Ostermundigen

Ostermundigen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district of the canton of Bern in Switzerland, lying in the lower Worblental valley at the foot of the Ostermundigenberg and the Hättenberg, and forming part of the agglomeration of the federal city of Bern. It is first mentioned in 1239 as Osturmundingun and grew from three medieval villages. For centuries it was known for its sandstone quarries, whose stone built most of the buildings in the Old City of Bern, and in 1871 a rack railway replaced horse and mule teams to carry the stone to the railway station. After 1850 the farming villages turned into an industrial town. It was part of the municipality of Bolligen until 1983, when it became independent after a vote in 1978. It covers 5.96 square kilometres and had 17,758 residents in December 2020, and the actress Ursula Andress was born there.