Welcome
Welcome to the Emmental. The early Iseli Family were mainly farmers. Based on church records dating to the mid 1500's, it appears that the greatest concentrations of "founding" Iseli families were in Kirchberg. Although we do not have any dire
Date: 2005-12-16
Welcome to the Emmental. The early Iseli Family were mainly farmers. Based on church records dating to the mid 1500's, it appears that the greatest concentrations of "founding" Iseli families were in Kirchberg. Although we do not have any direct evidence, it seems likely that the first families of Hasle came from Kirchberg, following the river upstream to rude but more affordable farmland. By the end of the 1500's, the Hasle Iseli also "colonized" Lützelflüh. In the 1600's, Iseli's also moved to Rüegsau and Walkringen.
Map of tour
Date: 2006-01-02
Here you see the different places we are going to visit. The route will be: Walkringen - Hasle - Rüegsau - Lützelflüh - Wynigen - Thunstetten - Kirchberg - Rüdtligen - Aefligen - Grafenried - Jegenstorf - Mühleberg - Täuffelen
Walkringen
Date: 2006-01-02
Coming from Bern, over the hills, we start our tour in the south with this overview of Walkringen All the villages in the Emmental are fairly small. Walkringen is the ancestral home of the Kansas Isely and the Ohio Isaly families. Once farming communities, the 1,735 modern residents mostly commute to work in Bern.
Hasle (Schafhausen)
Date: 2006-01-02
Like many towns in the Emmental Valley, Hasle is composed of several villages. This is a photo of Schafhausen which is one of these. In the background you can see the white buildings of Lützelflüh. This photo is a good example of the countryside in the Emmental with a typical mixture of small villages and farmland.
Hasle (Schwand)
Date: 2006-01-02
This is Schwand, a typical farm in Schafhausen, and also the home of the families of Arnold & Verena Iseli-Gehrig and Fritz & Marie Iseli-Uhlmann.
Hasle
Date: 2006-01-02
Now, let's step down from the hills to the village of Hasle itself. Hasle (called officially Hasle bei Burgdorf (i.e. "near Burgdorf") holds a central place in Iseli Family history. Many of our modern Swiss members trace their legal origins (the Gemeinde) to this village. Based on local church records, the Iseli's of Hasle went on to settle in Lützelflüh, Rüegsau and Walkringen. This historic village was first mentioned in Swiss records in the year 894 and has a modern population of 2,189 inhabitants.
Hasle bridge
Date: 2006-01-02
This historical photo shows one of the longest covered bridge with a wooden arch in one piece in Switzerland. It was located next to the town hall and the station and connected to Rüegsau on the other shore of the river. Since traffic increased, a modern bridge was built in its place and the original one was moved several hundred meters downstreams.
Rüegsau
Date: 2006-01-02
Rüegsau is located in a narrow valley, perpendicular to the Emme and contains also the villages of Rüegsauschachen and Rüegsbach. The 1990 census reports a population of 2,746. Since the road through the Emmental was built in the first half of the 19th century, followed by the train in 1881, people started to move from Rüegsau towards the Emme, to Rüegsauschachen, where the village touches the neighboring Hasle.
Rüegsau was first mentioned in 1139. Approximately at the same time was built a Monastery for Benedictine nons, which was dissolved after the Reformation in 1528. Its church became the village church. Before continuing our trip down the Emme river, we walk to the next village upstream, to Lützelflüh.
Lützelflüh church
Date: 2006-01-02
Lützelflüh had a population of 3,826 in 1990 and is the ancestral home of the Wisconsin Isely branch. Lützelflüh is also the home of the famous Swiss author Jeremias Gotthelf (1832-1854) who was the Reverend at the church.
The church records at Lützelflüh show that many of the Iseli men took wives from the immediately surrounding villages, including Schwanden, Sumiswald, Trachselwald, and Rüederswil. On the hillside of the Nuelli a few miles to the east lies Thal (misnamed Zal in Gnagi's genealogy of the Wisconsin Isely).
Lützelflüh Emme river
Date: 2006-01-02
Already the Emme River is fairly wide here, although only meter or so deep. There has been a bridge over the Emme here since 1584.
Wynigen aerial view
Date: 2006-01-02
The next city on the Emme is Burgdorf. A short distance to the north is Wynigen, a small village that produced a number of immigrant branches.
Wynigen center
Date: 2006-01-02
Besides the Iseli's who went to America, the Dysli Family also traces it roots to here, as well as the Joss and Stock Families.
Wynigen houses
Date: 2006-01-02
The village was first cited in 1185 and some buildings were destroyed in the Peasant War of 1383. The population in 1990 was 1,926 residents.
