Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the '' de facto''

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, referred to as the "

federal city The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and several national capitals. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''), ma ...

".; ; ; . 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 Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, the Federal Criminal Court is in

Bellinzona Bellinzona ( , ; ; is a municipality, a List of towns in Switzerland, historic Swiss town, and the capital of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The town is famous for its Three Castles of Bellinzona, three castles (Castelgrande, Montebello, Sa ...

and the Federal Administrative Court and the Federal Patent Court are in St. Gallen, exemplifying the federal nature of the Confederation. With a population of about 146,000 (), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland, behind

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and

. 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 consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the

canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

, the second-most populous of Switzerland's cantons. The official language is

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also 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 (SSG; ), or Swiss High German ( or ; ), referred to by the Swiss as , or , is the written form of one (German language, German) of four languages of Switzerland, national languages in Switzerland, besides French language, Fr ...

(aka the Swiss variety of

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

) 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: , ,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no #Conventions, defined orthography for any of them, many different spellings can be found. and others; ) is any of the Alemannic German, Alemannic ...

dialect,

Bernese German Bernese German (Standard German: ''Berndeutsch'', ) is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions. A form of Bernese German is spoken by the Swiss A ...

. In 1983, the historic old town (in ) in the centre of Bern became a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. It is notably surrounded by the

Aare The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

, a major river of the Swiss Plateau. Although fortified settlements were established since antiquity, the medieval city proper was founded by the Zähringer ruling family, probably in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. Bern was made a free imperial city in 1218 and, in 1353, it joined the

Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

, 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 throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

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 The term federal city is a title for certain cities in Germany, Switzerland, Russia, and several national capitals. Germany In Germany, the former West German capital Bonn has been designated with the title of federal city (''Bundesstadt''), ma ...

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 (generative) popular etymology, analogical reformation, (morphological) reanalysis and etymological reinterpretation – is a change in a word or phrase resulting from the replacement of an unfamiliar form by a mo ...

, Berthold 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 ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

, which at the time was known as ''Bern'' in

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

. 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 The Bern zinc tablet or Gobannus tablet is a metal sheet found in 1984 in Bern, Switzerland. As it was only analysed after the death of the workman who had found and removed the tablet from its site, its original archaeological context can no lon ...

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

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

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 Foot ...

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

'' stood on the ''Engehalbinsel'' (peninsula) north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC (late

La Tène period LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

), 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 Ju ...

mentioned by

Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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. He ...

. During the

Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

, a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

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 Upper Burgundy (; ) was a historical region in the early medieval Burgundy, and a distinctive realm known as the ''Kingdom of Upper Burgundy'', that existed from 888 to 933, when it was incorporated into the reunited Kingdom of Burgundy, that ...

in the 12th century. According to 14th-century historiography (''Cronica de Berno'', 1309), Bern was founded in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. In 1218, after Berthold died without an heir, Bern was made a free imperial city by the '' Goldene Handfeste'' of

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Frederick II.

Old Swiss Confederacy

In 1353, Bern joined the

, becoming the eighth canton of the formative period of 1353 to 1481. Bern invaded and conquered

Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most nort ...

in 1415 and

Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of Subdivisions of the canton of Vaud, ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat ...

in 1536, as well as other smaller territories, thereby becoming the largest

north of the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. By the 18th century, it comprised most of what is today the

and the

canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...

The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river

. 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 a guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. Despite the many red ...

'' tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the ''Käfigturm'' took over this role until 1345. It was 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 Spi ...

'' (formerly located closer to the site of the modern-day railway station) until 1622. During the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small '' Schanze'' (entrenchments) – 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 () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...

houses, and subsequently the

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

buildings which came to be characteristic for the Old Town. Despite 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 usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...

from the surrounding countryside. During the 18th century, the city of Bern was at one point the largest shareholder in the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

, a British

joint-stock company A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareho ...

which was involved in the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

. From 1689 to 3 March 1798 in the town was printed, in French, the biweekly newspaper '' Gazette de Berne'', which reflected the opinions of Bern, usually hostile to the politics of Pre-revolutionary France.

