Map - Blumenstein

Blumenstein is a municipality in the administrative district of Thun, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.

Blumenstein is first mentioned in 1305 as Bluomenstein. Tannenbühl, which became Outer-Blumenstein in 1859, was first mentioned in 1316 as Tannenbuel.

Inner-Blumenstein was sold in 1348 by Peter von Raron to the city of Bern. Soon thereafter they sold the villages to a family that renamed themselves von Blumenstein. They may have built a castle above the Fallbach as an ancestral seat. In 1386, they sold the village and over the following centuries portions of the village and surroundings were sold or inherited several times. The castle fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1606. In 1642 the last owner, Hans Franz von Wattenwyl, sold the village back to Bern. Under Bernese rule, it became part of the Seftigen district court. In 1652 Blumenstein and Thierachern were both assigned to the district of Thun. Following the 1798 French invasion, Blumenstein became part of the Helvetic Republic district of Oberseftigen. Five years later, with the collapse of the Republic and the Act of Mediation, it was assigned to the Thun District.

The village church of St. Niklaus was probably built in the 11th century. It first appears in the records in 1285. In the 14th century a new building was built on the site of the original church.

Natural mineral springs were discovered in the municipality in the 16th century. Beginning in 1900, the springs became the center of a local spa and health resort. Traditionally most of the residents farmed or raised dairy cattle in alpine meadows. Today about half of the jobs in the municipality are still in agriculture. Just over half of the work force commutes to jobs in nearby cities.

The hamlets of Tannenbühl, Reckenbühl, Bodenzingen and Bühl formed the court of Tannenbühl, which first appears in records during the Late Middle Ages as a part of the Herrschaft of Strättligen. In 1594 it became part of the Herrschaft of Thierachern. A few years later, in 1607, the city of Bern acquired Thierachern and added it into the Thun District. Originally it was part of the parish of Amsoldingen. In 1528 Bern adopted the new faith of the Protestant Reformation and all the parishes in the Canton converted. However, later Protestant offshoots like the Anabaptists were not welcome in the Bern. When they began to settle in the area around Tannenbühl, the church at Amsoldingen was too distant to effectively control the new faith. In 1676 Tannenbühl was assigned to the Blumenstein parish as Outer-Blumenstein. Joining the Blumenstein parish gradually led to closer ties between the two communities and in 1859, they joined into a single political municipality.