Gurzelen is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

[3] The oldest traces of a settlement in the area are individual neolithic artifacts which were found scattered around the municipality.

Hallstatt tombs and a Roman era settlement provide evidence of further inhabitants.

By the High Middle Ages the village and surround farmland was owned by a local noble.

In the 13th century the estate was divided in half, each with its own village, church and castle.

The two halves passed through several noble families, before being reunited and then divided again, this time into three portions.

In 1717 the von Graffenried family acquired the Wattenwyl estates, but the two-thirds split remained.

Following the 1798 French invasion, and the creation of the Helvetic Republic the old order was abolished and the three sections were united into the municipality of Gurzelen.

The rest of the municipality is 0.32 km2 (0.12 sq mi) or 7.1% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.00 km2 (0 acres) or 0.0% is either rivers or lakes.

[6] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per pale Gules and Sable a Bend sinister Argent.

[9] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (696 or 97.9%) as their first language, French is the second most common (8 or 1.1%) and Albanian is the third (5 or 0.7%).

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 57, of which 56 were in agriculture and 1 was in forestry or lumber production.

In the tertiary sector; 5 or 22.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 9.1% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1 was in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 9.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 3 or 13.6% were in education.

[22] In 2011 a total of 0.5% of the population received direct financial assistance from the government.

[23] From the 2000 census[update], 608 or 85.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 22 or 3.1% were Roman Catholic.

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.

[24] During the 2011–12 school year, there were a total of 87 students attending classes in Gurzelen.