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

[4] The oldest traces of a settlement in the area include a grave mound that can not be accurately dated and what is probably a Roman era villa.

By the 13th century Uttigen Castle had been built on a rocky plateau above the modern village.

At the time, Uttigen Castle was one of the largest fortifications in the Canton of Bern.

Uttigen Castle controlled both a major road and a navigable river that connected the Bernese Oberland with the towns of the Swiss Plateau.

In 1271 the Freiherr von Wädenswil owned the castle, along with expansive holdings as the governors of Unspunnen, Frutigen and Mülinen.

In 1521 the Hospital combined both halves of Uttigen with Uetendorf to form a single court.

Following the 1798 French invasion and the creation of the Helvetic Republic the Hospital lost their rulership over Uttigen.

With the collapse of the Republic and the 1803 Act of Mediation the village became part of the District of Seftigen.

After the fire, Uttigen became part of the parish of Kirchdorf, though the villagers fought the change until 1579 when they were granted a cemetery.

[4] In 1859 the Bern-Thun Railway opened a station in Uttigen, connecting the small farming village with nearby cities.

The Aare and Zulg river correction projects of the 1860s and 1884 respectively, opened up new farm land and protected the village from floods.

After Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation, it was probably combined with neighboring villages into the court of Gelterfingen or Mühledorf in the Seftigen District.

Today it is still a small farming community and about two-thirds of the work force commutes to jobs in nearby towns and cities.

The rest of the municipality is 0.55 km2 (0.21 sq mi) or 18.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.06 km2 (15 acres) or 2.0% is either rivers or lakes.

[3] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure an Oar and a Pike both Or in slatire.

[10] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (1,514 or 96.2%) as their first language, French is the second most common (11 or 0.7%) and English is the third (10 or 0.6%).

In the tertiary sector; 26 or 31.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 4 or 4.9% were in the movement and storage of goods, 1 was in a hotel or restaurant, 2 or 2.4% were in the information industry, 4 or 4.9% were technical professionals or scientists, 13 or 15.9% were in education and 3 or 3.7% were in health care.

[23] From the 2000 census[update], 1,205 or 76.6% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 125 or 7.9% 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.