Thun

For other uses, see Thun (disambiguation).

Thun
Country Switzerland Canton Bern District Thun 46°46′N 7°38′E
Population	42,623 (Dec 2010)
- Density	1,973 /km2 (5,111 /sq mi)
Area	21.58 km2 (8.33 sq mi)
Elevation	560 m (1,837 ft)
- Highest	1172 m - Dürrenbergwald
- Lowest	552 m - Aar at Lerchenfeld
Postal code	3600-3645
SFOS number	0942
Mayor	Raphael Lanz (as of 2011) SVP/UDC
Surrounded by	Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg
Website	www.thun.ch SFSO statistics
Thun
Map of Thun

Thun (French: Thoune) is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun in the canton of Bern in Switzerland with about 42,136 inhabitants (near 90,000 in the agglomeration), as of 1 January 2006.

It is located where the River Aar flows out of Lake Thun (Thunersee), 30 km south of Bern. Besides tourism, machine and precision instrument engineering, the largest garrison in the country, the food industry and publishing are of economic importance to Thun.

History

Castle Thun over City Hall Square.

Street in the Old Town.

The area of what is now Thun was inhabited since the Neolithic age (mid-3rd millennium BC). The name of the city derives from the Celtic term Dunum, meaning "fortified city". It fell to Rome in 58 BC, when Roman legions conquered almost all of Switzerland, and it soon became one of the main centres of Roman administration in the region.

The Romans were driven out of Thun, and out of the rest of Switzerland, by the Burgundians around 400 AD. The Aar became the frontier between the Christian Burgundians and the Pagan, German-speaking Alemanni, who lived north. Thun was mentioned for the first time during the 7th century, in the chronicle of Frankish monk Fredgar.

The region of Thun became a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1033, when Conrad II gained the title of King of Burgundy. The emperors entrusted the Zähringen family, centred in Bern, with subduing the unruly nobles of central Switzerland. Around 1190 Duke Bertold V of Zähringen, built a castle in Thun and expanded the city. After Bertold's death in 1218, his territories went to Ulrich III von Kyburg.

In 1264 Thun received city rights and in 1384 the town was bought by the canton of Bern. Thun was the capital of the Oberland canton of the Helvetic Republic, which lasted from 1798 until 1803.

In 1819 a Military School was founded in the city, which later developed into the main military school in Switzerland. Thun was connected to the railway network of Switzerland in 1859 and telephone access made available in 1888.

Geography

Thun has an area of 21.6 km² (8.3 sq mi). Of this area, 32.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 19.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 45.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (2.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

Demographics

Thun has a population (as of 31 December 2010) of 42,623. As of 2007, 11.1% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 5.6%. Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (90.5%), with Italian being second most common ( 1.8%) and Albanian being third ( 1.3%).

In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 29.2% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SPS (22.1%), the Green Party (14.1%) and the FDP (13.8%).

The age distribution of the population (as of 2000) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 60.8% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19%. The entire Swiss population is generally well-educated. In Thun about 74.9% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a Fachhochschule).

Thun has an unemployment rate of 2.89%. As of 2005, there were 210 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 58 businesses involved in this sector. 6012 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 397 businesses in this sector. 16733 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 1682 businesses in this sector.

View of Thun and Lake Thun from the Niederhorn.

The Castle of Schadau in an early 20th century image.

Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.

Main sights

• The Castle (twelfth century) with a history museum. This has several sections about medieval armour and weaponry and rural life.
• The Rathaus (town hall), erected in the 16th century
• Lake Thun and the view of the Bernese Alps, including the Niederhorn, Niesen, Stockhorn and Jungfrau peaks.
• The Wocher Panorama, the oldest remaining panorama drawing in the world.
• The Kunstmuseum Thun
• Schloss Schadau
• Panzermuseum Thun, with several World War II armored vehicles and weapons

Sports

• Soccer: FC Thun plays in the Swiss Super League. Their home ground is the Lachen stadium. On 23 August 2005 FC Thun qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League.
• Orienteering: Thun hosted the 1981 World Orienteering Championships.
• Freestyle Kayak: Thun hosted the 2009 ICF Freestyle World Championships.
• Thun Tigers: American football club that plays in the SAFV [Swiss American Football League]

Public transport

Public transport bus service, both within the urban area and connecting Thun with nearby towns, is provided by Verkehrsbetriebe STI. Intercity passenger rail service is provided by BLS AG and by Swiss Federal Railways. BLS also operates passenger ships on Lake Thun.

In fiction

• A scene in the spy novel Smiley's People by John le Carré is set here.
• Robert Walser's story Kleist in Thun is set here.

Notable residents

• Tanja Frieden, Olympic gold medalist 2006 (Snowboard Cross)
• Niklaus Gerber (1850–1914), Dairy chemist and industrialist
• Simona de Silvestro (born 1988), Race car driver
• Zdravko Kuzmanovic (born 1987), footballer

Twin towns

• Gabrovo, Bulgaria
• Granby, Canada

External links

• Thun.ch (German) Official city website
• Tourist information
• City livecam with archive since 2005 (German)