Ostermundigen is first mentioned in 1239 as Osturmundingun.
In 1279 it was mentioned as Ostermundigen.

Ostermundigen developed from three medieval villages (the upper, middle and lower villages) which formed a single community.
The three villages were surrounded by fourteen fields that were held as fiefs by various nobles.
In between the fields, a number of small hamlets developed including; Deisswil, Dennigkofen, Rörswil, Rothus and Wegmühle.
Politically and religiously it was part of the municipality of Bolligen, however, the Holzgemeinde (forest cooperative) administered the limited common forest land.

The villages of Ostermundigen formed a quarter of the parish of Bolligen, along with the quarters of Ittigen, Ferenberg and Bolligen.
After the Protestant Reformation in 1528 entered the parish, the quarters became partially autonomous.
Each quarter was now responsible to care for the poor and orphans and to provide education for the residents of that quarter.
Eventually the Holzgemeinde became responsible for providing an education and caring for the poor.
They built the first school house in 1746.
By the early 19th century, this arraignment had created a complex and unwieldy municipal power structure with five different councils (Holzgemeinde, village, school, quarter and road repair and maintenance) all holding overlapping powers.
This was in addition to the municipal and parish councils in Bolligen.
In 1856, the citizens of Ostermundigen combined the Holzgemeinde, village council and quarter council into one.
The road repair council and the quarter council merged in 1872.
In 1945, the school district and the quarter finally merged which finally gave the Ostermundigen quarter a unified administrative structure.
However, the municipal organization was still divided, with a complex division of powers between the municipality and the quarters.
Following a long running debate on whether to centralize (1930, 1945, 1963), incorporate in Bern (1913, 1919) or decentralize (1956, 1962, 1972), in 1978 the residents decided to divide the municipality into three independent municipalities; Bolligen, Ittigen and Ostermundigen.
From 1980 until 1983, the community completed the process of becoming an independent municipality.

The village of Ostermundigen was a stop along the traditional trade route into the Bernese Oberland.
By 1500 it had a tavern and a customs house for this trade.
Beginning in the 16th century a number of Bernese patricians built country estates in Ostermundigen.
Some of the most notable included the Ostermundigengut, built in 1707, the country estate Rothus (basically late Gothic style begun in 1671) and the country estate of Rörswil (built, expanded and renovated from the 16th until the 19th century).
By the 15th century Ostermundigen was well known for its sandstone quarries and until 1900, almost every building in Bern was built from Ostermundigen sandstone.
In 1859, the Ostermundigen station of the Bern-Thun railroad simplified moving stone from the quarry to customers and led to large scale industrial quarrying and mining.
In 1866 they began driving mining shafts under the Ostermundigenberg, with up to 250 miners.
In 1871, for a world's first, a rack railway replaced the horse or mule teams that brought the stones from the quarry to the railroad station.
Around 1900, the demand for sandstone dwindled as brick and cement replaced stone in new construction.
In 1907, the quarry closed and the tunnels were bricked up.
Some of the quarries are still in operation though at a much smaller scale.

After 1850, the village quickly changed from small farming villages into an industrial town with many small and medium-sized factories.
Some of the largest employers were Zent AG (in operation 1898-1974), the paper and cardboard mill Deisswil (opened in 1876) and the Psychiatric Clinic of Waldau.
However, the largest factories were in neighboring municipalities and many residents commuted to jobs in those surrounding communities.
At the time, taxes were collected according to the place of work, not the place of residence.
Ostermundigen is first mentioned in 1239 as Osturmundingun. In 1279 it was mentioned as Ostermundigen.
Ostermundigen developed from three medieval villages (the upper, middle and lower villages) which formed a single community. The three villages were surrounded by fourteen fields that were held as fiefs by various nobles. In between the fields, a number of small hamlets developed including; Deisswil, Dennigkofen, Rörswil, Rothus and Wegmühle. Politically and religiously it was part of the municipality of Bolligen, however, the Holzgemeinde (forest cooperative) administered the limited common forest land.
The villages of Ostermundigen formed a quarter of the parish of Bolligen, along with the quarters of Ittigen, Ferenberg and Bolligen. After the Protestant Reformation in 1528 entered the parish, the quarters became partially autonomous. Each quarter was now responsible to care for the poor and orphans and to provide education for the residents of that quarter. Eventually the Holzgemeinde became responsible for providing an education and caring for the poor. They built the first school house in 1746. By the early 19th century, this arraignment had created a complex and unwieldy municipal power structure with five different councils (Holzgemeinde, village, school, quarter and road repair and maintenance) all holding overlapping powers. This was in addition to the municipal and parish councils in Bolligen. In 1856, the citizens of Ostermundigen combined the Holzgemeinde, village council and quarter council into one. The road repair council and the quarter council merged in 1872. In 1945, the school district and the quarter finally merged which finally gave the Ostermundigen quarter a unified administrative structure. However, the municipal organization was still divided, with a complex division of powers between the municipality and the quarters. Following a long running debate on whether to centralize (1930, 1945, 1963), incorporate in Bern (1913, 1919) or decentralize (1956, 1962, 1972), in 1978 the residents decided to divide the municipality into three independent municipalities; Bolligen, Ittigen and Ostermundigen. From 1980 until 1983, the community completed the process of becoming an independent municipality.
The village of Ostermundigen was a stop along the traditional trade route into the Bernese Oberland. By 1500 it had a tavern and a customs house for this trade. Beginning in the 16th century a number of Bernese patricians built country estates in Ostermundigen. Some of the most notable included the Ostermundigengut, built in 1707, the country estate Rothus (basically late Gothic style begun in 1671) and the country estate of Rörswil (built, expanded and renovated from the 16th until the 19th century). By the 15th century Ostermundigen was well known for its sandstone quarries and until 1900, almost every building in Bern was built from Ostermundigen sandstone. In 1859, the Ostermundigen station of the Bern-Thun railroad simplified moving stone from the quarry to customers and led to large scale industrial quarrying and mining. In 1866 they began driving mining shafts under the Ostermundigenberg, with up to 250 miners. In 1871, for a world's first, a rack railway replaced the horse or mule teams that brought the stones from the quarry to the railroad station. Around 1900, the demand for sandstone dwindled as brick and cement replaced stone in new construction. In 1907, the quarry closed and the tunnels were bricked up. Some of the quarries are still in operation though at a much smaller scale.
After 1850, the village quickly changed from small farming villages into an industrial town with many small and medium-sized factories. Some of the largest employers were Zent AG (in operation 1898-1974), the paper and cardboard mill Deisswil (opened in 1876) and the Psychiatric Clinic of Waldau. However, the largest factories were in neighboring municipalities and many residents commuted to jobs in those surrounding communities. At the time, taxes were collected according to the place of work, not the place of residence.
Ostermundigen