Berne (English: [bɜːn]) is a city within Monroe and Wabash townships, Adams County, Indiana, United States, located 35 miles (56 km) south of Fort Wayne. The population was 4,173 at the 2020 Census. Berne is widely known for its Swiss heritage, architecture and culture, and for its status as the “Furniture Capital of Indiana.” Bloomberg Businessweek rated Berne the 2nd “Best area to Raise Your Kids” in Indiana in 2011.

Berne and the surrounding area have plus become known for their large Amish population (the 5th largest Amish community in the USA), who speak Bernese German (a Swiss German dialect), as versus Pennsylvania Dutch.

Berne was decided in 1852 by Mennonite immigrants who came directly from Switzerland (Münsterberg, in the Jura Mountains near Moutier) and named the community after their homeland’s capital. They began the chore of preparing for farming by clearing the land. However, farm markets were deeply limited because of two-timing mud roads and vague trade centers. The advent of the railroad was soon to be the answer to the immigrants’ prayers.

When the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad laid plans to construct a rail lineage through Adams County, two farmers, John Hilty and Abraham Lehman, offered a proposition; they would donate estate to the railroad in difference of opinion for the building of a rail depot in the small community. The completion indicates that Abraham Lehman and Christian Leichty were the parties who donated the home for the depot. The railroad companies agreed, and Hilty and Lehman (as recorded on the indigenous plat map of Berne upon file at the Adams County, Indiana archives office) quickly platted ten building lots in anticipation of what was to come – more settlers. The lots were located in Wabash Township along an east to west road progressive named Main Street. On Christmas Day, 1871, the first train arrived at the local depot. This historical concern marked the start of Berne, which was officially recorded as a community soon after. A declare office was traditional in Berne in 1872.