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german: Berner(in)
french: Bernois(e)
it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities =
Bremgarten bei Bern Bremgarten bei Bern is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Bremgarten bei Bern is first mentioned in 1180 as ''Bremecart''. In 1236 it was mentioned as ''Bremegarten'' an ...
,
Frauenkappelen Frauenkappelen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Frauenkappelen is first mentioned in 1158 as ''Capela''. In 1574 the town became a parish. The oldest traces of a se ...
, Ittigen,
Kirchlindach Kirchlindach is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History The name ''Lindenacho'' (for Kirchlindach) first appeared in writing on 2 October 1185, when Pope Lucius III affirmed ...
,
Köniz Köniz (, ) is a statistical town, however considers itself still as a village, and a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district right on the southern border to Bern in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. The municipality of K� ...
, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern,
Neuenegg Neuenegg is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Neuenegg is first mentioned in 1228 as ''Nuneca''. In 1235 it was mentioned as ''Nuwenegge''. During the Middle Ages, ...
, Ostermundigen,
Wohlen bei Bern Wohlen bei Bern is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Wohlen bei Bern is first mentioned in 1275 as ''Wolun''. There were several prehistoric settlements near Wohlen. The ...
,
Zollikofen Zollikofen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is a suburb of the city of Bern. It is home to the Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL). Geography Zollikofen has an area of . Of th ...
, website = www.bern.ch Bern () or Berne; in other Swiss languages, gsw, Bärn ; frp, Bèrna ; it, Berna ; rm, Berna is the ''
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
''
capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
of
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, referred to as the " federal city" (in german: Bundesstadt, link=no, french: ville fédérale, link=no, it, città federale, link=no, and rm, citad federala, link=no). According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental institutions such as the Federal Assembly and Federal Council. However, the Federal Supreme Court is in
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
, the Federal Criminal Court is in
Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , , Ticinese ; french: Bellinzone ; german: Bellenz ; rm, Blizuna )is a municipality, a historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its three castles (Castelgrande, Montebell ...
and the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Patent Court are in
St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...
, exemplifying the federal nature of the Confederation.
With a population of about 133,000 (as of 2022), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland, behind Zurich,
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
,
Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (B ...
and
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the
canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
, the second-most populous of Switzerland's cantons. The official language is
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
,The official language in any municipality in German-speaking Switzerland is always German. In this context, the term 'German' is used as an umbrella term for any variety of German. So, according to law, people are allowed to communicate with the authorities by using any kind of German, in written or oral form. However, the authorities will always use
Swiss Standard German Swiss Standard German (german: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), or Swiss High German (german: Schweizer Hochdeutsch or ''Schweizerhochdeutsch''), referred to by the Swiss as ''Schriftdeutsch'', or ''Hochdeutsch'', is the written form of one of four o ...
(aka the Swiss variety of
Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
) in documents, or any written form. And orally, it is either ''Hochdeutsch'' (i.e., Swiss Standard German or what the particular speaker considers as ''High German''), or then it depends on the speaker's origin, which dialectal variant they are using.
but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic
Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...
dialect, Bernese German. In 1983, the historic old town (in german: Altstadt) in the centre of Bern became a
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. It is notably surrounded by the
Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...
, a major river of the
Swiss Plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
. Although fortified settlements were established since the antiquity, the medieval city proper was founded by the Zähringer ruling family, probably in 1191 by
Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen (1160 – 18 February 1218 in Freiburg im Breisgau), also known as Bertold V or Berchtold V, was Duke of Zähringen from 1186 until his death. He was the son of Berthold IV and Heilwig of Frohburg. History and leg ...
. Bern was made a
free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
in 1218 and, in 1353, it joined the
Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...
, becoming one of its eight early cantons. Since then, Bern became a large
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
and a prominent actor of Swiss history by pursuing a policy of sovereign territorial expansion. Since the 15th century, the city was progressively rebuilt and acquired its current characteristics. Bern was made the Federal City in 1848. From about 5,000 inhabitants in the 15th century, the city passed the 100,000 mark in the 1920s.


Etymology

The etymology of the name "Bern" is uncertain. According to the local legend, based on
folk etymology Folk etymology (also known as popular etymology, analogical reformation, reanalysis, morphological reanalysis or etymological reinterpretation) is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a more famili ...
, Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, the founder of the city of Bern, vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, and this turned out to be a bear. It has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of
Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
, which at the time was known as ''Bern'' in
Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...
. The city was sometimes referred to as ''Bern im Üechtland'' to distinguish it from Verona. As a result of the finding of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980s, it is now more common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin, possibly ''*berna'' "cleft". The bear was the heraldic animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of live bears in the ''
Bärengraben The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a tourist attraction in the Swiss capital city of Bern. It is a bear pit, or enclosure housing bears, situated at the eastern edge of the old city of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke and the River Aar. Although ...
'' dates to the 1440s.


History


Early history

No
archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
evidence that indicates a settlement on the site of today's city centre prior to the 12th century has been found so far. In antiquity, a
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
''
oppidum An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
'' stood on the ''Engehalbinsel'' (peninsula) north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC (late La Tène period), thought to be one of the 12 ''oppida'' of the
Helvetii The Helvetii ( , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Juliu ...
mentioned by
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
. During the
Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
, a
Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...
''
vicus In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus ...
'' was on the same site. The Bern zinc tablet has the name ''Brenodor'' ("dwelling of Breno"). In the Early Middle Ages, a settlement in Bümpliz, now a city district of Bern, was some from the medieval city. The medieval city is a foundation of the Zähringer ruling family, which rose to power in
Upper Burgundy The Kingdom of Upper Burgundy was a Frankish dominion established in 888 by the Welf king Rudolph I of Burgundy on the territory of former Middle Francia. It grew out of the Carolingian margraviate of Transjurane Burgundy (''Transjurania'', ...
in the 12th century. According to 14th-century historiography (''Cronica de Berno'', 1309), Bern was founded in 1191 by
Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen (1160 – 18 February 1218 in Freiburg im Breisgau), also known as Bertold V or Berchtold V, was Duke of Zähringen from 1186 until his death. He was the son of Berthold IV and Heilwig of Frohburg. History and leg ...
. In 1218, after Berthold died without an heir, Bern was made a
free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
by the '' Goldene Handfeste'' of
Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
Frederick II.


Old Swiss Confederacy

In 1353, Bern joined the
Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy ( Modern German: ; historically , after the Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or In the charters of the 14th century ...
, becoming one of the eight cantons of the formative period of 1353 to 1481. Bern invaded and conquered
Aargau Aargau, more formally the Canton of Aargau (german: Kanton Aargau; rm, Chantun Argovia; french: Canton d'Argovie; it, Canton Argovia), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capit ...
in 1415 and
Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...
in 1536, as well as other smaller territories, thereby becoming the largest
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
north of the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
; by the 18th century, it comprised most of what is today the
canton of Bern The canton of Bern or Berne (german: Kanton Bern; rm, Chantun Berna; french: canton de Berne; it, Canton Berna) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. ...
and the
canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms ...
. The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river
Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...
. The ''
Zytglogge The Zytglogge (Bernese German: ; ) is a landmark medieval tower in Bern, Switzerland. Built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. Despite the many redec ...
'' tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the ''Käfigturm'' took over this role until 1345. It was, in turn, succeeded by the ''
Christoffelturm The Christoffelturm was a tower built between the years 1344 and 1346, which featured a prominently displayed statue of Saint Christopher. It was located in the old part of the Swiss city of Bern, in the upper section of Spitalgasse, near Holy Sp ...
'' (formerly located close to the site of the modern-day railway station) until 1622. During the time of the
Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...
, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small '' Schanze'' (entrenchment) – were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula. After a major blaze in 1405, the city's original wooden buildings were gradually replaced by
half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...
houses and subsequently the
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
buildings which came to be characteristic for the Old Town. Despite the waves of pestilence that hit Europe in the 14th century, the city continued to grow, mainly due to
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...
from the surrounding countryside.


