Map - Riggisberg

Riggisberg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

On January 1, 2009, the municipality of Rüti bei Riggisberg became part of the municipality of Riggisberg. On 1 January 2021 the former municipality of Rümligen merged into Riggisberg.

Riggisberg is first mentioned in 1239 as Ricasperc. In 1270 it was mentioned as Riggesberg.

The oldest trace of a settlement in the area are several Iron Age graves at Kreuzbühlhölzli. During the Roman era there was a settlement at Muriboden. During the Middle Ages the Fribourg noble family of Riggisberg was established with a seat in Riggisberg. However, the family soon lost or sold all their rights and land in the village and by the 13th century other nobles and monasteries owned parts of the village. It passed through several noble landowners until it was acquired by Petermann von Wichtrach when he married Agnes von Burgistein in 1354. In 1358 Rudolph of Neuchâtel-Nidau acquired the high court and rulership over the Herrschaft of Riggisberg that included the castle of Uf Gsteig, the village of Riggisberg, scattered farms and the courts of Riggisberg and Ruti. In 1387 the powerful Erlach family of Bern acquired the village and Herrschaft. In 1700 the Erlachs built a new and more comfortable castle near the old castle.

Following the 1798 French invasion, the old landowners lost their right to personally own villages. Riggisberg became part of the Helvetic Republic district of Seftigen under Bern. In the following year the Erlachs sold the castles and surrounding lands to Karl Friedrich Steiger. In 1869, his cousin, Robert Pigott from Ireland, inherited the estate. About a decade later, in 1880, he sold the castles to the Canton of Bern, who converted it into a poorhouse. In 1939 the old castle was demolished. In 1965-70 the new castle was renovated and converted into a district administration building.

During World War II around midnight on 12–13 July 1943, the village was bombed by Allied bombers that were attempting to attack Italy. As many as 200 bombs were dropped and the village was severely damaged. However, there were no deaths in the attack.

Historically, Riggisberg and Rüti both belonged to the large parish of Thurnen. They split off to form their own parish in 1874 and became fully independent in 1935. The local St. Sebastian Chapel was probably built in the 12th century, but was first mentioned in 1343. The late-Romanesque choir tower was probably built during the second half of the 12th century. The current nave was built in 1687 but expanded in 1939 and again in 1977-79.

The village has had a mixture of agriculture and small businesses throughout its history. Riggisberg gradually grew into a regional center for the surrounding small farming villages. In the 20th century, a district hospital and a district nursing home, as well as a secondary school for the surrounding six municipalities, opened in the village. In 1961 the Zürich textile industrialist Werner Abegg founded the Abegg-Stiftung (Abegg Foundation) and in 1967 the Foundation opened the Textile Museum in Riggisberg.