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

[5] The oldest trace of a settlement in the area are several Iron Age graves at Kreuzbühlhölzli.

[5] Following the 1798 French invasion, the old landowners lost their right to personally own villages.

Riggisberg became part of the Helvetic Republic district of Seftigen under Bern.

In the following year the Erlachs sold the castles and surrounding lands to Karl Friedrich Steiger.

[5] During World War II around midnight on 12–13 July 1943, the village was bombed by Allied bombers that were attempting to attack Italy.

[6][7] Historically, Riggisberg and Rüti both belonged to the large parish of Thurnen.

Riggisberg gradually grew into a regional center for the surrounding small farming villages.

[8] The oldest trace of a settlement in the area is a cache of Early-Bronze Age axes.

During the High Middle Ages the Freiherr von Rümligen owned a vast swathe of land between the Gürbe and Sense rivers.

They donated some of their estates to found and support Rüeggisberg and Röthenbach Priories.

In 1388 the Freiherren came under Bernese control, though they continued to own the estates for another century and a half.

In 1515 the Sommerau-Rümligen lost the Herrschaft and by the 17th century a series of Bernese patrician families owned Rümligen.

The local farmers raised crops on the valley floor and pastured cattle in seasonal alpine camps.

Of the rest of the land, 12.8% was settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.5%) was non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Of the rest of the land, 2.1% was settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.5%) was non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Bern-Mittelland.

[13] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a Royal Crown Or on a Mount of 3 Coupeaux Vert.

[11] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (2,043 or 94.5%) as their first language, Albanian is the second most common (22 or 1.0%) and Turkish is the third (22 or 1.0%).

In 2011, single family homes made up 43.0% of the total housing in the municipality.

[20] Rüti bei Riggisberg had a population (as of 2007[update]) of 411, of which 1.9% were foreign nationals.

[11] The historical population is given in the following chart:[21] The Abegg-Stiftung(de) (Abegg Foundation building), the Speicherstöckli and Rümligen Castle are listed as Swiss heritage site of national significance.

In the federal election, a total of 922 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 49.0%.

[11] There were 1,043 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.5% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 113 or 15.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 46 or 6.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 11 or 1.5% were in a hotel or restaurant, 14 or 1.9% were the insurance or financial industry, 20 or 2.8% were technical professionals or scientists, 29 or 4.0% were in education and 409 or 56.8% were in health care.

[29] From the 2000 census[update], 1,708 or 79.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 139 or 6.4% 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.

[30] During the 2011-12 school year, there were a total of 359 students attending classes in Riggisberg.