Modern history

Bern was occupied by
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
troops in 1798 during the
French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Pruss ...
, when it was stripped of parts of its territories. It regained control of the
Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland ( en, Bernese Highlands, german: Berner Oberland; gsw, Bärner Oberland; french: Oberland bernois), the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern, is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context ...
in 1802, and following the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon ...
of 1814, it newly acquired the
Bernese Jura Bernese Jura (french: Jura bernois, ) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten administrative divisions of the canton. Comprising the three French-speaking districts in the northern part of the ...
. At this time, it once again became the largest canton of the Confederacy as it stood during the Restoration and until the secession of the
canton of Jura The Republic and Canton of Jura (french: République et canton du Jura), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( , ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital ...
in 1979. Bern was made the Federal City (seat of the Federal Assembly) within the new Swiss federal state in 1848. A number of congresses of the
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
First and
Second International The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second Internatio ...
s were held in Bern, particularly during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
when Switzerland was neutral; see
Bern International : The International Socialist Commission, also known as the International Socialist Committee or the Berne International was a coordinating committee of socialists parties that adhered to the idea of the Zimmerwald Conference of 1915. Early hist ...
. The city's population rose from about 5,000 in the 15th century to about 12,000 by 1800 and to above 60,000 by 1900, passing the 100,000 mark during the 1920s. Population peaked during the 1960s at 165,000 and has since decreased slightly, to below 130,000 by 2000. As of September 2017, the resident population stood at 142,349, of which 100,000 were Swiss citizens and 42,349 (31%) resident foreigners. A further estimated 350,000 people live in the immediate
urban agglomeration An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
.


Geography and climate


Topography

Bern lies on the
Swiss plateau The Swiss Plateau or Central Plateau (german: Schweizer Mittelland; french: plateau suisse; it, altopiano svizzero) is one of the three major landscapes in Switzerland, lying between the Jura Mountains and the Swiss Alps. It covers about 30% of ...
in the canton of Bern, slightly west of the centre of Switzerland and north of the
Bernese Alps , topo_map= Swiss Federal Office of Topography swisstopo , photo=BerneseAlps.jpg , photo_caption=The Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau , country= Switzerland , subdivision1_type= Cantons , subdivision1= , parent= Western Alps , borders_on= , ...
. The countryside around Bern was formed by glaciers during the most recent
ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...
. The two mountains closest to Bern are Gurten with a height of and
Bantiger The Bantiger is a mountain north of the Emmental Alps, overlooking the region of Bern. It is located east of Ittigen and north of Stettlen, in the canton of Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities ...
with a height of . The site of the old observatory in Bern is the point of origin of the CH1903 coordinate system at . The city was originally built on a hilly
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...
surrounded by the river
Aare The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descen ...
, but outgrew natural boundaries by the 19th century. A number of bridges have been built to allow the city to expand beyond the Aare. Bern is built on very uneven ground. An elevation difference of up to 60 metres exists between the inner city districts on the Aare (
Matte Matte may refer to: Art * paint with a non-glossy finish. See diffuse reflection. * a framing element surrounding a painting or watercolor within the outer frame Film * Matte (filmmaking), filmmaking and video production technology * Matte pa ...
, Marzili) and the higher ones (Kirchenfeld, Länggasse). Bern has an area, , of . Of this area, or 18.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 33.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, or 46.0% is settled (buildings or roads), or 2.1% is either rivers or lakes, and or 0.3% is unproductive land.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics
2018 data accessed 26 July 2020
Of the developed area of Bern, 3.1% consists of industrial buildings, 22.3% housing and other buildings, and 12.9% is devoted to transport infrastructure. Power and water infrastructure, as well as other special developed areas, made up 1.2% of the city, while another 6.5% consists of parks, green belts, and sports fields. Of Bern's total land area, 32.8% is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 13.3% is used for growing crops and 4.4% is designated to be used as pasture. Local rivers and streams provide all the water in the municipality.


Climate

According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
, Bern has an
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(''Cfb'') closely bordering on a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(''Dfb''). The closest weather station near Bern is located in the municipality of
Zollikofen Zollikofen is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is a suburb of the city of Bern. It is home to the Swiss College of Agriculture (SHL). Geography Zollikofen has an area of . Of th ...
, about north of the city centre. The warmest month for Bern is July, with a daily mean temperature of , and a daily maximum temperature of . The highest temperature recorded at Bern / Zollikofen is , recorded in August 2003. On average, a temperature of or above is recorded 40.7 days per year, and 6 days per year with a temperature of or above at Zollikofen, and the warmest day reaches an average of . There are 103.7 days of air frost, and 22.3 ice days per year at Bern (Zollikofen) for the period of 1981–2010, as well as 14.1 days of snowfall, 36.7 days of snow cover per year and the average amount of snow measured per year is . On average, January is the coldest month, with a daily mean temperature of , and a daily minimum temperature of . The lowest temperature ever recorded at Bern (Zollikofen) was , recorded in February 1929, and typically the coldest temperature of the year reaches an average of for the period of 1981–2010.


Politics


Subdivisions

The municipality is administratively subdivided into six districts (''Stadtteile''), each of which consists of several quarters (''Quartiere'').


Government

The Municipal Council (de: Gemeinderat, fr: conseil municipal) constitutes the
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...
government of the City of Bern and operates as a
collegiate authority Collegiate may refer to: * College * Webster's Dictionary, a dictionary with editions referred to as a "Collegiate" * ''Collegiate'' (1926 film), 1926 American silent film directed by Del Andrews * ''Collegiate'' (1936 film), 1936 American musi ...
. It is composed of five councillors (german: Gemeinderat/-rätin, french: conseiller/conseillère municipal(e)), each presiding over a directorate (de: ''Direktion'', fr: ''direction'') comprising several departments and bureaus. The president of the executive department acts as
mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
(de: ''Stadtpräsident'', fr: ''Le Maire''). In the mandate period 2021–2024 (''Legislatur'') the Municipal Council is presided by ''Stadtpräsident''
Alec von Graffenried Alec or Aleck is a Scottish form of the given name Alex. It may be a diminutive of the name Alexander or a given name in its own right. Notable people with the name include: People * Alec Aalto (1942–2018), Finnish diplomat *Alec Acton (1938– ...
. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the City Council are carried by the Municipal Council. The regular election of the Municipal Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Bern allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipal Council. Contrary to most other municipalities, the executive government in Berne is selected by means of a system of
Proporz ''Proporz'' (, from german: Proportionalität, "proportionality") is a long-standing practice in the Second Austrian Republic in which positions in government are distributed between political parties in a manner proportional to their electoral o ...
. The mayor is elected as such as well by public election while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The executive body holds its meetings in the Erlacherhof, built by architect Albrecht Stürler after 1747. , Bern's Municipal Council is made up of two representatives of the SP (
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
), and one each of CVP (
Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
), GFL (''Grüne Freie Liste'' a.k.a. Green Free List, who is the newly elected mayor since 2017), and GB ( Green Alliance of Berne), giving the left parties a very strong majority of four out of five seats. The last regular election was held on 29 November 2020. Dr. Jürg Wichtermann is State Chronicler (''Staatsschreiber'') since 2008. He has been elected by the collegiate.


Parliament

The City Council (de: Stadtrat, fr: Conseil de ville) holds
legislative power A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...
. It is made up of 80 members, with elections held every four years. The City Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the Municipal Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. The sessions of the City Council are public. Unlike members of the Municipal Council, members of the City Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Bern allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The parliament holds its meetings in the ''Stadthaus'' (Town Hall). The last regular election of the City Council was held on 29 November 2020 for the mandate period (german: Legislatur, french: la législature) from 2021 to 2024. The City Council consist of 23 (-1) members of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS) including two seats by the junior party ''JUSO'', 11 (+3) Green Liberal Party (glp/pvl) including two member of its junior party ''jglp'', 10 (+1) Green Alliance of Berne (GB), 8 (-1) The Liberals (FDP/PLR) including one seat by its junior partner ''JF / DL'', 7 (-2) Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 7 (-1) ''Grüne Freie Liste (GFL)'' (Green Free List), 3 (+1) ''Junge Alternative (JA!)'' (or Young Alternatives), 3 (+1) Alternative Linke Bern (AL), 2 (-1) Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD), 2 (-) Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), 2 (-) Evangelical People's Party (EVP/PEV), 1 (-) Swiss Party of Labour (PdA), and 1 ''Grüne alternative Partei (GaP)'' (or Green alternative Party).


