Wimmis is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

The area remained inhabited during the Middle Ages and in 994 King Otto III granted his estates in Wimmis to Selz Abbey.

A few years later the castle and lands were incorporated into the extensive holdings of the Freiherr von Weissenburg.

After the war, Freiherr Johann the Elder von Weissenburg was forced to sign a treaty with Bern.

The von Scharnachtals held the castle and bailiwick until Bern bought it back in 1449.

[3] Wimmis' location at the entrance to the Simmental made it into an important local trading center.

In 1815 the construction of the Simmental road allowed more traffic to travel through Wimmis.

Between 1897 and 1902 the Spiez-Zweisimmen railway passed through the village and built stations at Wimmis and Eifeld.

In 1919 the Swiss military established the Federal Gunpowder factory at Wimmis.

In the 1990s it became Nitrochemie Wimmis, which in addition to producing smokeless powder, explosives and industrial chemicals is the world's largest paper deacidification facility.

[3] During the Cold War, the Swiss military maintained a store of uranium in Wimmis, which was a part of its nuclear weapons programme.

[5] Wimmis is located between the Simmenfluh and Burgfluh rivers at the entrance to the Simmental.

The municipal borders stretch up the flank of the Niesen mountain to its peak at 2,362 meters (7,749 ft).

It consists of the village of Wimmis and the settlements of Oberdorf, Brodhüsi, Hasli and Burgholz.

[9] The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Gules a Castle embatteled Argent.

[12] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (2,223 or 96.1%) as their first language, Serbo-Croatian is the second most common (27 or 1.2%) and French is the third (15 or 0.6%).

The entire village of Wimmis is part of the Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites.

Under the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy a fortified estate was built near the church and became a local administrative center.

In 994 King Otto III granted his estate and church in Wimmis to Selz Abbey.

The north-west corner houses a painting of the procession to Calvary and fragments of the Crucifixion and descent from the Cross.

[22] The Letzi Spissi fortifications were built by Freiherr von Weissenburg about 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) south-west of the castle.

The number of jobs in the primary sector was 59, of which 55 were in agriculture and 4 were in forestry or lumber production.

In the tertiary sector; 86 or 34.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 13 or 5.2% were in the movement and storage of goods, 23 or 9.2% were in a hotel or restaurant, 7 or 2.8% were the insurance or financial industry, 20 or 8.0% were technical professionals or scientists, 34 or 13.6% were in education and 26 or 10.4% were in health care.

[29] From the 2000 census[update], 1,771 or 76.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 211 or 9.1% were Roman Catholic.

The wettest month was July during which time Wimmis received an average of 167 mm (6.6 in) of rain or snow.

The month with the most days of precipitation was June, with an average of 14.2, but with only 161 mm (6.3 in) of rain or snow.

The driest month of the year was February with an average of 83 mm (3.3 in) of precipitation over 9.8 days.

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.