Modern history

Bern was occupied by French troops in 1798 during the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...

, when it was stripped of parts of its territories. It regained control of the

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

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, Napol ...

of 1814, it newly acquired the

Bernese Jura Bernese Jura (, , German: Berner Jura) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten Administrative divisions of Switzerland, administrative divisions of the Cantons of Switzerland, cant ...

. 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 (officially in ), 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 is Delémont. It shar ...

in 1979. On 28 November 1848, during the revolutions that year, a majority of the new Swiss Federal Assembly deputies chose Bern as the

(seat of the government) of the newly created

Swiss federal state The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the ''Sonderbundskrieg''. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United State ...

, ahead of

and

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

. Bern was chosen as not to concentrate all the power in the economic powerhouse of Zürich, while Catholic and conservative Lucerne had been part of the

Sonderbund The Sonderbund War (, , ) of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland, then still a relatively loose confederacy of cantons. It ensued after seven Catholic cantons formed the ("separate alliance") in 1845 to protect their interests against ...

during the war a year before. In addition, Bern had a more central location and was supported by the French-speaking cantons due to proximity to them. However, the constitution doesn't define Bern as official capital of Switzerland, but as the seat of government. A number of congresses of the

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second International The Second International, also called the Socialist International, was a political international of Labour movement, socialist and labour parties and Trade union, trade unions which existed from 1889 to 1916. It included representatives from mo ...

s were held in Bern, particularly during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

when Switzerland was neutral; see Bern International. 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 is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

Geography and climate

Topography

Bern lies on the Swiss plateau in the canton of Bern, slightly west of the centre of Switzerland and north of the

Bernese Alps The Bernese Alps are a mountain range of the Alps located in western Switzerland. Although the name suggests that they are located in the Berner Oberland region of the canton of Bern, portions of the Bernese Alps are in the adjacent cantons of Va ...

. 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 g ...

. The two mountains closest to Bern are Gurten with a height of and Bantiger 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 only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

surrounded by the river

, 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 pai ...

, 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 divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Bern has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''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 cold ...

(''Dfb''). The closest weather station near Bern is located in the municipality of Zollikofen, 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 dir ...

government of the City of Bern and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councillors (, ), 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 corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

(de: ''Stadtpräsident/-präsidentin'', fr: ''Le Maire''). In the mandate period (''Legislatur'') 2025–2028, the Municipal Council is presided by ''Stadtpräsidentin'' . 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 Bern is selected by means of a system of Proporz. 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 The Erlacherhof is a town mansion on the Junkerngasse No. 47 in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland, only a few steps away from the Béatrice-von-Wattenwyl-Haus. The Erlacherhof is the most representative patrician town mansion in Bern. It is ...

, 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 Form ...

), and one each of GFL (''Grüne Freie Liste'' a.k.a. Green Free List), GB ( Green Alliance of Bern) and GLP ( Green Liberal Party), giving the left parties a very strong majority of four out of five seats. The last regular election was held on 24 November 2024. Dr. Claudia Mannhart is City Chronicler (''Stadtschreiberin''). She was elected by the Municipal Council in 2021.

Parliament

The City Council (de: Stadtrat, fr: Conseil de ville) holds

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

. 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 any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

. 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 (, ) 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 Bern (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 (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

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 environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

(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 is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 56%. In the 2015 federal election for the

the most popular party was the PS which received 34.3% of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the

(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

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 association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

) cooperation with the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n city

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Demographics

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, or simply the 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) iss ...

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%.

Historical 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), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

, 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. 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 (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 4,907 (or about 3.81% of the population) who were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. There were 629 persons who were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 1,430 persons who were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

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 was inaugurated.

Main sights

The structure of Bern's

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

is largely

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and has been recognised by

as a Cultural

. Perhaps its most famous sight is the ''

'' (Bernese German for "Time Bell"), an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets. It also has an impressive 15th century Gothic cathedral, the ''

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, 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 ...

