or 2.9%) and French is the third (8 or 1.9%).
[10] There were 238 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 40.8% of the workforce.
In the tertiary sector; 13 or 40.6% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 12.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 7 or 21.9% were in the information industry, 2 or 6.3% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 12.5% were in education.
[10] From the 2000 census[update], 46 or 11.2% were Roman Catholic, while 328 or 79.8% 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.
[17] During the 2010-11 school year, there were a total of 56 students attending classes in Finsterhennen.