Discover Lauperswil

If you are looking for a hotel in Lauperswil, you can plan your trip around the village’s architectural and historical highlights. The municipality stretches across the valley on both sides of the Emme, from Blasenfluh to Gränichenwald, the source area of the Unterer Frittenbach. This geographical setting connects the river landscape with the settlement; the church and local history offer specific starting points for exploring Lauperswil.

The church and ecclesiastical heritage

The church stands clearly visible on the edge of the hillside in the centre of the village. It is a Late Gothic hall church with an older tower and exceptional furnishings. A hall church has a nave designed as a single, continuous space. In Lauperswil, this is complemented by a ceiling dating from the time of construction, decorated with polychrome-painted flat-carved friezes. The interior also includes an exceptionally precious cycle of stained-glass paintings. The building therefore combines distinctive exterior features—the hillside setting, its location in the village centre and the older tower—with fine craftsmanship inside. Lauperswil also has the oldest baptismal register in the canton of Bern. The church building and the register offer different perspectives on local heritage: Late Gothic architecture and furnishings on the one hand, and a connection to ecclesiastical records on the other. Polychrome-painted means painted in multiple colours; flat-carved friezes are bands of shallow-carved ornament. On the ceiling, colour and carved ornament can thus be distinguished as two design features.

Settlement, agriculture and transport

Settlement in Lauperswil began around the year 700, when the first Alemanni settled in the region. Another significant date is 1824: in the hamlet of Längenbach, the production of valley cheese began, making it one of the first places in Switzerland to do so. The resulting income helped bring about a shift throughout the Emmental from grain production and horse breeding to dairy farming. This local example thus links the history of a hamlet with a change that affected the entire region. The history of transport also has a clear date: in 1864, the Bern–Langnau railway line reached Lauperswil; the station was in Emmenmatt. These three dates mark distinct chapters—settlement, agriculture and the development of the railway—and provide a timeline for the local history.

Emme leisure trail

The Emme leisure trail has 18 virtual stations with information and background stories accessible by smartphone, covering topics including the gold rush, medieval paths, castles and churches. The trail follows the Emme along a flat, well-maintained hiking path. This brings walking and a range of historical topics together. The trail can be walked at any time without a reservation or advance registration; seasonal conditions may affect accessibility. So if you are planning the route, take the time of year into account as well.

Discover more destinations: Schangnau, Oberfrittenbach, Röthenbach in Emmental, Trubschachen, Rüderswil, Langnau in Emmental, Eggiwil, Gohl

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