The oldest traces of a settlement in the area are scattered
neolithic tools. During the second century AD, a
Roman graveyard was built in the area. An
Early Middle Ages cemetery shows that there was a settlement in the area and by the
High Middle Ages at least three forts had been built in the area. The area was known as
Interlacus by 1133 when
Interlaken Monastery was founded on the opposite side of the
Aare. Interlaken village grew up across from the Monastery in the following years. By 1239 it was known as
villa Inderlappen and in 1280 it was
civitas Inderlappen. The city of Unterseen was founded on 13 July 1279, when King
Rudolf I von Habsburg granted Baron Berchtold III of Eschenbach-Oberhofen permission to build a stronghold between the two lakes. The name came from "unter," which in
Middle High German meant "between", and "seen," which means "lake." The fortification was given
Stadtrecht (town privileges) in this agreement. By 1281 Interlaken and Unterseen was mentioned collectively as
stat ze Inderlappen oder Undersewen and in 1291 they were called
Inderlappen, genant Undersewen. It was built by the secular nobles of the area to limit the growing power of the Monastery and to control a bridge over the Aare. The young town was put in an ongoing conflict with the
Interlaken Monastery and early on sought protection from
Bern. After the
Swiss Confederation's victory in the
Battle of Sempach in 1386, the villages were brought under Bernese control and a Bernese
bailiff was appointed. During the
Reformation the town turned against Interlaken Monastery and did not join the
Berner Oberland uprising. As a result of their loyalty they were rewarded with the Alp Sefinen. In 1364, a fire broke out in the Monastery's mill. It spread to the village of Unterseen and destroyed much of it. In 1470 Unterseen was burnt down for the second time and Bern undertook the reconstruction with the town house in the center. A chapel was first mentioned in the village in 1353. It was rebuilt in 1470 following the fire. The current church building was built in 1852 after part of the older church collapsed. After the establishment of the
Helvetic Republic, Unterseen became a center of resistance against the reestablished Bern feudalism. The
Unspunnenfest in 1805 and 1808 was planned as a means of reconciliation between the urban and rural citizens. The attempt was a failure and the government forbade such a festival. In 1815, many of the town's citizens played a role in the unrest in Interlaken. In the early 19th century, the town wall and moat were broken down and the gate house was demolished in 1855. In the burgeoning tourism of the middle of the 18th century, Unterseen played an important role, which has since been taken over in large part by Interlaken. ==Geography==