Guggisberg (Bernese German Guggishbärg ) is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. History Guggisberg is first mentioned in 1076 as Mons Guchani. The next earliest reference to the community dates from 1148, when Guggisberg (spelled Cucansperc) was mentioned in a document of Pope Eugene III. In 1423 the territory was divided in two and sold by Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy to Bern and Fribourg. It would remain as two separate entitites until reunified by Napoleon's Act of Mediation in 1803. In the early 19th century the village of Guggisberg was known as destination for tourists due to the view of the Guggershorn and other surrounding mountains. However, in 1819 the canton began moving many landless poor (Allmendsiedler literally: Common land settler) into the municipality. The large, poor population and famines in 1816-1818 and the 1840s overwhelmed the community. Many farmers had to sell their grazing rights (Alprechte) while others moved to America to escape the poverty. By 1850 Guggisberg was the poorest municipality in Canton Bern. To try to stabilize the economy, in 1860 the municipality was split into two, Guggisberg and Rüschegg. Geography Guggisberg has an area of . As of 2012, a total of or 52.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 39.5% is forested. The rest of the municipality is or 3.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 1.6% is either rivers or lakes and or 3.3% is unproductive land. During the same year, housing and buildings made up 1.6% and transportation infrastructure made up 1.3%. A total of 35.4% of the total land area is heavily forested and 4.1% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 2.0% is used for growing crops and 31.0% is pasturage and 19.1% is used for alpine pastures. All the water in the municipality is flowing water. Of the unproductive areas, 1.9% is unproductive vegetation and 1.5% is too rocky for vegetation. It lies approximately midway between Fribourg and Thun. The municipality is located in the alpine foothills. It stretches from the Sense River (the border with the Canton of Fribourg) to the hill country around the Stockhorn mountain chain. In the south the municipality rises into the mountains and includes an alpine and forestry zone as well as the hamlet of Sangernboden. The northern part of the municipality is flatter and features fields, villages, hamlets