Oberbalm, is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

It was part of the lands of the counts of Laupen-Sternberg, who lived in a castle near Oberbalm above the Scherliau river.

In 1388, Bern acquired rights over the region, and Oberbalm became part of the Bernese court of Sternberg.

[3] The counts founded and supported the village church of St. Sulpitius, which was built before 1215 and first mentioned in 1228 in the Lausanne Chartular.

Pilgrimages to Oberbalm to see the relics of St. Sulpitius became so profitable that in 1462, the Bernese City Council voted to move them to the new Cathedral of Bern.

The village was the center of the surrounding communities because it had a church, a schoolhouse, a blacksmith and a tavern.

Of the rest of the land, 0.57 km2 (0.22 sq mi) or 4.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres) or 0.2% is either rivers or lakes.

[5] The municipality is located in the hilly, rural land between the Schwarzwasser and Scherlibach streams.

It consists of the village of Oberbalm, scattered hamlets and individual farm houses.

[6] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Per fess vert and Argent a Holly branch counterchanged.

[10] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][13] The farm house at Stöckli 203 and the granaries at Horbermatt 114 and Oberbalmstrasse 209 A are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Each summer an open-air Rock Festival (Outdoor Elch) is held on top of Balmberg Hill.

In the tertiary sector; 8 or 32.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 6 or 24.0% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was the insurance or financial industry, 2 or 8.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 4 or 16.0% were in education.

[10] From the 2000 census[update], 36 or 4.3% were Roman Catholic, while 692 or 82.9% 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.