National elections


National Council

In the 2019 federal election for the
Swiss National Council The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the ...
the most popular party was the PS which received 28.7% (-5.6) of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
(25.2%, +7.9), the pvl (13.5%, +4.1), the UDC (9.5%, -2.9), PLR (4.2%, -2.8), and the BDP/PBD (7.0%). In the federal election a total of 49,030 votes were cast, and the
voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...
was 56%. In the 2015 federal election for the
Swiss National Council The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the ...
the most popular party was the PS which received 34.3% of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
(17.4%), the UDC (12.4%), and the FDP/PLR (9.9%), glp/pvl (9.4%), and the BDP/PBD (7.0%). In the federal election, a total of 48,556 voters were cast, and the
voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Univ ...
was 56.0%.


International relations


Twin and sister cities

The Municipal Council of the city of Bern decided against having twinned cities except for a temporary (during the
UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...
) cooperation with the
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n city
Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
.


Demographics


Population

Bern has a population () of . About 34% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the 10 years between 2000 and 2010, the population changed at a rate of 0.6%. Migration accounted for 1.3%, while births and deaths accounted for −2.1%.Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 23-January-2012
Most of the population () speaks German (104,465 or 81.2%) as their first language, Italian is the second most common (5,062 or 3.9%) and French is the third (4,671 or 3.6%). There are 171 people who speak Romansh. , the population was 47.5% male and 52.5% female. The population was made up of 44,032 Swiss men (35.4% of the population) and 15,092 (12.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 51,531 Swiss women (41.4%) and 13,726 (11.0%) non-Swiss women.Statistical office of the canton of Bern
accessed 4 January 2012
Of the population in the municipality, 39,008 or about 30.3% were born in Bern and lived there in 2000. There were 27,573 or 21.4% who were born in the same canton, while 25,818 or 20.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 27,812 or 21.6% were born outside of Switzerland. , children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 15.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 65% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.9%. , there were 59,948 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 49,873 married individuals, 9,345 widows or widowers and 9,468 individuals who are divorced.STAT-TAB Datenwürfel für Thema 40.3 – 2000
accessed 2 February 2011
, there were 67,115 private households in the municipality, and an average of 1.8 persons per household. There were 34,981 households that consist of only one person and 1,592 households with five or more people. , a total of 65,538 apartments (90.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 5,352 apartments (7.4%) were seasonally occupied and 1,444 apartments (2.0%) were empty.Swiss Federal Statistical Office STAT-TAB – Datenwürfel für Thema 09.2 – Gebäude und Wohnungen
accessed 28 January 2011
, the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents. the average price to rent an average apartment in Bern was 1108.92
Swiss franc The Swiss franc is the currency and legal tender of Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is also legal tender in the Italian exclave of Campione d'Italia which is surrounded by Swiss territory. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) issues banknotes and the ...
s (CHF) per month (US$890, £500, €710 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 619.82 CHF (US$500, £280, €400), a two-room apartment was about 879.36 CHF (US$700, £400, €560), a three-room apartment was about 1040.54 CHF (US$830, £470, €670) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 2094.80 CHF (US$1680, £940, €1340). The average apartment price in Bern was 99.4% of the national average of 1116 CHF.Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Rental prices
2003 data accessed 26 May 2010
The vacancy rate for the municipality, , was 0.45%.


Historic population

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) ImageSize = width:800 height:500 PlotArea = top:10 left: 100 bottom:90 right:100 Legend = columns:3 left:220 top:70 columnwidth:160 AlignBars = justify DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:170000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:30000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:6000 start:0 Colors= id:TO value:yellowgreen legend:Total id:GE value:teal legend:German_Speaking id:FR value:green legend:French_Speaking id:PR value:lightpurple legend:Protestant id:CA value:oceanblue legend:Catholic id:SW value:red legend:Swiss PlotData= color:yellowgreen width:40 mark:(line,white) align:center bar:1850 from:start till:29670 text:"29,670" color:TO bar:1880 from:start till:44087 text:"44,087" color:TO bar:1910 from:start till:90937 text:"90,937" color:TO bar:1930 from:start till:111783 text:"111,783" color:TO bar:1950 from:start till:146499 text:"146,499" color:TO bar:1970 from:start till:162405 text:"162,405" color:TO bar:1990 from:start till:136338 text:"136,338" color:TO LineData = points:(213,188)(307,286) color:GE points:(307,286)(400,331) color:GE points:(400,331)(493,395) color:GE points:(493,395)(587,405) color:GE points:(587,405)(680,349) color:GE points:(213,94)(307,101) color:FR points:(307,101)(400,105) color:FR points:(400,105)(493,114) color:FR points:(493,114)(587,109) color:FR points:(587,109)(680,102) color:FR points:(120,156)(213,184) color:PR points:(213,184)(307,274) color:PR points:(307,274)(400,315) color:PR points:(400,315)(493,370) color:PR points:(493,370)(587,362) color:PR points:(587,362)(680,278) color:PR points:(120,93)(213,98) color:CA points:(213,98)(307,113) color:CA points:(307,113)(400,121) color:CA points:(400,121)(493,145) color:CA points:(493,145)(587,187) color:CA points:(587,187)(680,176) color:CA points:(120,156)(213,185) color:SW points:(213,185)(307,281) color:SW points:(307,281)(400,337) color:SW points:(400,337)(493,418) color:SW points:(493,418)(587,419) color:SW points:(587,419)(680,355) color:SW


Religion

From the , 60,455 or 47.0% belonged to the
Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
, while 31,510 or 24.5% were members of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
. Of the rest of the population, there were 1,874 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.46% of the population), there were 229 persons (or about 0.18% of the population) who belonged to the Christ Catholic Church, and there were 5,531 persons (or about 4.30% of the population) who belonged to another Christian religion. There were 324 persons (or about 0.25% of the population) who were
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and 4,907 (or about 3.81% of the population) who were
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
. There were 629 persons who were
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, 1,430 persons who were
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and 177 persons who belonged to another religion. 16,363 (or about 12.72% of the population) belonged to no religion, are agnostic or
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and 7,855 persons (or about 6.11% of the population) did not answer the question. On 14 December 2014 the
Haus der Religionen The House of Religions - Dialogue of Cultures (German: ''Haus der Religionen - Dialog der Kulturen''; French: ''Maison des religions'') is a Swiss inter-religious institution in the city of Bern in Switzerland that houses worship rooms for eigh ...
was inaugurated.


Main sights

The structure of Bern's
city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...
is largely
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and has been recognised by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
as a Cultural
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
. Perhaps its most famous sight is the ''
Zytglogge The Zytglogge (Bernese German: ; ) is a landmark medieval tower in Bern, Switzerland. Built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. Despite the many redec ...
'' (Bernese German for "Time Bell"), an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets. It also has an impressive 15th century
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
cathedral, the ''
Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state di ...
'', and a 15th-century town hall. Thanks to of arcades, the old town boasts one of the longest covered shopping promenades in Europe. Since the 16th century, the city has had a bear pit, the ''
Bärengraben The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a tourist attraction in the Swiss capital city of Bern. It is a bear pit, or enclosure housing bears, situated at the eastern edge of the old city of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke and the River Aar. Although ...
'', at the far end of the Nydeggbrücke to house its heraldic animals. The four bears are now kept in an open-air enclosure nearby, and two other young bears, a present by the Russian president, are kept in Dählhölzli zoo. The Federal Palace ( Bundeshaus), built from 1857 to 1902, which houses the national parliament, government and part of the federal administration, can also be visited.
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
lived in a flat at the
Kramgasse The Kramgasse ("Grocers Alley") is one of the principal streets in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city centre of Bern, Switzerland. It was the center of urban life in Bern until the 19th century.de Capitani, 8. Today, it is a popular shoppi ...
49, the site of the
Einsteinhaus The Einsteinhaus (Einstein House) is a museum and a former residence of Albert Einstein. It is located on Kramgasse No. 49 in Bern, Switzerland. A flat on the second floor of the house was occupied by Einstein, his wife Mileva Marić, and their ...
, from 1903 to 1905, the year in which the ''Annus Mirabilis'' papers were published. The Rose Garden (''Rosengarten''), from which a scenic panoramic view of the medieval town centre can be enjoyed, is a well-kept Rosarium on a hill, converted into a park from a former cemetery in 1913. There are eleven Renaissance allegorical statues on public fountains in the Old Town. Nearly all the 16th-century fountains, except the Zähringer fountain, which was created by
Hans Hiltbrand Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi a ...
, are the work of the
Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...
master
Hans Gieng Hans Gieng (first mentioned 1525 – died 1562) was a Swiss Renaissance sculptor best known for his public fountain figures in the Old Town of Bern as well as Fribourg. Biography Gieng, who was probably of Swabian origin, is recorded to ...
. One of the more interesting fountains is the Kindlifresserbrunnen (Bernese German: ''Child Eater Fountain''), which is claimed to represent a Jew, the Greek god
Chronos Chronos (; grc-gre, Χρόνος, , "time"), also spelled Khronos or Chronus, is a personification of time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified with, the Tit ...
, or a
Fastnacht The Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht, Fasnacht (in Switzerland) or Fasnat/Faschnat (in Vorarlberg) is the pre-Lenten carnival in Alemannic folklore in Switzerland, southern Germany, Alsace and Vorarlberg. Etymology Popular etymology often links ' ...
figure meant to frighten disobedient children. Bern's most recent sight is the set of fountains in front of the Federal Palace. It was inaugurated on 1 August 2004. The
Universal Postal Union The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to ...
is situated in Bern.


