Aarberg
Your child becomes the hero of a story set right here in Aarberg — at the city's real landmarks, in the familiar streets, in front of the buildings they know from everyday life.
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Or become part of the history of Aarberg
Below you find the historical tales of Aarberg — from old legends to famous local events. Create a free account, pick one as your starting point, your child takes a role inside it.
Historical tales from Aarberg
Real stories from the past of Aarberg — pick one and your child takes a role
The bridge that lost its river
A child walks across the enormous covered wooden bridge and wonders why it is so absurdly large for such a tiny stream. The bridge itself begins to speak, telling the story of how the mighty Aare once roared beneath it, how thousands of workers dug a canal by hand through a hill 34 meters deep, and how one day in 1878 the water simply flowed away to Lake Biel, leaving the bridge stranded over a trickle.
Historical contextCreate This Story
Aarberg's most iconic landmark is its 60-meter-long covered wooden bridge (Gedeckte Holzbruecke), dating from 1566-1569, constructed of spruce trunks with medieval stone pillars. During the First Jura Water Correction (1868-1891), the Aare was diverted away from Aarberg through the new Hagneck Canal. The greatest challenge was cutting through the Seerucken hills -- a trench 900 meters long and 34 meters deep, requiring the excavation of approximately one million cubic meters of material, all done by hand. On 16 August 1878, the waters first flowed into Lake Biel. The bridge now spans only the remnant Alte Aare, a narrow waterway.
The island that wasn't afraid
In 1339, an army arrives to besiege Aarberg, but the town sits on an island between two arms of the Aare. A child living on the island helps the townspeople defend their bridges, watching soldiers try and fail to cross the rushing water. Through three sieges in 1339, 1382, and 1386, the river itself proves to be Aarberg's greatest wall -- a fortress no army could breach.
Historical contextCreate This Story
Aarberg was founded between 1220 and 1225 by Count Ulrich III of Neuchatel on a natural island formed by the Aare and the Kleine Aare flowing around a spur of rock. The town controlled a key bridge crossing over the Aare. Aarberg was besieged in 1339, 1382, and 1386 but was never taken -- the island position and river defenses proved impregnable. In 1358, Count Peter von Aarberg, in deep financial difficulty, began seeking a buyer. After years of failed attempts, he sold the town to Bern in 1377-1379.
The sweet smell of Aarberg
A child follows a mysterious sweet scent drifting over the Seeland and discovers the sugar factory, where mountains of sugar beets are transformed into white crystals. Inside, the factory whispers its own turbulent story: a first factory that went bankrupt, a devastating fire in 1912 that reduced everything to ashes, and the stubborn people who rebuilt it all to make Switzerland's own sugar.
Historical contextCreate This Story
The Zuckerfabrik Aarberg is the oldest and most important sugar refinery in Switzerland, one of only two sugar factories in the country. A first factory was established before 1899 but went bankrupt because too few sugar beets were grown. In January 1912, a devastating fire destroyed the facility. The current company, Zuckermuehle und Raffinerie Aarberg AG (ZRA), was refounded on 16 November 1912. Today each factory processes approximately 10,000 tonnes of sugar beet per day during the autumn campaign season (September-December). The sweet smell of beet processing permeates the town for months.
The count who sold his town
Count Peter von Aarberg has no money left. In 1358, he puts his entire town up for sale -- castle, bridge, market, and all. For twenty long years, nobody wants to buy it. A child helps the desperate count search for a buyer, and when the city of Bern finally agrees, the child realizes that sometimes letting go is the bravest thing a ruler can do.
Historical contextCreate This Story
Count Peter von Aarberg, in deep financial difficulty, began seeking a buyer for his entire town in 1358 -- castle, bridge, market, and all ruling rights. For twenty years, nobody wanted to buy it. He finally sold Aarberg to the city of Bern in 1377-1379, ending the dynasty's direct rule. Bern installed a Vogt (bailiff) in Aarberg Castle. From 1358 to 1830, roughly 100 Voegte occupied the castle as Bernese administrators. The current castle was constructed between 1608 and 1610 and today serves as the town hall.
