Gondiswil

Gondiswil (local dialect Gumiswil) is a municipality in the Oberaargau administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. Gondiswil is first mentioned in the mid-9th century as Cundolteswilare. The only evidence of prehistoric people in Gondiswil are some scattered neolithic items that were found near Staldershaus. During the Middle Ages the major landowners were all local nobles. However, in 841-72 the Perchtgers donated land to the Abbey of St. Gallen. In 1194 the Baron of Langenstein granted some land in Gondiswil to St. Urban's Abbey. Other religious houses also eventually acquired land in or around the village including the Benedictine monastery of St. Johannsen in Erlach in 1236 and the Knights Hospitaller Thunstetten Commandery in 1263. During the Late Middle Ages it was part of the court of Murgeten in Murgenthal and belonged to the Herrschaft of Grünenberg. The entire Herrschaft was partially sold in 1432 and completely sold in 1480 to Bern. Under Bernese control Gondiswil and Melchnau formed a low court in the bailiwick of Aarwangen. Religiously it was part of the parish of Grossdietwil in Lucerne until the Protestant Reformation. In 1528 it became part of the parish of Melchnau. In an effort to become their own parish, in 1737 the village built a cemetery. However, it took several centuries for this goal to be realized. Starting in 1856 or 1870 worship and Sunday school services were conducted in the village. In 1918 a church was completed. Then, in 1945 the Melchnau parish appointed a vicar to oversee Gondiswil. Finally in 1960, a rectory was built and the village became a parish. In 1300 in the hamlet of Freibach, the Lords of Büttikon built St. Mary's Chapel. During the 14th and 15th centuries, this chapel became a pilgrimage site and the headquarters of a regional blacksmiths fellowship. The chapel was demolished in 1528. During the 18th and 19th centuries, linen mills and a wooden shoe factory provided jobs outside of agriculture. In 1889 the Langenthal-Huttwil-Wolhusenbahn built a railroad and station through Gondiswil.