Heritage sites of national significance

Bern is home to 114 Swiss heritage sites of national significance. It includes the entire
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many sites within and around it. Some of the most notable in the Old Town include the
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
which was started in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, the
Zytglogge The Zytglogge (Bernese German: ; ) is a landmark medieval tower in Bern, Switzerland. Built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. Despite the many redec ...
and
Käfigturm The Käfigturm is a Baroque tower in Bern, Switzerland. It is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site of the Old City of Bern and the tower is a Cultural Property of National Significance. The original tower was built as a gate house ...
towers, which mark two successive expansions of the Old Town, and the Holy Ghost Church, which is one of the largest
Swiss Reformed The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
churches in Switzerland. Within the Old Town, there are eleven 16th-century fountains, most attributed to
Hans Gieng Hans Gieng (first mentioned 1525 – died 1562) was a Swiss Renaissance sculptor best known for his public fountain figures in the Old Town of Bern as well as Fribourg. Biography Gieng, who was probably of Swabian origin, is recorded to ...
, that are on the list. Outside the Old Town the heritage sites include the Bärengraben, the Gewerbeschule Bern (1937), the Eidgenössisches Archiv für Denkmalpflege, the (after 1881), the Thunplatzbrunnen, the Federal Mint building, the Federal Archives, the
Swiss National Library The Swiss National Library (german: Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek, french: Bibliothèque nationale suisse, it, Biblioteca nazionale svizzera, rm, Biblioteca naziunala svizra) is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office ...
, the
Historical Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
(1894), Alpine Museum, Museum of Communication and
Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
.


Culture


Theatres

*
Bern Theatre Bern Theatre, known in the city as Stadttheater Bern, is an opera house and theatre in Bern, Switzerland. The theatre opened in 1903 and was modernised between 2015–2016 with significant structural changes made to the backstage and auditorium. ...
* Narrenpack Theatre Bern * Schlachthaus Theatre *
Tojo Theater german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
* The Theatre on the Effinger-Street * Theatre am Käfigturm


Cinemas

Bern has several dozen cinemas. As is customary in German Switzerland, films are generally in German. Some films in select cinemas are shown in their original language with German and French subtitles.


Film festivals

*
Shnit international shortfilmfestival List of short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running ...
shnit International Shortfilmfestival, held annually in early October. *
Queersicht Queersicht is a LGBTIAQ+ film festival held in Bern, Switzerland. Founded in 1997, it is the oldest film festival for LGBTIAQ+ movies in Switzerland. Originally founded in the autonomous youth and culture center Reitschule in Bern, it is today an ...
 – gay and lesbian film festival, held annually in the second week of November.


Festivals

* BeJazz Summer and Winter Festival * Buskers Bern
Street Music Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pra ...
Festival *
Gurtenfestival Gurtenfestival is an annual musical festival in Bern, Switzerland. 1991–2012 (June 9) Rufus Quindile Gunbungus III and the Huantalius Gang 1995 (14–16 July): Ben Harper, Incognito, Jeff Buckley, Public Enemy, Robben Ford, The Cranberries, T ...
* Internationales Jazzfestival Bern * Taktlos-Festival


Music events

The ''Musikpreis des Kantons Bern'' is an annual musical event where "Outstanding musicians which styles shape the Bern music scene" are honored.


Fairs

* Zibelemärit – The Zibelemärit (onion market) is an annual fair held on the fourth Monday in November. *
Bernese Fasnacht (Carnival) The carnival in Bern, Switzerland (german: Berner Fasnacht) is an annual pre-Lenten festival in the Swabian-Alemannic tradition. Its origins can be traced back to the 15th century, and in 1513 the carnival led to a peasant revolt. The Bernese ...


Sports

Bern was the site of the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final, in which
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
upset the Hungarian Golden Team 3–2. The football team
BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reach ...
is based in Bern at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf, which also was one of the venues for the 2008 UEFA European Championship, in which it hosted three matches.
FC Breitenrain Bern Football Club Breitenrain Bern are a football team from Bern, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1994 as a merger of the clubs FC Minerva Bern and FC Zaehringia Bern, is currently playing in the Swiss Promotion League The Promotion League, n ...
, founded in 1994, also play in Bern.
SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is an ice hockey team based in Bern, Switzerland. They play in the National League (NL), the top tier of the Swiss hockey league system. For the 18th year in a row, the club is the mos ...
is the major ice hockey team of Bern which plays in the PostFinance Arena. They compete in the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
(NL), the highest league in Switzerland. The team has ranked highest in attendance for a European hockey team for more than a decade. PostFinance Arena was the main host of the 2009 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, including the opening game and the final of the tournament. PostFinance Arena was also the host of the 2011 European Figure Skate Championships.
Bern Cardinals german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
is the
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
and
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
team of Bern, which plays at the Allmend. Bern Grizzlies is the
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
club in Bern and plays in the top level
Nationalliga A (American football) The Nationalliga A is the highest league level of American football in Switzerland and was formed in 1982. The first Swiss Bowl championship was played in 1986. Below the ''Nationalliga A'' sits the ''Nationalliga B'', also made up of six teams. T ...
at Athletics Arena Wankdorf. Bern was a candidate to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, but withdrew its bid in September 2002 after a referendum was passed that showed that the bid was not supported by locals. Those games were eventually awarded to
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...
. RC Bern is the local rugby club (since 1972) and plays at the Allmend. The ladies team was founded in 1995. The locality of Bremgartenwald was home to the
Bremgarten Circuit The Circuit Bremgarten was a motorsport race track in Bern, Switzerland which formerly hosted the Swiss Grand Prix from 1933 to 1954 (Formula One, 1947 to 1954) and the Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix in 1949 and from 1951 until 1954. Bremgarten ...
, the
Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car and ...
course that at one time hosted the Swiss Grand Prix.
Bern Bears german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
is an NGO Basketball Club since 2010 in city of Bern. The Swiss Grand Prix was held on the Circuit Bremgarten street track from 1950 to 1954, with
MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
also running their Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix from 1949 to 1954. The circuit eventually fell into disrepair after Switzerland banned motorports after the 1955 Le Mans Disaster, but they made an amendment in 2015 to host electric racing, which is how the
Swiss ePrix The 2019 Swiss ePrix (formally the 2019 Julius Baer Swiss E-Prix) was a Formula E electric car race on the streets of Bern, Switzerland, on 22 June 2019. It was the eleventh round of the 2018–19 Formula E Championship, and was the first and o ...
happened in 2019.