The canal diggers
In 1875, thousands of workers arrive at Aarberg with nothing but shovels and wheelbarrows. They must dig a canal through a hill 34 meters deep -- one million cubic meters of earth, all by hand. A child befriends one of the exhausted workers and watches as the impossible project takes shape week by week, until the unforgettable day the Aare flows into Lake Biel for the first time.
Historical contextCreate This Story
The First Jura Water Correction (1868-1891) was one of the largest hydraulic engineering projects in 19th-century Switzerland. The plan, developed by Grisons engineer Richard La Nicca, called for diverting the Aare from Aarberg into Lake Biel via a new canal. Construction of the Hagneck Canal began in 1875. The greatest challenge was cutting through the Seerucken hills -- a trench 900 meters long and 34 meters deep, requiring the excavation of approximately one million cubic meters of material, all done by hand without machines. On 16 August 1878, the Aare first flowed into Lake Biel.
The market on the island
It is 1478, and Aarberg's yearly market is the biggest event in the Seeland. Salt merchants from the west, iron traders from the north, cloth sellers from Bern -- they all cross the covered bridge to reach the great Stadtplatz on the island. A child running errands for an innkeeper at the Krone discovers that every object in the market tells the story of a different corner of Switzerland.
Historical contextCreate This Story
Aarberg's central market plaza was one of the largest trans-shipment centers in Switzerland during the Middle Ages. The town's position at a key Aare bridge crossing made it a natural hub for regional trade. The yearly market was first recorded in 1271. By 1478, it had become a major regional event attracting salt, iron, steel, and cloth merchants. Markets expanded over the centuries: 1507 saw two markets per year, 1681 three per year, and 1759 quarterly markets. Today the Stadtplatz hosts the Stars of Sounds music festival and the Chlouser-Marit (St. Nicholas Market) on the first weekend of Advent.
The swamp that became a garden
A child living in the Seeland in 1860 knows only mud, mosquitoes, and floods. Then the engineers arrive with their grand plans to drain the marshes and dig canals. Decades later, the same child -- now a grandparent -- returns to find the once-dreaded swampland covered in carrots, cabbages, and white asparagus: Switzerland's vegetable garden, born from a swamp.
Historical contextCreate This Story
Before the 19th-century Jura Water Correction, the Seeland between Aarberg and Solothurn was a vast swampy floodplain suffering from poor drainage and recurring devastating floods. The First Jura Water Correction (1868-1891) and the Second (1962-1973) drained the marshes and regulated the rivers. The result was transformative: the drained Seeland became Switzerland's most important vegetable-growing region -- the 'Gemuseegarten der Schweiz' (vegetable garden of Switzerland), with over 500 farms contributing about one-fifth of Switzerland's vegetable output, including over 60 varieties and the prized white asparagus.
The old river's secret
Walking along the Alte Aare nature trail, a child discovers that this quiet, overgrown waterway was once the main course of a powerful river. Herons, kingfishers, and frogs now live where boats and barges once traveled. The old river whispers its memories: of devastating floods, of the bustling island town, and of the fateful day in 1878 when the water was sent away through a mountain, leaving behind this secret green world.
Historical contextCreate This Story
After the Jura Water Correction diverted the main Aare through the Hagneck Canal, the former riverbed between Aarberg and Bueren an der Aare became a remnant waterway known as the Alte Aare (Old Aare). Over the following century, nature reclaimed the abandoned floodplain, creating a unique riparian landscape with oxbow lakes, dense floodplain forests, and open water areas. The Alte Aare nature reserve covers 194 hectares (Aarberg-Lyss) and 190 hectares (Lyss-Dotzigen), and is listed as an important birding site in Switzerland with numerous bird species, amphibians, and aquatic plants.
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