'', 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 ''

'', 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 In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, government and part of the federal administration, can also be visited.

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

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 sho ...

49, the site of the Einsteinhaus, 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, are the work of the

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

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 have ...

. 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 (; ; , Modern Greek: ), also spelled Chronus, is a personification of time in Greek mythology, who is also discussed in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified ...

, or a Fastnacht 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, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations and facilitates a uniform worldwide postal system. It has 192 member states and is headquartered in Be ...

is situated in Bern.

Heritage sites of national significance

Bern is home to 114 Swiss heritage sites of national significance. The list 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. In some cases, newer developments on t ...

, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many sites within and around it. Among the most notable within the Old Town are the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

, which was started in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, the

and Käfigturm towers, which mark two successive expansions of the Old Town, the Holy Ghost Church, which is one of the largest Swiss Reformed churches in Switzerland, and eleven 16th-century fountains, most attributed to

. Outside the Old Town, the heritage sites include the

(Bear Pit), the

Gewerbeschule Bern Gewerbeschule is a quarter in Industriequartier (Zurich), Industriequartier (District 5) in Zurich. The district Gewerbeschule (upper district 5, there are located several ''Business schools'') formed the formerly separate municipality of Ausse ...

(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 (, , , ) is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office of Culture, it is charged with collecting, cataloging and conserving information in all fields, disciplines, and media connected with Switzerla ...

, the Historical Museum (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 scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

Culture

Theatres

* Bern Theatre * Narrenpack Theatre Bern * Schlachthaus Theatre * Tojo Theater * 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 a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all cr ...

, held annually in early October. * Queersicht – gay and lesbian film festival, held annually in the second week of November.

Festivals

* BeJazz Summer and Winter Festival * Buskers Bern Street Music Festival *

Gurtenfestival Gurtenfestival is an annual musical festival in Bern, Switzerland. 1991–2012 Donovan, (June 9) Rufus Quindile Gunbungus III and the Huantalius Gang 1995 (14–16 July): Ben Harper, Incognito (band), Incognito, Jeff Buckley, Public Enemy (band) ...

* 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 () is an annual pre-Lenten festival in the Swabian-Alemannic-Fastnacht, Swabian-Alemannic tradition. Its origins can be traced back to the 15th century, and in 1513 the carnival led to a peasant revolt. The Bern ...

Sports

Bern was the site of the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final, in which

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

upset the Hungarian Golden Team 3–2. The football team

BSC Young Boys Berner Sport Club Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation, ) is a Swiss professional sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 17 Swiss league championships and eight Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss footbal ...

is based in Bern at the

Stadion Wankdorf Wankdorf Stadium () is a football stadium in Bern, Switzerland. The second largest all-seater football stadium in Switzerland, it is the home ground of BSC Young Boys. It was also one of the venues for UEFA Euro 2008. History The present-da ...

, which also was one of the venues for the

2008 UEFA European Championship 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 association football, football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA ( ...

, in which it hosted three matches.

FC Breitenrain Bern Football Club Breitenrain Bern are a football team from Bern, Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, ...

, founded in 1994, also play in Bern.

SC Bern Schlittschuh Club Bern ('' Ice-skating Club Bern'' in English) is a professional ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rin ...

is the major ice hockey team of Bern which plays in the

PostFinance Arena The PostFinance-Arena (originally known as Eisstadion Allmend and Bern Arena) is an indoor arena in Bern, Switzerland. It is primarily used for ice hockey and is the home arena of SC Bern. It was opened in October 1967 and currently accommodate ...

. They compete in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(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 is the

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

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 and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

club in Bern (since 1985) and plays in the top level Nationalliga A (American football) at Athletics Arena Wankdorf. The Grizzlies have been Swiss Bowl champion six times. 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 List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. 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

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 The Swiss Grand Prix (, , ) was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race. History Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947–1954) Grand Prix motor racing came to Switzerland in 1934, to the Bremgarten circuit, ...

