Lüscherz is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
[3] During the Neolithic era there were two villages pile-dwelling (or stilt house) settlements along the shore of Lake Biel.
The two settlements are now part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In addition to the two neolithic sites, a single Bronze Age building was discovered along the shoreline in 2004.
At Schaltenrain and Grossholz in the hills above the village several Hallstatt era burial mounds have also been discovered.
Finally, a late Paleolithic settlement from around the 12th millennium BC was discovered on a ridge south of the village.
During the Late Middle Ages there was a thriving village at Gurzelen, which was first mentioned in 1335 as Gurtzellon villa and extensive agricultural terraces on the Feiberg.
By 1470 the village began collecting money from pilgrims who came to visit the Chapel of St. Mary under the Seven Oaks.
In 2000, almost two-thirds of workers commuted to jobs in nearby cities such as Biel and Bern.
It includes part of the Grosses Moos, a particularly productive area with nearly black soil in the Bernese Seeland, and crosses the Hagneck Canal.
The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a Ploughshare and in chief a Fish naiant Argent.
[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (464 or 94.3%) as their first language, French is the second most common (18 or 3.7%) and English is the third (4 or 0.8%).
The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] The Hallstatt era burial mounds at Schaltenrain and Grossholz are listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
[15] The lake shore village at Lüscherz-Dorfstation was inhabited twice during the neolithic era and once during the Bronze Age.
In 1954 the Historical Museum of Bern began excavating the sites in advance of construction on the waterfront.
The piles at that site have been dated to be from the period between 2792 and 2709 BC by reliable tree rings.
In the tertiary sector; 8 or 18.2% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 2 or 4.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 27 or 61.4% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was in the information industry, 1 was in education and 1 was in health care.
[10] From the 2000 census[update], 62 or 12.6% were Roman Catholic, while 369 or 75.0% 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.