Economy

, Bern had an unemployment rate of 3.3%. , there were 259 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 59 businesses involved in this sector. 16,413 people were employed in the
secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construc ...
and there were 950 businesses in this sector. 135,973 people were employed in the
tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
, with 7,654 businesses in this sector. the total number of
full-time equivalent Full-time equivalent (FTE), or whole time equivalent (WTE), is a unit that indicates the workload of an employed person (or student) in a way that makes workloads or class loads comparable across various contexts. FTE is often used to measure a ...
jobs was 125,037. The number of jobs in the primary sector was 203, of which 184 were in agriculture and 19 were in forestry or lumber production. The number of jobs in the secondary sector was 15,476 of which 7,650 or (49.4%) were in manufacturing, 51 or (0.3%) were in mining and 6,389 (41.3%) were in construction. The number of jobs in the tertiary sector was 109,358. In the tertiary sector; 11,396 or 10.4% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 10,293 or 9.4% were in the movement and storage of goods, 5,090 or 4.7% were in a hotel or restaurant, 7,302 or 6.7% were in the information industry, 8,437 or 7.7% were the insurance or financial industry, 10,660 or 9.7% were technical professionals or scientists, 5,338 or 4.9% were in education and 17,903 or 16.4% were in health care. , there were 94,367 workers who commuted into the municipality and 16,424 workers who commuted away. The municipality is a net importer of workers, with about 5.7 workers entering the municipality for every one leaving.Swiss Federal Statistical Office – Statweb
accessed 24 June 2010
Of the working population, 50.6% used public transport to get to work, and 20.6% used a private car.


Education

The
University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...
, whose buildings are mainly located in the ''Länggasse'' quarter, is located in Bern, as well as the
University of Applied Sciences A university of applied sciences (UAS), nowadays much less commonly called a polytechnic university or vocational university, is an institution of higher education and sometimes research that provides vocational education and grants academic de ...
(''Fachhochschule'') and several vocations schools. In Bern, about 50,418 or (39.2%) of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 24,311 or (18.9%) have completed additional higher education (either
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
or a ''
Fachhochschule A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied art ...
''). Of the 24,311 who completed tertiary schooling, 51.6% were Swiss men, 33.0% were Swiss women, 8.9% were non-Swiss men and 6.5% were non-Swiss women. The canton of Bern school system provides one year of non-obligatory
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...
, followed by six years of primary school. This is followed by three years of obligatory lower secondary school where the pupils are separated according to ability and aptitude. Following the lower secondary pupils may attend additional schooling or they may enter an
apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
. During the 2009–10 school year, there were a total of 10,979 pupils attending classes in Bern. There were 89 kindergarten classes with a total of 1,641 pupils in the municipality. Of the kindergarten pupils, 32.4% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 40.2% have a different mother language than the classroom language. The municipality had 266 primary classes and 5,040 pupils. Of the primary pupils, 30.1% were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 35.7% have a different mother language than the classroom language. During the same year, there were 151 lower secondary classes with a total of 2,581 pupils. There were 28.7% who were permanent or temporary residents of Switzerland (not citizens) and 32.7% have a different mother language than the classroom language.Schuljahr 2009/10 pdf document
accessed 4 January 2012
Bern is home to 8 libraries. These libraries include; the Schweiz. Nationalbibliothek/ Bibliothèque nationale suisse, the ''Universitätsbibliothek Bern'', the ''Kornhausbibliotheken Bern'', the ''BFH Wirtschaft und Verwaltung Bern'', the ''BFH Gesundheit'', the ''BFH Soziale Arbeit'', the ''Hochschule der Künste Bern, Gestaltung und Kunst'' and the ''Hochschule der Künste Bern, Musikbibliothek''. There was a combined total () of 10,308,336 books or other media in the libraries, and in the same year a total of 2,627,973 items were loaned out. , there were 9,045 pupils in Bern who came from another municipality, while 1,185 residents attended schools outside the municipality.


Transport


Public transport

Bern is served by a dense network of trains,
trams A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...
,
trolleybuses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
, and conventional motorbuses. The Bern S-Bahn is Switzerland's second busiest. Bern is the centre of the Libero tariff network, which covers the cantons of Bern and
Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...
and includes the towns of
Biel/Bienne , french: Biennois(e) , neighboring_municipalities= Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (''Evilard/Macolin''), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin , twintowns = Iserlohn (Germany) ...
,
Solothurn Solothurn ( , ; french: Soleure ; it, Soletta ; rm, ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissens ...
, and
Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thou ...
. The network allows easy and coordinated travel on all modes of public transport, such as trains, PostAuto buses,
trams A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ar ...
, buses (
trolleybuses A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
and motorbuses) and others, regardless of transport operator. Fares are based on the number of zones in a journey. The central part of Bern, (excluding '' Bümpliz'', ''Betlehem'', ''Bottigen'', ''Brünnen'', and ''Riedbach'' in the west of the municipality), is part of the fare zone ''100''. The city is well served by railways, with the extensive S-Bahn network and many regional and international connections. Bern's central railway station (''Bahnhof Bern'') is Switzerland's second busiest station (202,600 passengers per working day in 2014), and is the main transport hub in the region. A
funicular railway A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
called the
Marzilibahn The Marzilibahn, officially the Drahtseilbahn Marzili–Stadt Bern (''Funicular Marzili–City of Bern'') is a very short funicular in Bern, the capital of Switzerland. Its 105 meters of track lead from the ''Marzili'' neighbourhood to the ' ...
leads from the ''Marzili'' district to the
Federal Palace The Federal Palace is a building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Federal Council (executive). It is the seat of the government of Switzerland and parliament of the country. The building is a listed symmetrica ...
. With a length of , it is the second shortest public railway in Europe after the
Zagreb funicular The Zagreb Funicular ( hr, Zagrebačka uspinjača) is the funicular in Zagreb, Croatia, operated by ZET, situated in Tomić Street, connecting Ilica ( Donji Grad) with Strossmayerovo šetalište ( Strossmayer promenade) to the north ( Gornji Gra ...
.


Road traffic

Several Aare bridges connect the old parts of the city with the newer districts outside of the peninsula. Bern is well connected to other cities by several
motorways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
( A1, A12, A6).


Airport

Bern Airport The Regional Aerodrome Bern-Belp , marketed as ''Bern Airport'',, french: Aéroport de Berne, it, Aeroporto di Berna, rm, Eroport da Berna officially referred to as in German, is a regional aerodrome serving Bern, the de facto capital of Switz ...
(colloquially called ''Bern-Belp'' or ''Belpmoos'') located outside the city near the town of
Belp Belp is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is close to Bern's Belp Airport. The municipality of Belpberg merged on 1 January 2012 into the municipality of Belp.
, as of March 2021 mostly serves
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
and charter flights.
Zurich Airport Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switzerland's l ...
,
Geneva Airport Geneva Airport ,, german: Flughafen Genf, it, Aeroporto di Ginevra, rm, Eroport de Genevra formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport, is the international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It i ...
and
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area, french: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, it, Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, rm, Eroport da Basilea-Mu ...
serve as gateways for air traffic, all reachable in less than two hours by
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
or car from Bern.


Bicycle transport

The city has made efforts to make Bern the "bicycle capital" of Switzerland through the creation of better infrastructure, such as dedicated cycle paths. operates a bike-sharing system.


