Köniz (German pronunciation: [ˈkøːnɪt͡s], Alemannic German pronunciation: [χʏnɪt͡s]) is a statistical town (though residents still regard it as a village) and a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district right on the southern border to Bern in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

The municipality of Köniz as a single settlement would belong to the 15 most populous towns in Switzerland.

The current municipality has long been inhabited; there have been a number of Bronze- and Iron Age finds, as well as Roman villas (villae rusticae) and Early Middle Ages graveyards.

[5] According to legend the church was founded by Burgundian King Rudolph II and his wife Bertha.

The parish did not only comprise the current municipality, but also the area around present day Bern, around 5 km away.

There was an Augustinian monastery at the church, which was given to the Teutonic Knights by King Heinrich VII, the son and heir to the Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich II, in 1226.

The order established a commendam at the church, which belonged to the Ballei of Schwaben-Elsass-Burgund, as well as a settlement in Bern.

The Köniz commendam was secularised in 1528 during the Bernese Reformation, but was given back to the Order in 1552 after pressure from the Catholic Cantons.

It consists of the village of Köniz and Wabern in the center, the garden towns of Liebefeld am Könizberg and Spiegel am Gurten as well as a number of other settlements including; Niederwangen, Oberwangen and Thörishaus in the Wangen valley as well as Schliern, Schwanden, Niederscherli and Oberscherli, Mittelhäusern und Gasel in the Upper Municipality.

[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (32,994 or 87.3%) as their first language, French is the second most common (1,023 or 2.7%) and Italian is the third (837 or 2.2%).

[10] The historical population is given in the following chart:[5][14] The farm house at Herzwilstrasse 175, the Roman Era farmhouse at Chly-Wabere, the former commandry with castle, church and outbuildings, the Herrenstock, Hof Burren at Mengestorfbergstrasse 191, 193, the noble's wooden house and Villa Morillon are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance.

The hamlets of Gurtendörfli, Herzwil, Liebewil and Mengestorf are all part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

[15] In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 25.21% of the vote.

The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 3,745 of which 2,413 or (64.4%) were in manufacturing, 16 or (0.4%) were in mining and 1,210 (32.3%) were in construction.

In the tertiary sector; 2,021 or 17.9% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 282 or 2.5% were in the movement and storage of goods, 425 or 3.8% were in a hotel or restaurant, 2,223 or 19.7% were in the information industry, 573 or 5.1% were the insurance or financial industry, 1,368 or 12.1% were technical professionals or scientists, 807 or 7.2% were in education and 1,283 or 11.4% were in health care.

[10] From the 2000 census[update], 7,426 or 19.7% were Roman Catholic, while 21,948 or 58.1% 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.

Following the lower Secondary students may attend additional schooling or they may enter an apprenticeship.