Idea #249 – Visiting Bern, the capital city of Switzerland
Bern, (Bern in German) is the fifth city of Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Bern. Since 1848, Bern is the federal city, more exactly the Swiss federal seat of government, without however having the status of capital. In 1191, the citywas founded by duke Bertold V of Zähringen at the edge of Aar, and, according to the legend, would have be named with the name of the first animal he had killed, a bear (Bär in German). Since then, the bear is the symbol of the city and its representations or allusions are there omnipresent.
In 1353, Bern joins young Swiss Confederation, becoming one of the main members of the new State. After a fire in 1405, the city is completely reconstructed in molasse. It keeps of it even today a large part of its apparence. The city is occupied by the French troops in 1798 during the revolutionary wars. The heritage of the city was very well preserved and presents a beautiful homogeneity.
The Clock tower, built between 1191 and 1256, was the first gate of the ramparts of the city of the side the West. It is one of from now on major monuments of the city of Bern. It opens on the main main street lined with arches and with bourgeois buildings of the XVth in the XVIIIth century. Numerous colored fountains, carrying statues, align themselves in the center of the city ; they transmit to the future generations the memory of the historic events and that of the former Bernese heroes.
For anecdote, A. Einstein lived in Bern from 1903 till 1905 and developed his theory of relativity there, changing our representation of the space and of time. At the other end of the city is the bear pit, which sheltered alive bears until 2009, as it is wanted by the Bernese tradition, since the beginning of the XVIth century. The latter are now settled in a larger garden. The city is registered on the world cultural heritage of the UNESCO.
Some Pictures
Where is it ?
Bern, Canton Bern, Swiss Confederation
Larger Map