Sumiswald (Bern, Switzerland)
Sumiswald, one of the most beautiful villages (pop. 6,000 in 1958; 5,179 in 2004) of the Emmental, Swiss canton of Bern (coordinates: 47° 1′ 45″ N, 7° 44′ 40″ E). Soon after the beginning of the Reformation it became an important center of Anabaptism and added a significant chapter to the story of the martyrdom of the Mennonites of Bern. In 1529 Moritz Kessler, of Sumiswald, was a martyr in Bern, and in 1537 and 1538 three women of Sumiswald met the same fate. The last Bernese martyr, Hans Haslibacher, also came from this region. Melchior Aeberli, of Sumiswald, was tortured in Bern in 1569; on the rack he declared that Anabaptist teachings were not sectarian but Scriptural; his uncle Lorentz Aeberli (executed 3 July 1539) had testified to this doctrine with his blood. Even on the rack he refused to betray any of his brethren. Sumiswald remained an Anabaptist center into the 17th century.
Bibliography
Geiser, S. Die Taufgesinnten-Gemeinden. Karlsruhe, 1931.
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. IV.
Maps
Map:Sumiswald (Bern, Switzerland)
| Author(s) | Samuel Geiser |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Geiser, Samuel. "Sumiswald (Bern, Switzerland)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sumiswald_(Bern,_Switzerland)&oldid=96645.
APA style
Geiser, Samuel. (1959). Sumiswald (Bern, Switzerland). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sumiswald_(Bern,_Switzerland)&oldid=96645.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 654. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.