Leuzigen

Leuzigen is a municipality in the Seeland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

[3] In old documents, the village was referred to as Loichfingen (1224), Loenzingen (1522) und Leutzigen (1661) and Leuzingen.

Archaeological excavations in the late 19th and early 20th century suggested that the area in and around Leuzigen was already populated by Celts and Romans more than 2000 years ago.

In Roman times, the strategically important road connecting Avanches and Solothurn crossed present-day Leuzigen close to the old railway line.

Before its integration with the canton of Bern, Leuzigen's fate was repeatedly troubled by struggles for territory amongst dukedoms and principalities, and it changed rulers a number of times.

In 1876, the railway line between Lyss and Solothurn opened and provided Leuzigen with its own train station.

A. and Solothurn was shut down due to insufficient profitability and replaced by a bus line.

Although many surrounding villages have grown considerably since the 1960s, Leuzigen's population size has largely been stable for more than a century now.

In the period of economic growth in the 1960s and 1970s, expanding industries in the region, such as watchmaking in Grenchen, attracted many workers.

[5] The municipality is located on the right bank of the Aare river on the northern slope of the Bucheggberg plateau.

The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] The entire village of Leuzigen is designated as part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[15] In the Middle Ages, the population of Leuzigen mainly lived on agricultural produce and the sale of tuff stone and chalk.

Apart from small local businesses, such as workpiece suppliers for appliances, there are no large industries located in Leuzigen.

In addition, a junction of the motorway A5 is in close proximity and allows one to reach the capital Bern in half an hour by car.

In the tertiary sector; 22 or 36.1% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 8 or 13.1% were in a hotel or restaurant, 6 or 9.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 9 or 14.8% were in education and 4 or 6.6% were in health care.

[10] From the 2000 census[update], 139 or 12.0% were Roman Catholic, while 871 or 75.1% 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.

Aerial view (1958)
Reformed church