- published: 09 Sep 2013
- views: 3249
Köniz is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With a population of 38,793 inhabitants (2008), the municipality is one of the 15 most populous cities in Switzerland.
The current municipality has long been inhabited; there have been a number of Bronze- and Iron Age finds, as well as Roman villas (villae rusticae) and Early Middle Ages graveyards. The oldest parts of the current reformed parish church (formerly. St. Peter and Paul) date back to around 1100. There may have other previous buildings on this site, but archaeological digs have uncovered no evidence of them thus far. Köniz is first mentioned in 1011 as Chunicis.
According to legend the church was founded by Burgundian King Rudolph II and his wife Bertha. The parish did not only comprise the current municipality, but also the area around present day Bern, around 5 km away. In 1191 it became the parish church of the newly founded town, until it was given the status of its own parish in 1276.