Notable people


Public servants, the military and the church

*
Conrad Justinger Conrad Justinger was a 14th-century chronicler who was probably born in Strasbourg.Bergier, p. 59. Justinger, who had learned the trade of a chronicler in his home town, appears to have moved to the city of Bern in the last quarter of the 14th ...
(–1438) – chronicler, magistrate and notary public of the city of Bern * Johann Jakob Grynaeus (1540–1617) – Protestant divine, a theologian of the school of
Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...
. * Robert Scipio, Freiherr von Lentulus (1714–1786) – military officer, in Austrian and later, Prussian service *
Emmanuel Han Amadeus-Emmanuel Han ( el, Εμμανουήλ Χαν, ''Emmanouil Han''; 1801–1867) was a Switzerland, Swiss military officer and philhellene who fought in the Greek War of Independence and became a general in the Hellenic Army, Army of independen ...
(1801–1867) – military officer and philhellene, fought in the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
*
Walter Breisky Walter Breisky (8 July 1871 – 25 September 1944) was an Austrian jurist, civil servant, and politician. Nominated by the Christian Social Party, Breisky served as minister of education and the interior from July to November 1920, as the vice c ...
(1871–1944) – Austrian jurist, civil servant and politician *
Rosalie Dreyer Rosalie Dreyer (3 September 1895 – 21 May 1987) was a Swiss-born naturalised British nurse and administrator. Immigrating to England at the age of eighteen, she trained as a nurse in London and worked her way through the ranks to become matron, ...
(1895–1987) – naturalized British nurse, pioneer in Britain's public-funded nursing service *
August R. Lindt August Rudolf Lindt (5 August 1905 – 14 April 2000), also known as Auguste R. Lindt, was a Swiss lawyer and diplomat. He served as Chairman of UNICEF from 1953 to 1954 and as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from 1956 to 1960. Care ...
(1905–2000) – lawyer and diplomat, Chairman of
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...
1953–1954 and UN High Commissioner for Refugees 1956–1960 *
Marc Hodler Marc Hodler ( – ) was a Swiss lawyer, President of the International Ski Federation (1951–1998), member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from 1963 until his death, and bridge player. Hodler is best known for having exposed the Oly ...
(1918–2006) – lawyer, President of the International Ski Federation 1951–1998, exposed the
2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal The 2002 Olympic Winter Games bid scandal was a scandal involving allegations of bribery used to win the rights to host the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Prior to its successful bid in 1995, the city had attempted fo ...
* Hans Urwyler (1925–1994) – Christian minister of the
New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during an 1863 schism in Hamburg, Germany. The church has existed since 1863 in Germany and since 1897 in the Ne ...
*
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...
(1938–2018 in Bern) – UN Secretary-General 1997–2006 *
Algirdas Paleckis Algirdas Paleckis (born 20 May 1971) is a Lithuanian diplomat, politician, columnist, leader of the political movement The Dawn of Justice. Šiauliai district court convicted Paleckis for spying for Russia in July 2021. The conviction was upheld ...
(born 1971) – Lithuanian diplomat, politician and columnist


Politicians and the landed gentry

*
Adrian von Bubenberg Adrian von Bubenberg (born c. 1424 in Bern; died August 1479 in Bern) was a Bernese knight, military commander and mayor ('' Schultheiss'') of Bern in 1468-1469, 1473-1474 and 1477-1479. In Switzerland, he is remembered as the hero of the 1476 Bat ...
(–1479) – Bernese knight, military commander and 3-time mayor (Schultheiss) of Bern, hero of the
Battle of Murten The Battle of Morat (also known as the Battle of Murten) was a battle in the Burgundian Wars (1474–77) that was fought on 22 June 1476 between Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and a Swiss Confederate army at Morat/Murten, about 30 kil ...
*
Niklaus Dachselhofer Niklaus Dachselhofer (18 November 1595 – 12 February 1670, sometimes given as ''"Daxelhofer"'') was a Swiss politician in Bern. He became a member of the canton's Grand Council in 1628 and one year later also a member of the city council ...
(1595–1670) – Bernese politician, Schultheiss (mayor) of Bern 1636–1667 *
Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg (15 November 1661 – 1743), from a Swiss patrician family, was the founder of New Bern, North Carolina, land speculator, and leader in the early Swiss and German colonization of America. Much of ...
(1661–1743) – founder of
New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and ...
* Susanna Julie von Bondeli (1731–1778) – famous salonist and lady of letters, the salon became the center of intellectual life in Bern. * Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia (1781 – Elfenau, near Bern 1860) – German princess of the ducal house of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld *
Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary s ...
(1814– 1876 in Bern) – Russian revolutionary anarchist. *
Karl Schenk Johann Karl Emmanuel Schenk (1 December 1823 – 18 July 1895) was a Swiss pastor, politician, and member of the Swiss Federal Council from 1863 until his death in 1895. Serving for , he was the longest-serving member in the Federal Council. ...
(1823–1895) – pastor, politician; served on the Swiss Federal Council 1863–1895 *
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...
(1870–1924) – lived in Bern 1914–1917 *
Louise Elisabeth de Meuron Louise Elisabeth de Meuron (22 August 1882 – 22 May 1980), known as Madame de Meuron, was a well-known eccentric Swiss aristocrat from Bern. She owned several houses in the Bernese old town as well as the alpine meadowland known as Rämis ...
(1882–1980) – aristocrat and eccentric personality in Bern * Dom
Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (Portuguese: ''Duarte Pio de Bragança'': born 15 May 1945) is the current Duke of Braganza, claimant to the title of King of Portugal of the dormant Portuguese throne, as the head of the House of Braganza. The Mig ...
(born 1945) – claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as the head of the
House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza ( pt, Sereníssima Casa de Bragança), also known as the Brigantine Dynasty (''Dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Am ...
*
Regula Rytz Regula Rytz (born 2 March 1962) is a Swiss historian and politician of the Green Party of Switzerland. She was a member of the National Council from 2011 to 2022. From 2012 to 2016, she was the co-president of the Green Party of Switzerland. Sh ...
(born 1962) – politician, sociologist and historian *
Ursula Wyss Ursula Wyss (born 8 February 1973 in Davos) is a Swiss politician and economist. She represented the Canton of Bern in the Swiss National Council as member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) from 6 December 1999 to 3 March 2013. ...
(born 1973) – economist and politician *
Min Li Marti Min Li Marti (born 1 June 1974) is a Swiss sociologist, historian, publisher and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP). Political career and mandatory work Marti's political career began in the association of students ...
(born 1974), politician, publisher, sociologist and historian


Science and academia

*
Albrecht von Haller Albrecht von Haller (also known as Albertus de Haller; 16 October 170812 December 1777) was a Swiss anatomist, physiologist, naturalist, encyclopedist, bibliographer and poet. A pupil of Herman Boerhaave, he is often referred to as "the f ...
(1708–1777) – anatomist, physiologist, naturalist, bibliographer and poet * Carl Adolf Otth (1803–1839) – naturalist *
Gustav Heinrich Otth Gustav Heinrich Otth (2 June 1806, Bern – 8 November 1874) was a Swiss mycologist and military officer. He was the brother of naturalist Carl Adolf Otth (1803-1839).mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their genetic and biochemical properties, their taxonomy and their use to humans, including as a source for tinder, traditional medicine, food, and entheogens, as ...
*
Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl (13 June 1823, Bern – 24 August 1914, Kirchdorf) was a Swiss entomologist who specialised in Orthoptera, and a botanist. Von Wattenwyl was a postmaster. He described many new taxa of Orthoptera. His collection is ...
(1823–1914) – entomologist who specialised in
Orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – grassh ...
*
Ludwig Fischer Ludwig Fischer (16 April 1905 – 8 March 1947) was a German Nazi Party lawyer, politician and a convicted war criminal who was executed for war crimes. Background Born into a Catholic family in Kaiserslautern, Fischer joined the Nazi Pa ...
(1828–1907) – botanist, researched
phanerogams A spermatophyte (; ), also known as phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds, hence the alternative name seed plant. Spermatophytes are a subset of the embryophytes or land plants. They ...
and
cryptogams A cryptogam (scientific name Cryptogamae) is a plant (in the wide sense of the word) or a plant-like organism that reproduces by spores, without flowers or seeds. The name ''Cryptogamae'' () means "hidden reproduction", referring to the fact ...
* Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (1840–1914) American archaeologist. *
Emil Theodor Kocher Emil Theodor Kocher (25 August 1841 – 27 July 1917) was a Swiss physician and medical researcher who received the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work in the physiology, pathology and surgery of the thyroid. Among his many ...
(1841–1917) – physician and medical researcher, received the 1909
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accordi ...
for work on the thyroid *
Arnold Klebs Arnold C. Klebs (March 17, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was a Swiss physician who specialized in the study of tuberculosis. Born in Bern, Switzerland, Arnold Klebs, the son of renowned bacteriologist Edwin Klebs, was raised in the presence of an exten ...
(1870–1943) – physician who specialized in the study of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, ...
* Anna Tumarkin (1875–1951) – Russian-born, naturalized Swiss academic, the first woman to become a professor of philosophy at the
University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...
*
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
(1879–1955) – worked out his
theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical phenomena in ...
while living in Bern, employed as a
patent examiner A patent examiner (or, historically, a patent clerk) is an employee, usually a civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office. Major employers of patent examiners are the European Patent Office (EPO), the U ...
at the patent office * Ida Hoff (1880–1952) – pioneering doctor, a feminist activist, an early regular female motorist * Aimé Félix Tschiffely (1895–1954) – Swiss-born, Argentine professor, writer and equestrian adventurer *
Hans Albert Einstein Hans Albert Einstein (May 14, 1904 – July 26, 1973) was a Swiss-American engineer and educator, the second child and first son of physicists Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić. He was a long-time professor of hydraulic engineering at the Uni ...
(1904–1973) – Swiss-American engineer and educator, the second child and first son of
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
*
Friedrich Tinner Friedrich Tinner, also known as Fred Tinner (born 1936), is a Swiss nuclear engineer and a long-associated friend of Abdul Qadeer Khan—Pakistan's former top scientist—and connected with the Khan nuclear network trafficking in the proliferati ...
(born 1937) – nuclear engineer connected with the proliferation of nuclear materials in Iran, Libya, and North Korea *
Claudia Rosiny Claudia Rosiny (born February 15, 1960, in Bad Godesberg) is a German-Swiss academic in Dance and Media studies, a festival director and cultural manager. She became internationally known as an expert on video dance. Having served as a co-direct ...
(born 1960) – German-Swiss academic in Dance and Media studies, a festival director and cultural manager * Daniel Mojon (born 1963) – ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon, invented minimally-invasive
strabismus surgery Strabismus surgery (also: ''extraocular muscle surgery'', ''eye muscle surgery'', or ''eye alignment surgery'') is surgery on the extraocular muscles to correct strabismus, the misalignment of the eyes. Strabismus surgery is a one-day procedu ...
* Peter Jüni (born ) - scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, works at
St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto) St. Michael's Hospital is a teaching hospital and medical centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was established by the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1892 with the founding goal of taking care of the sick and the poor of Toronto's inner city. The ho ...


