Concept
The Oberhasli is a historical Landvogtei or Talschaft in the Bernese Highlands, Switzerland, bordering on the cantons of Obwalden (OW), Nidwalden (NW), Uri (UR) and Wallis (VS). From 1833 to 2009, Oberhasli was incorporated as the Oberhasli district, the easternmost of the 26 districts of the canton of Bern, bordering the district of Interlaken to the west. Since 2010, Oberhasli and Interlaken have been administratively united as the administrative district Interlaken-Oberhasli. The local dialect is of the Highest Alemannic variety. With its area of 551 km2, it is larger than the canton of Basel-Landschaft. It consists of the six municipalities of Gadmen, Guttannen, Hasliberg, Innertkirchen, Meiringen and Schattenhalb, with a total population of just below 8,000, corresponding to a population density of less than 15/km2 (compared to a Swiss average of 181/km2), due to a significant portion of the area of Oberhasli being uninhabitable High Alps. Haslital is used to refer to the entire region, but as a geographical term the Haslital proper is the main upper Aare valley, not including the many side valleys, such as Gadmertal, Ürbachtal, Gental and Reichenbachtal. The name Haslital is first attested in 1234. The prefix Ober- ("Upper Hasli") first appears in the 16th century for disambiguation with Hasle bei Burgdorf, Oberhasli is in official use since 1798. The origin of the name is likely Old High German hasal "hazel". The upper parts of the Haslital are part of the World Heritage Site of the Jungfrau–Aletsch–Bietschhorn as defined in 2007. Oberhasli has historically been of great strategical significance due to its central location in the Central Alps, commanding several passes. Among them are: The Grimsel Pass to the south connecting to the Goms of the Upper Valais (VS). The Susten Pass to the east connection with the connecting with the valley of the Alpine Reuss (UR), the northern part of the St. Gotthard Route. The Joch Pass to the northeast at the beginning of the Gental, a foot pass west of the Titlis connecting to the canton of Nidwalden and further down to the resort Engelberg in the canton of Obwalden.
