page_title: Reichenbach im Kandertal
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Reichenbach im Kandertal / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Schweizer Kulturgut von nationaler Bedeutung, mittelalterliche Talsperre
context_page_description: Reichenbach im Kandertal is a village and municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Until 1957 it was known as Reichenbach bei Frutigen. Besides the village of Reichenbach, the municipality includes several other settlements, including Aris, Faltsche, Griesalp, Kien, Kiental, Ramslauenen, Reudlen, Scharnachtal, Schwandi and Wengi. Additionally, the village of Mülenen is shared between Reichenbach and Aeschi bei Spiez municipalities.
  The area played a notable role in world history when the Kienthal Conference was held at Kiental in 1916.
  The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Bear Paw issuant from a Mount of 3 Coupeaux Vert.
context_section_description: Reichenbach im Kandertal is first mentioned about 1320 as Richenbach. During the Middle Ages, the village occupied a strategic location on the trade route into the Canton of Valais.  Two castles, Mülenen Castle, with the Letzi Mülenen wall, and Aris ob Kien Castle, were built during the Middle Ages to guard the road.  A third castle, Faltschen Castle, may also be medieval, but this is not definitively known.  The village was part of the Herrschaft of Mülenen.  In 1352, Bern acquired the Herrschaft and with it the village.
  Originally Reichenbach was part of the parish of Aeschi bei Spiez.  During the 15th century the chapel of St. Nicholas was built in the village.  The chapel was first mentioned in 1453 and rebuilt in 1484.  During the 18th and 19th centuries it was renovated and expanded.  After Bern accepted the Protestant Reformation, Reichenbach converted to the new faith in 1529 and created its own parish.  A filial church was established in the village of Kiental in 1929, while Wengi and Schwandi are still part of the Frutigen parish.
  Traditionally the villages lived from farming and seasonal alpine herding as well as some trade over the mountain pass.  Beginning in the 16th century, the local farmers began raising cattle for export.  In 1865 a match stick factory opened in the area.
  The post carriage began operating between Reichenbach and Thun in 1814.  In 1901 a railroad was completed that linked the municipality with Spiez.  This was followed by the Niesen train in 1910 and the Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon Railway in 1913.  The new transportation links quickly changed Reichenbach into a tourist destination.  The population grew and many vacation homes were built in the municipality.  A military airport was built in the valley, but in 1994 it switched to a completely civilian airport.  A secondary school was built in 1959-60.
  The Kienthal Conference was held in Kiental between 24 and 30 April 1916. The conference was a follow-on from the Zimmerwald Conference of the previous year, which Vladimir Lenin described as the "first step" in the development of an international movement against World War I. The manifesto drawn up by the Kienthal Conference was an advance on the Zimmerwald Manifesto and helped to crystallize the internationalist elements of whom the Communist Third International was subsequently formed.
  On 31 December 2009 Amtsbezirk Frutigen, the municipality's former district, was dissolved.  On the following day, 1 January 2010, it joined the newly created Verwaltungskreis Frutigen-Niedersimmental.
caption: View of the Letzi Mülenen wall
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