Writing and acting

*
Ulrich Boner Ulrich Boner, or Bonerius, (fl. early 14th century), was a German-speaking Swiss writer of fable. He was born in Bern, descended of an old Bernese family and, as far as can be ascertained, took clerical orders and became a monk; yet as it appears ...
or Bonerius (early 14th century) – German-speaking Swiss writer of fable * Hans von Rüte (died 1558) – Bernese dramatist and chronicler of the Swiss Reformation * Johann David Wyss (1743–1818) – author, best remembered for
The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'') is a novel by Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Australia, goes off course and is shipwr ...
* Charles Victor de Bonstetten (1745–1832) – liberal writer * Daniel Albert Wyttenbach (1746–1820) – German Swiss classical scholar *
Johann Rudolf Wyss Johann Rudolf Wyss (; 4 March 178221 March 1830) was a Swiss author, writer, and folklorist who wrote the words to the former Swiss national anthem ''Rufst Du, mein Vaterland'' in 1811, and also edited the novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson'', wr ...
(1782–1830) – author, writer, and folklorist who wrote the words to the former Swiss national anthem *
Charles Monnard Charles Monnard (17 January 1790, in Bern – 13 January 1865, in Bonn) was a Swiss historian. He studied theology in Lausanne, and from 1813 to 1816, worked as a tutor in Paris. From 1816 to 1845 he was a professor of French literature at t ...
(1790–1865) – historian and member of the
Helvetic Society The Helvetische Gesellschaft / Société Helvétique, or Helvetic Society as it is known in English, was a patriotic society and the first Swiss reform society. It was founded by Swiss philosopher Isaak Iselin, poet Solomon Gessner and some 20 oth ...
* Vincent O. Carter (1924-1983) – American writer, author of ''The Bern Book'' * Selma Urfer (1928–2013) – author, translator and actress * Liselotte Pulver (born 1929) – actress, well known for her hearty and joyful laughter * Yves Rénier (1942–2021) – French actor, director, screenwriter and voice actor *
Lukas Hartmann Lukas Hartmann (29 August 1944 born as ''Hans-Rudolf Lehmann'') is a Swiss author. Life and work Born as Hans-Rudolf Lehmann in Bern, his mother was a farmer's daughter and his father was a shoemaker, later auxiliary postman and department mana ...
(born 1944) – children's writer, Switzerland's "first husband" in 2015 * Yang Lian (born 1955) – Swiss-Chinese poet associated with the Misty Poets * Sibylle Canonica (born 1957) – actress, has appeared in more than forty films since 1981 * Georges Delnon (born 1958) – theatre director, artistic director and professor *
Sabine Timoteo Sabine Timoteo (born 25 March 1975) is a Swiss actress from the Lorraine district of Bern. She has appeared in more than thirty films since 2000. Early life Timoteo grew up dividing time between the United States and Lausanne, Switzerland. As ...
(born 1975) – actress * Yangzom Brauen (born 1980) – actress, activist and writer *
Cleo von Adelsheim Cleopatra, Hereditary Princess of Oettingen-Oettingen and Oettingen-Spielberg (née Baroness Cleopatra von Adelsheim von Ernest; born on 3 October 1987), known professionally as Cleo von Adelsheim, is a Swiss-born German-Chilean actress and mod ...
(born 1987) – German-Chilean actress


Artists, painters and musicians

*
Niklaus Manuel Deutsch Niklaus Manuel Deutsch (''Niklaus Manuel'', c. 1484 – 28 April 1530), of Bern, was a Old Swiss Confederacy, Swiss artist, writer, mercenary and Swiss Reformation, Reformed politician. Biography Niklaus was most likely the son of Emanuel Aleman ...
(–1530) – artist, writer, mercenary and Reformed politician *
Albrecht Kauw Albrecht Kauw (1621–1681) was a Swiss still-life painter, cartographer and a painter of vedute. Biography Kauw was born in Strasbourg, then moved to Bern in 1640. He painted a large number of works for public buildings and for various chatea ...
(1621–1681) – still-life painter, cartographer and a painter of
vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genr ...
*
Gabriel Lory Gabriel Lory the Elder (Gabriel Ludwig Lori, ''Lory le père''; 1763 – November 1840) was a Bernese landscape painter and illustrator, father of Gabriel Lory the Younger (Mathias Gabriel Lori, 1784–1846). Biography He worked as an app ...
the Elder (1763–1840) – Bernese landscape painter and illustrator * Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918) – painter of portraits, landscapes and genre paintings *
Lisa Wenger Lisa Wenger (born Lisa Ruutz :23 January 1858 – 17 October 1941) was a Swiss painter and author of children's books. During the 1930s she was one of the best known and most widely read authors in the country. Life Lisa Ruutz was born in Be ...
(1858–1941) – painter and author of children's books *
Adolf Wölfli Adolf Wölfli (February 29, 1864 – November 6, 1930) (occasionally spelled Adolf Woelfli or Adolf Wolfli) was a Swiss artist who was one of the first artists to be associated with the Art Brut or outsider art label. Early life Wölfli was born ...
(1864–1930) – artist associated with
Art Brut Art Brut are a Berlin-based English and German indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, '' It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter J ...
*
Volkmar Andreae Volkmar Andreae (5 July 1879 – 18 June 1962) was a Swiss conductor and composer. Life and career Andreae was born in Bern. He received piano instruction as a child and his first lessons in composition with Karl Munzinger. From 1897 to 1900, ...
(1879–1962) – conductor and composer *
Eric Blom Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of '' Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954). Bio ...
CBE (1888–1959) – British-naturalised music lexicographer, musicologist, music critic and music
biographer Biographers are authors who write an account of another person's life, while autobiographers are authors who write their own biography. Biographers Countries of working life: Ab=Arabia, AG=Ancient Greece, Al=Australia, Am=Armenian, AR=Ancient Rome ...
*
Klaus Huber Klaus Huber (30 November 1924 – 2 October 2017) was a Swiss composer and academic based in Basel and Freiburg. Among his students were Brian Ferneyhough, Michael Jarrell, Younghi Pagh-Paan, Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, and Kaija Saariaho ...
(1924–2017) – composer and academic *
Margrit Zimmermann Margrit Zimmermann (7 August 1927 – 23 February 2020) was a Swiss pianist, composer, conductor and music educator. She studied piano there under Jeanne Bovet and composition under Walter Furrer. Later she studied under Denise Bidal and Alfred Co ...
(born 1927) – pianist, composer, conductor and music educator *
Mani Matter Mani Matter (4 August 1936 in Herzogenbuchsee – 24 November 1972 in Kilchberg, Zurich, officially Hans-Peter Matter) was a popular Swiss singer-songwriter. Biography Mani Matter was born on 4 August 1936 in Herzogenbuchsee, Canton of Bern. ...
(1936–1972) – singer-songwriter *
Roland Zoss Roland Zoss (born 2 August 1961) is a songwriter and novelist. He studied anthropology and literature in Bern and Avignon. He lives in the Aeolian Islands Songwriter and novelist Roland Zoss started his early songwriter career in the late 1970s in ...
(born 1951) – songwriter and novelist, lives on the
Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named afte ...
*
Christine Lauterburg Christine Lauterburg (born 12 March 1956 in Bern) is a Swiss singer and yodeler. Lauterburg often remakes Swiss folk songs but also composes her own music. In contrast to most contemporary Swiss musicians, who use the Anglo-Saxon folk songs as a fo ...
(born 1956) – singer, yodeler and actress * Patricia Kopatchinskaja (born 1977) – Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist * Zora Slokar, (born 1980) horn player with
Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana The Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (OSI; literal translation, Orchestra of Italian Switzerland) is a Swiss orchestra based in Lugano. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the ''Auditorio RSI''. The OSI also gives a concert series at the ...
*
Luca Hänni Luca Hänni (born 8 October 1994) is a Swiss pop singer and television personality. He rose to fame in 2012 after winning the ninth season of ''Deutschland sucht den Superstar'', the German version of the ''Idol'' franchise. He was the first n ...
(born 1994) – singer-songwriter, dancer, and model, Swiss representative at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest * Giuseppe Bausilio (born 1997) – actor, dancer, and singer IMDb Database
retrieved 6 December 2018