. Bern Bears is an NGO Basketball Club since 2010 in city of Bern. The

was held on the Circuit Bremgarten street track from 1950 to 1954, with

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

also running their Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix from 1949 to 1954. The circuit eventually fell into disrepair after Switzerland banned motorsports after the

1955 Le Mans Disaster The 1955 Le Mans disaster was a major crash that occurred on 11 June 1955 during the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race at Circuit de la Sarthe in Le Mans, Sarthe, France. Large pieces of debris flew into the crowd, killing spectators and French dr ...

, but they made an amendment in 2015 to host electric racing, which is how the Swiss ePrix 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 constructi ...

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 ...

, 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 of measurement 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 use ...

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 (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

, whose buildings are mainly located in the ''Länggasse'' quarter, is located in Bern, as well as the

University of Applied Sciences A vocational university or university of applied sciences (UAS), less commonly called a polytechnic university is an institution of higher education and increasingly research that provides applied professional 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 educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

or a ''

Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

''). 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 potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

. 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 Notable schools in Bern include Gymnasium Neufeld. 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 (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

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 troll ...

, 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 ( ; ; ; ; ) 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 Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

and includes the towns of

Biel/Bienne Biel/Bienne (official bilingual wording; German language, German: ''Biel'' ; French language, French: ''Bienne'' ; Bernese German, locally ; ; ; ) is a bilingual city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. With over 55,000 residents, it is the ...

, and

Thun Thun () is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Thun (administrative district), Thun in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. ...

. The network allows easy and coordinated travel on all modes of public transport, such as trains, PostAuto buses,

, buses (

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 (164,800 passengers per weekday in 2022), 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 ends ...

called the Marzilibahn leads from the ''Marzili'' district to the Federal Palace. With a length of , it is the second shortest public railway in Europe after the Zagreb funicular.

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 (colloquially called ''Bern-Belp'' or ''Belpmoos'') located outside the city near the town 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 except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

and charter flights.

Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...

Geneva Airport Geneva Airport – formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport – is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-pas ...

and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg serve as gateways for air traffic, all reachable in less than two hours by

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

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

Einstein 1921 by F Schmutzer - restoration

Public servants, the military and the church

* Conrad Justinger (–1438) – chronicler, magistrate and notary public of the city of Bern *

Johann Jakob Grynaeus Johann Jakob Grynaeus or Gryner (October 1, 1540 – August 13, 1617) was a Swiss Protestant divine. Life Grynaeus was born in Bern. His father, Thomas Grynaeus (1512–1564), was for a time professor of ancient languages at Basel and Bern, but ...

(1540–1617) – Protestant divine, a theologian of the school of

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

* Robert Scipio, Freiherr von Lentulus (1714–1786) – military officer, in Austrian and later, Prussian service * Emmanuel Han (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. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

* Walter Breisky (1871–1944) – Austrian jurist, civil servant and politician * Rosalie Dreyer (1895–1987) – naturalized British nurse, pioneer in Britain's public-funded nursing service * August R. Lindt (1905–2000) – lawyer and diplomat, Chairman of

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

1953–1954 and

UN High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

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 f ...

* Hans Urwyler (1925–1994) – Christian minister of the

New Apostolic Church The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian denomination, Christian church of the Catholic Apostolic Church, Irvingian tradition. Its origins are in 1863, in the split from the Catholic Apostolic Church during a schism in Hamburg, Ger ...

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 founder a ...

(1938–2018 in Bern) – UN Secretary-General 1997–2006 * Algirdas Paleckis (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 of Bern, mayor (''Schultheiss'') of Bern in 1468-1469, 1473-1474 and 1477-1479. In Switzerland, he is remembered as the hero o ...

(–1479) – Bernese knight, military commander and 3-time mayor (Schultheiss) of Bern, hero of the

Battle of Murten The Battle of Morat took place during the Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) that was fought on 22 June 1476 between Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and a Swiss Confederation army at Morat (Murten), about 30 kilometres from Bern Bern ...

* Niklaus Dachselhofer (1595–1670) – Bernese politician, Schultheiss (mayor) of Bern 1636–1667 * Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg (1661–1743) – founder of

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 31,291 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located at the confluence of the Neuse River, Neuse a ...

