Steffisburg is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

[3] The area around Steffisburg has been inhabited since the Neolithic era and remained occupied during the Bronze Age.

By the High Middle Ages the entire Zulgtal, including Steffisburg, was owned by the local Freiherr von Heimberg family.

When they died out in 1218 it passed to the Kyburgs, who made Steffisburg a fief for several different Ministerialis (unfree knights in the service of a feudal overlord) families.

One of these families, the von Kien, built what became known as the Kleine Höchhus in the 14th century, when they administered the municipality.

Over the following years portions of the village and surrounding farms were donated to several local monasteries.

[3] On 11 November 1382, Rudolf II von Kyburg, attempted unsuccessfully to attack Solothurn.

As part of the peace treaty, Bern bought the city of Thun and all its surrounding lands including Steffisburg.

By the 15th century ownership of the town passed from former Kyburg nobles to Bernese patricians.

In 1553 they raised a company of riflemen who drilled in Steffisburg, separate from Thun's military.

During the 1641 and 1653 peasant revolts the soldiers from Steffisburg rose up against the cities of Thun and Bern.

Though the revolt was unsuccessful, Steffisburg retained its position as a regional center and court.

[3] A leader of the revolt, Hans Berger from Steffisburg, fled the country to escape execution for his role in the uprising.

After the collapse of the Republic and 1803 Act of Mediation it joined the newly created Thun District.

It was first mentioned in 1224 as the Church of St. Stephan, which was the center of a large parish which covered the entire Zulg river valley (Zulgtal).

In 1528, Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and the church at Steffisburg converted.

During the 19th century the Aare and Zulg river correction projects helped drain swampy land and protected the growing town from flooding.

The town was located on the Bern-Thun road, which was expanded in the 19th century bringing additional business to the area.

The completion of a road to the upper Emmental which passed through Steffisburg in 1895–1900 brought more traffic and money, as did the Burgdorf-Thun railroad on 1899 and the Steffisburg-Thun-Interlaken tram in 1913.

Since 1900, the town has experienced several housing booms as commuters move to Steffisburg to be close to jobs in Thun.

It was converted into a warehouse for military vehicles in 1982 and in 2008 became a museum that housed historic army equipment.

It consists of the town of Steffisburg which is divided into the medieval old village and the Au, Schwäbis, Bernstrasse, Glockenthal, Hübeli, Flühli and Hardegg neighborhoods.

[8] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Castle Argent on a Mount of 3 Coupeaux Vert.

In the tertiary sector; 666 or 32.0% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 35 or 1.7% were in the movement and storage of goods, 151 or 7.3% were in a hotel or restaurant, 32 or 1.5% were in the information industry, 59 or 2.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 133 or 6.4% were technical professionals or scientists, 169 or 8.1% were in education and 525 or 25.2% were in health care.

[24] The Former Regie of Steffisburg is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

The chart below shows the current distribution of seats of the community council (as of September 2014).

From the 2000 census[update], 9,786 or 68.2% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 1,778 or 12.4% were Roman Catholic.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.