Thunstetten church
Date: 2006-01-02
The village of Thunstetten is located to the east of the Emme Valley, connected by road to Wynigen. The Castle of Thunstetten and the church located in the village center are the notable structures of another small Iseli village. The church is in the Baroque style. It was build in 1745 but also contains parts of the original church which was constructed in the 13th Century. The village was first cited in Swiss records in 1220.
Thunstetten castle
Date: 2006-01-02
The Castle was built in 1713 by Hieronymus von Erlach in the Louis-Quatorze style.
Kirchberg
Date: 2006-01-02
Kirchberg is larger than the other villages in this tour with a population around 5,000. The name of the village litteraly means "church hill" which is a very sensible name considering the location of the church...
Kirchberg view from the hill
Date: 2006-01-02
This is a view from the church down to the village. The local church also serves Alchenflüh, Rüdtligen and Aefligen.
Kirchberg train
Date: 2006-01-02
The village was first cited in the 10th Century, although the first bridge across the Emme was not built until 1640. It is now a thriving shopping and commercial center.
Rüdtligen orchard
Date: 2006-01-02
Across the bridge is the town of Rüdtligen, which is actually combined with Alchenflüh to form a political entity called Rüdtligen - Alchenflüh.
Rüdtligen farm
Date: 2006-01-02
These are very traditional building for the Emmental - did you notice the family shields on the house on the right? Also don't miss the dung-hill at the left corner of the picture below: dung-hills are traditionally set next to the street to show to the village how rich the farmer is (how many cows he has producing the dung). It is also very nicely presented; in fact, the dung-hill is considered as the business-card of the farm.
Aefligen Emme river
Date: 2006-01-02
Once again, this is the Emme River but as it passes Aefligen. Notice the small drop in the center of the photo. This is typical for the river which flow down a series of "shelves" every few hundred yards, dropping between 50 centimeters to a meter at each shelf.
Aefligen houses
Date: 2006-01-02
Aefligen is still primarily a farming community although new residential blocks are being built.
Grafenried church
Date: 2006-01-02
Now we leave the River Emme and reach Grafenried which had a population of 750 residents in 1991. The church here was built in 1747 and is almost a kilometer from the town center, standing alone in the farm fields.
Grafenried farms
Date: 2006-01-02
The village was first cited in 1258 as being in the possession of the Graf of Tierstein and were later turned over to the Monastery of Faubrunnen.
Jegenstorf church
Date: 2006-01-02
The village of Jegenstorf greatly expanded over the past few decades, growing from 1,000 in the 1950's to over 4,000 inhabitants today. Many of these new residents commute to work in Bern. The church shown here was built in 1514 in the late gothic style.
Iseli's were mentioned a number of times in the early city records from the 1300's, but the current branch of the family traces its origins only to the 1600's. The Family is also noted for running in the 18th centrury a local inn called The Lion.
Jegenstorf castle
Date: 2006-01-02
One branch of the Family in Jegenstorf was known as the "Castle Iseli" because they lived at the foot of the Castle of Jegenstorf. It was built by the Jegistorf family (first cited in 1131) and later owned by families of Krauchthal, von Erlach, von Bonstetten, von Wattenwyl and von Stürler.
Jegenstorf castle exhibition
Date: 2006-01-02
The Castle, along with its elaborate gardens and decorative ponds, now hosts a exposition of art and furniture, including the historic recreation shown here.
Mühleberg church
Date: 2006-01-02
West of Bern lies Mühleberg which was first cited in the year 1011. The name means "mill hill" and is reflected in their town shield which consists of a silver mill wheel on a black background above three green mounds. The church here, first cited in 1224, is one of the oldest in the Canton Bern, first built in the 11th Century and partly rebuilt in 1523.
Muhleberg farms
Date: 2006-01-02
The Isely's from French speaking Switzerland trace their roots back here. Modern Mühleberg is known throughout Switzerland as the location of a major nuclear power plant.
Täuffelen and Lake Biel
Date: 2006-01-02
Täuffelen is on Lake Biel and well outside of the Emmental Valley. There are also many Iseli's from the nearby city of Biel who are directly related.
Täuffelen Iseli shop
Date: 2006-01-02
Iseli's are still very well represented in this village today with the Family name on many local businesses such as Elektro-Iseli (an appliance shop) and this Iseli florist shop.
Täuffelen general view
Date: 2006-01-02
Based on the local church records, we know Täuffelen branch of the Family was started by Johannes Iseli who moved there in 1587 to become the Pastor of the local church. The white building is a factory manufacturing precision instruments for over 150 years.