* 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. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

(1814– 1876 in Bern) – Russian revolutionary anarchist. * Karl Schenk (1823–1895) – pastor, politician; served on the Swiss Federal Council 1863–1895 *

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

(1870–1924) – lived in Bern 1914–1917 * Louise Elisabeth de Meuron (1882–1980) – aristocrat and eccentric personality in Bern * Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (born 1945) – claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as the head of the

House of Braganza The Most Serene House of Braganza (), also known as the Brigantine dynasty (''dinastia Brigantina''), is a dynasty of emperors, kings, princes, and dukes of Portuguese people, Portuguese origin which reigned in Europe and the Americas. The hous ...

* Regula Rytz (born 1962) – politician, sociologist and historian * Ursula Wyss (born 1973) – economist and politician *

Min Li Marti Min Li Marti (born 1 June 1974 in Bern) is a Swiss sociologist, historian, publisher and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP). Early life and career Min Li Marti was born in Bern as the daughter of her refugee Chinese ...

(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 and Jacob Winslow, he is sometimes r ...

(1708–1777) – anatomist, physiologist, naturalist, bibliographer and poet *

Carl Adolf Otth Carl Adolf (Adolphe) Otth (April 2, 1803, Bern - May 16, 1839) was a Swiss physician and naturalist. He was the brother of mycologist Gustav Heinrich Otth (1806-1874).naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

* Gustav Heinrich Otth (1806–1874) –

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl (13 June 1823, Bern – 24 August 1914, Kirchdorf) was a geologist and physicist who worked as the first head of telegraphy administration in Switzerland. He was the first to promote transnational cooperation for teleg ...

(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 – gras ...

* Ludwig Fischer (1828–1907) – botanist, researched

phanerogams A seed plant or spermatophyte (; New Latin ''spermat-'' and Greek ' (phytón), plant), also known as a phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or a phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds. It is a category of embryophyte (i.e. la ...

and

cryptogams A cryptogam (scientific name ''Cryptogamae'') is a plant, in the broad sense of the word, or a plant-like organism that share similar characteristics, such as being Multicellular organism, multicellular, Photosynthesis, photosynthetic, and pr ...

Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (August 6, 1840March 18, 1914) was a Swiss and American archaeologist who particularly explored the indigenous cultures of the American Southwest, Mexico, and South America. He immigrated to the United States wi ...

(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 a ...

(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, acco ...

for work on the thyroid * Arnold Klebs (1870–1943) – physician who specialized in the study of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

* Anna Tumarkin (1875–1951) – Russian-born, naturalized Swiss academic, the first woman to become a professor of philosophy at the

(1879–1955) – worked out his

theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...

while living in Bern, employed as a

patent examiner A patent examiner (or, historically, a patent clerk) is an employee, usually a civil service, civil servant with a scientific or engineering background, working at a patent office. Duties Due to a long-standing and incessantly growing backlog of u ...

at the

patent office A patent office is a governmental or intergovernmental organization which controls the issue of patents. In other words, "patent offices are government bodies that may grant a patent or reject the patent application based on whether the applicati ...

Ida Hoff Ida Hoff (8 January 1880 - 5 August 1952) was a pioneering medical doctor in Switzerland. As a woman in a man's world she achieved a number of "firsts". She was the first woman to be employed as a school doctor in Bern. She was a feminist activis ...

(1880–1952) – pioneering doctor, feminist activist, 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, the second child and first son of physicists Albert Einstein and Mileva Marić. He was a long-time professor of hydraulic engineering at the University of Cal ...

(1904–1973) – Swiss-American engineer and educator, the second child and first son of

* Friedrich Tinner (born 1937) – nuclear engineer connected with the proliferation of nuclear materials in Iran, Libya, and North Korea * Claudia Rosiny (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 human eye, eyes. Strabismus surgery is a one-day ...

* 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 hosp ...

