Schangnau is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Between 1363 and 1389 they sold their land and rights to the local nobleman Jost von Wald.

By the second half of the 15th century both Bern and Lucerne claimed the village as they attempted to expand their borders to the detriment of the other.

A few years later, in 1528, Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and the village converted.

A Reformed church was built in Schangnau in 1536 and in 1594 it separated from Marbach to form a parish.

In the 17th century, as religious tension increased in Switzerland, Schangnau's location on the border with Catholic Lucerne became important.

[3] Historically the local economy was based on raising crops on the valley floor, seasonal alpine herding and transporting timber down the Emme River.

Following the 1798 French invasion, Schangnau became part of the Helvetic Republic district of Oberemmental.

[3] In the 19th century the Wiggen, Eggiswil and Schallenberg Pass roads connected the village with the rest of the country.

The Kemmeribodenbad Inn at the foot of the Hohgant opened in 1835 and provided the start of a small tourism industry.

The municipality includes the village of Schangnau (at 933 m (3,061 ft)) and the hamlet of Wald as well as individual houses in the valley.

[6] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Bar wavy Argent overall a Fir Tree Vert trunked and eradicated Or surrounded in chief with three Mullets of the last.

[9] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (897 or 98.6%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (10 or 1.1%) and French is the third (1 or 0.1%).

In 2011, single family homes made up 21.8% of the total housing in the municipality.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 174, of which 173 were in agriculture and 1 was in forestry or lumber production.

In the tertiary sector; 40 or 38.5% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 22 or 21.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 30 or 28.8% were in a hotel or restaurant and 7 or 6.7% were in education.

[22] The Krämer House is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[24] From the 2000 census[update], 814 or 89.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 34 or 3.7% 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.