Discover Attiswil

Attiswil consists of a single village at the southern foot of the Jura. If you are looking for a hotel in Attiswil, local history, geological features and hikes towards the Jura ridge may shape your choice of destination. The topics range from a historic granary to routes that start at a railway station in Attiswil.

Local History and Unusual Stones

The building that now houses the Attiswil Museum was probably built in 1830 as a granary (Spycher). In 1961, a local association was founded at the initiative of Bruno Gasser and Peter Hohl. Its aim was to open a local history museum documenting the history of the municipality of Attiswil. The building’s original purpose as a granary and the later plan to establish a local history museum belong to different chapters of the village’s history.

The Freistein next to the church is described as a Bronze Age menhir. Geologically, it is an erratic boulder of Mont Blanc granite: the term menhir refers to its archaeological classification, while the granite identifies its rock type and origin. The former watch-stone workshop is also part of the village’s architectural heritage. Its building is a residential house with a commercial ground floor and dates from around 1900.

A mix of agricultural and commercial buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries stretches along the old Olten–Solothurn road as far as the railway tracks. In the Middle Ages, Attiswil belonged to the former lordship of Bipp. Its seigneurial rights passed to Bern and Solothurn in 1413; from 1463, they belonged to Bern alone. The sequence thus runs from joint control to Bern’s later sole rule.

Railway Station and Transport Routes

On 9 January 1918, the Solothurn–Niederbipp Railway line began operating, with a station in Attiswil. The station building is a Heimatstil-style building with a mansard roof dating from 1918. In the history of the village, the station thus connects a precisely dated chapter in transport with an architectural style that also dates from that year.

Main roads 5, 12 and 22 pass through Attiswil, sharing parts of their route there. Through traffic bypasses the village to the south of the railway line. This traffic arrangement should be distinguished from the historic development along the old Olten–Solothurn road: both form part of the village’s geography, but describe different aspects.

Hiking from Attiswil

The various routes of the Sagenweg start at aare-seeland-mobil (ASM) railway stations at the southern foot of the Jura: in Attiswil, Wiedlisbach, Oberbipp and Niederbipp. From there, they climb to the ridge of the first Jura range. Attiswil is therefore one of several starting points named for the Sagenweg.

A hike from Attiswil over the Jura ridge to Farnern starts at the ASM station in Attiswil. Its highest point is the Höchchrüz. At the Höchstelli/Reckenacker viewpoint, there is a fire pit and an Alpine panorama board. Along the hike, the “Mühlistein in the Attiswil village stream” is a notable discovery; the route also leads to a fountain with fossils and the “Waldlochbabis Cave.”

For the return journey from Farnern, a bus and the Bipper-Lisi, an ASM train, take you back to the hike’s starting point. Check the timetables and current trail conditions before setting out. This lets you take the return journey and trail conditions into account when planning your day, without confusing the various sights along the way with the Sagenweg route.

A Different Perspective: the World Field

The Attiswil World Field offers a different focus from local history and hiking trails. On 2,000 square metres, it shows to scale which crops are grown around the world, based on the calculated share of land per person. This tangible area makes a global scale easier to understand. If you are interested in agriculture and the distribution of arable land, this topic adds a distinct perspective to the historic buildings and tours to the Jura ridge.

Discover more destinations: Niederbipp, Wangen An Der Aare, Wolfisberg, Wiedlisbach, Wangenried, Seeberg, Oberbipp

Return to the main travel overview: Wangen.