Writing and acting

* Ulrich Boner 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 Johann David Wyss (; 28 May 1743 – 11 January 1818) was a Swiss author, best remembered for his book ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (''Der schweizerische Robinson'') (1812). He was born and died in Bern. It is said that he was inspired by Dan ...

(1743–1818) – author, best remembered for

The Swiss Family Robinson ''The Swiss Family Robinson'' (German: ''Der Schweizerische Robinson'', "The Swiss Robinson") is a novel by the Swiss author Johann David Wyss, first published in 1812, about a Swiss family of immigrants whose ship en route to Port Jackson, Aus ...

* Charles Victor de Bonstetten (1745–1832) – liberal writer *

Daniel Albert Wyttenbach Daniel Albert Wyttenbach (7 August 1746, Bern17 January 1820, Oegstgeest) was a German Swiss classical scholar. A student of Hemsterhuis, Valckenaer and Ruhnken, he was an exponent of the methods of criticism which they established, and with th ...

(1746–1820) – German Swiss classical scholar * Johann Rudolf Wyss (1782–1830) – author, writer, and folklorist who wrote the words to the former Swiss national anthem * Charles Monnard (1790–1865) – historian and member of the Helvetic Society * Vincent O. Carter (1924–1983) – American writer, author of ''The Bern Book'' * Selma Urfer (1928–2013) – author, translator and actress *

Liselotte Pulver Liselotte Pulver (born 11 October 1929), sometimes credited as Lilo Pulver, is a Swiss actress. She was one of the biggest stars of German cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, where she often was cast as a tomboy. She is known for her hearty and joyf ...

(born 1929) – actress, well known for her hearty and joyful laughter * Bigna Francis-von Wyttenbach (1930–2021) – Swiss writer * Yves Rénier (1942–2021) – French actor, director, screenwriter and voice actor *

Lukas Hartmann Lukas Hartmann (born Hans-Rudolf Lehmann; 29 August 1944) 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 manager at ...

(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 Sibylle Canonica (born 26 April 1957) is a Swiss actress. She appeared in more than forty films since 1981. Canonica received her training at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. She played at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, the Sch ...

(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 Solothurn. She has appeared in more than thirty films since 2000. Early life Timoteo grew up dividing time between the United States and Lausanne, Switzerland ...

(born 1975) – actress * Yangzom Brauen (born 1980) – actress, activist and writer * Cleo von Adelsheim (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 Swiss artist, writer, mercenary and Reformed politician. Biography Niklaus was most likely the son of Emanuel Aleman (or Alleman), a pharmacist whose own fat ...

(–1530) – artist, writer, mercenary and Reformed politician *

Albrecht Kauw Albrecht Kauw (1621–1681) was a Swiss still-life painter, cartographer and a painter of Veduta, 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 variou ...

(1621–1681) – still-life painter, cartographer and a painter of

vedute A ''veduta'' (; : ''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 genre of landscape originated ...

* Gabriel Lory the Elder (1763–1840) – Bernese landscape painter and illustrator *

Ferdinand Hodler Ferdinand Hodler (March 14, 1853 – May 19, 1918) was a Swiss painter. He is one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century. His early works were portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings in a realistic style. Later, he ad ...

(1853–1918) – painter of portraits, landscapes and genre paintings * Lisa Wenger (1858–1941) – painter and author of children's books * Adolf Wölfli (1864–1930) – artist associated with

Art brut Art Brut is an English 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 Jean Dubuffet's definition ...

* Bertha Zuricher (1869–1949) – author, painter and engraver * Volkmar Andreae (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). Earl ...

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 Saaria ...

(1924–2017) – composer and academic * Margrit Zimmermann (1927–2020) – pianist, composer, conductor and music educator * Mani Matter (1936–1972) – singer-songwriter * Roland Zoss (born 1951) – songwriter and novelist, lives on the

Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; ; ), 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 after Aeolus, the mythical ruler of ...

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 f ...

(born 1956) – singer, yodeler and actress *

Patricia Kopatchinskaja Patricia Kopatchinskaja (born March 1977) is a Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist. Biography Early life Kopatchinskaja was born in Chișinău, in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Moldova). She comes from a family of musicians. H ...

