The earliest trace of a settlement in the area is a Late Bronze Age axe which was discovered at Krattigengraben. During the Middle Ages, Rotenbühl Castle was built near the village. The castle does not appear in any contemporary record and only the moat is still visible today. The village was first mentioned as a part of the "Herrschaft" of the Freiherr of Eschenbach. By 1300 it was a fief of the Lords of Corbières. Soon thereafter it became a fief of the Bernese Schultheiss Kuno Muenzer. After the regicide of King Albert I of Germany by his nephew John Parricida in 1308, the Austrian Habsburgs advanced a claim on Krattigen. The Bernese Scharnachtal family began buying the rights to the area in 1366 and in 1483 they finally owned the entire village. However, in 1513, Bern acquired the village and placed it under their representative at Mülenen. Later Bern placed the village under Frutigen.