Business

*
Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli (16 December 1716 - 15 January 1780) was a Swiss agronomist who founded the Economic Society of Berne in 1758. He was a wealthy merchant, economist and lawyer. Johann Rudolph Tschiffeli was born in Bern in 1716, in a pat ...
(1716–1780) – agronomist, a wealthy merchant, economist, and lawyer *
Franz Rudolf Frisching Franz Rudolf Frisching (1733–1807) was a Bernese patrician, officer, politician and industrialist. Life and career Franz Rudolf Frisching was the son of Vinzenz Frisching (1689–1764) who was Master of Schlosswil. In 1748 Franz Rudolf Fri ...
(1733–1807) – Bernese patrician, officer, politician, founded the
Frisching Faience Manufactory The Frisching Faience Manufactory was a manufactory that produced high class faience manufactures between 1760 and 1776 in Bern, Switzerland. The manufactory was founded by Franz Rudolf Frisching and his brothers Gabriel Friedrich (1731–1789) ...
* Rodolphe Lindt (1855–1909) – chocolate manufacturer, founded the Lindt chocolate factory * Marianne Alvoni (born 1964) – fashion designer


Sport

*
Otto Hess Otto C. Hess (October 10, 1878 – February 25, 1926) was a Swiss-born pitcher for the Cleveland Bronchos/Cleveland Naps (1902 and 1904–08) and Boston Braves (1912–15). In 1914, Hess was a member of the Braves team that went from last place ...
(1878–1926), a pitcher for the
Cleveland Bronchos The Cleveland Guardians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since 1994, they have played in Progressive Field. The Cleveland team originated in ...
1902 and 1904–08 and
Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...
1912–15 * Arnold Käch (1914–1998), a military officer, skier, ski official and writer * Philippe Marie Eugène, Count d'Ursel (1920–2017) was a Swiss-born Belgian alpine skier and a member of the
Ursel family The House of Ursel is the name of an important old Belgian noble family of German origin. The Head of the House is styled the Duke of Ursel, while other members are styled as Count/Countess d'Ursel. History The Ursel family roots ar ...
, competed at the
1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...
*
Ernst Schmied Ernst Schmied (1924 in Bern, Switzerland - 22 March 2002) was a Swiss Mountaineer. He is best known for achieving the second successful summit of Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Lis ...
(1924–2002), mountaineer, the second successful summiteer of
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...
in 1956 *
Willi Steffen Willi Steffen (17 March 1925 – 3 May 2005) was a Swiss international footballer who played as a left-back. Steffen started out as an amateur with Cantonal Neuchâtel and later became the first Swiss footballer to play in England when he signe ...
(1925–2005), a former fighter pilot and international footballer, won 28 caps for his country * Jürg Marmet (1927–2013), a mountaineer, part of the first two-man Swiss team which climbed
Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation (snow hei ...
in 1956 *
Christine Stückelberger Christine Stückelberger (born 22 May 1947) is a Swiss retired equestrian who won an individual gold medal in dressage at the 1976 Summer Olympics.1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
compete at six Olympics: 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000. *
Christian Kauter Christian Kauter (born 6 May 1947) is a Swiss fencer. He won a silver medal in the team épée event at the 1972 Summer Olympics and a bronze in the same event at the 1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The Internatio ...
(born 1947), a fencer, silver medallist in the team épée at the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 19 ...
and bronze medallist at the
1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...
* Markus Ryffel (born 1955), a former long-distance runner, silver medallist in the 5000 metres at the
1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...
* Maurizio Jacobacci (born 1963), an Italian-Swiss football manager and former player *
Alain Sutter Alain Sutter (born 22 January 1968) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is currently the sporting director of FC St. Gallen. Playing career Born in Bern, Sutter played youth football for SC Bümpliz 78, befo ...
(born 1968), a footballer, 351 club caps, 58 national team caps * Guerino Gottardi (born 1970), a retired Swiss-Italian footballer, almost 250 club caps * Mirjam Ott (born 1972), a retired curler, captain of the Swiss Olympic Curling Team. *
Tanja Frieden Tanja Frieden (born 6 February 1976, in Bern) is a Swiss snowboarder. She won a gold medal in the inaugural Snowboard Cross competition at the 2006 Winter Olympics. In the Snowboard Cross finals at the 2006 Winter Olympics, Frieden was in seco ...
(born 1976), a snowboarder and gold medallist at the
2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...
*
Esther Staubli Esther Staubli (born 3 October 1979) is a Swiss football referee. German-speaking Staubli is tall and has been on the FIFA International Referees List since 2006. An agronomist by trade, Staubli also lectures in a university. She was select ...
(born 1979), a football referee, on the FIFA International Referees List since 2006 *
Maja Neuenschwander Maja Neuenschwander (born 13 February 1980 in Bern, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. Her personal best for the marathon distance is 2:30:09 hours – run at the 2015 Vienna Marathon where she was t ...
(born 1980), a long-distance runner who competes in marathon races * Jennifer Oehrli (born 1989), a football goalkeeper, member of the
Switzerland women's national football team The Switzerland women's national football team represents Switzerland in international women's football. The team played its first match in 1972. Switzerland qualified for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada by winning their qualifyin ...
*
Dominik Märki Dominik Märki (born 9 October 1990) is a Swiss-American curler, currently living in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He currently plays third on Team Jason Smith. He competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1, ...
(born 1990), a Swiss curler, living in
Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington unt ...
, bronze medallist in the
2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , wint ...
* Roman Josi (born 1990), a professional ice hockey player, selected to play for Switzerland at the
2010 Winter Olympics )'' , nations = 82 , athletes = 2,626 , events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = February 12, 2010 , closing = February 28, 2010 , opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean , cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy Greene Wayne G ...


See also

*
Municipalities of the canton of Bern There are 338 municipalities in the canton of Bern, Switzerland (). List *Aarberg *Aarwangen *Adelboden * Aefligen * Aegerten *Aeschi bei Spiez * Affoltern im Emmental *Alchenstorf * Allmendingen *Amsoldingen *Arch * Arni * Attiswil * Auswil * ...


Notes and references


Notes


References


External links


Online camera
* *
Bern Public Transportation Website (BernMobil)
* *
GurtenfestivalBuskers Bern
{{Authority control 1191 establishments in Europe 12th-century establishments in Switzerland Canton of Bern Cantonal capitals of Switzerland Capitals in Europe Cities in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern Populated places on the Aare World Heritage Sites in Switzerland 14th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy 1350s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1353 establishments in Europe Free imperial cities