(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 Sa ...

Luca Hänni Luca Hänni (born 8 October 1994) is a Swiss 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 non-G ...

(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 (1716–1780) – agronomist, a wealthy merchant, economist, and lawyer * Franz Rudolf Frisching (1733–1807) – Bernese patrician, officer, politician, founded the Frisching Faience Manufactory *

Rodolphe Lindt Rudolf Lindt (16 July 1855 – 20 February 1909), often known by his francized name Rodolphe Lindt, was a Swiss chocolate maker, chocolatier and inventor. He founded the Lindt brand of Swiss chocolate and invented the conching machine and other ...

(1855–1909) – chocolate manufacturer, founded the Lindt chocolate factory * Marianne Alvoni (born 1964) – fashion designer

Sport

* Elia Alessandrini (1997–2022), footballer, prospect player for the

Switzerland national football team The Switzerland national football team (, , , , ) represents Switzerland in men's international Association football, football. The national team is controlled by the Swiss Football Association. Switzerland's best performances at the FIFA Worl ...

, died from drowning in Oman * 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 old Belgian noble family of German origin . The Head of the House is styled as Duke of Ursel, while other members are styled as Count/Countess of Ursel. History The Ursel family roots are in S ...

, competed at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948 (; ), were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the ...

* Tanja Frieden (born 1976), snowboarder and gold medallist at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

* Guerino Gottardi (born 1970), a retired Swiss-Italian footballer, almost 250 club caps * Otto Hess (1878–1926), pitcher for the Cleveland Bronchos 1902 and 1904–08 and

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

1912–15 * Maurizio Jacobacci (born 1963), Italian-Swiss football manager and former player *

Roman Josi Roman Josi (born 1 June 1990) is a Swiss professional ice hockey defenceman and captain of the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Josi was drafted 38th overall by the Predators in the 2008 NHL entry draft. Growing up in S ...

(born 1990), professional ice hockey player, selected to play for Switzerland at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

* Arnold Käch (1914–1998), military officer, skier, ski official and writer * Christian Kauter (born 1947), 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 officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

and bronze medallist at the

1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...

* Dominik Märki (born 1990), Swiss curler, living in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, bronze medallist in the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

* Jürg Marmet (1927–2013), mountaineer, part of the first two-man Swiss team which climbed

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

in 1956 * Benoît Musy (1917–1956), racing driver and motorcycle racer * Maja Neuenschwander (born 1980), long-distance runner who competes in marathon races * Jennifer Oehrli (born 1989), football goalkeeper, member of the

Switzerland women's national football team The Switzerland women's national football team represents Switzerland in international Women's association football, women's football. Playing their first match in 1972, Switzerland did not enter their first major tournament until 2015 FIFA Wom ...

* Mirjam Ott (born 1972), retired curler, captain of the Swiss Olympic Curling Team * Kris Richard (born 1994), racing driver * Markus Ryffel (born 1955), 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 commonly 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 ...

Akira Schmid Akira Schmid (born 12 May 2000) is a Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender for the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the fifth round, 136th overall, in the 2018 NHL entry dr ...

(born 2000), professional ice hockey goaltender with the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

* Ernst Schmied (1924–2002), mountaineer, the second successful summiteer of

in 1956 *

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 selected ...

(born 1979), football referee, on the FIFA International Referees List since 2006 *

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 signed ...

(1925–2005), former fighter pilot and international footballer, won 28 caps for his country * Christine Stückelberger (born 1947), retired equestrian, gold medallist in dressage at the

compete at six Olympics: 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000. *

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 Grasshopper Club Zurich. Playing career Born in Bern, Sutter played youth football for SC Bümpli ...

(born 1968), footballer, 351 club caps, 58 national team caps

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Online camera
* *
Bern Public Transportation Website (BernMobil)
* *
GurtenfestivalBuskers Bern
{{Authority control 1191 establishments in Europe 1190s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 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