Bern


Bern is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their "federal city", in German Bundesstadt, French ville fédérale, and Italian città federale. With a population of about 144,000, Bern is the fourth-most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerland's cantons.
The official language in Bern is German, but the most-spoken language is an Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Bernese German.
In 1983, the historic old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Etymology

The etymology of the name "Bern" is uncertain. According to the local legend, based on folk etymology, Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, the founder of the city of Bern, vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, and this turned out to be a bear. It has long been considered likely that the city was named after the Italian city of Verona, which at the time was known as Bern in Middle High German. As a result of the finding of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980s, it is now more common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin, possibly *berna "cleft". The bear was the heraldic animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of live bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s.

History

Early history

No archaeological 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 oppidum stood on the Engehalbinsel north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC, thought to be one of the 12 oppida of the Helvetii mentioned by Caesar. During the Roman era, a Gallo-Roman vicus was on the same site. The Bern zinc tablet has the name Brenodor. 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 in the 12th century. According to 14th-century historiography, 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 Frederick II.

Old Swiss Confederacy

In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of the eight cantons of the formative period of 1353 to 1481.
Bern invaded and conquered Aargau in 1415 and Vaud in 1536, as well as other smaller territories, thereby becoming the largest city-state north of the Alps; by the 18th century, it comprised most of what is today the canton of Bern and the canton of Vaud.
The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare. The Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345. It was, in turn, succeeded by the Christoffelturm until 1622. During the time of the Thirty Years' War, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small Schanze – 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 houses and subsequently the sandstone buildings which came to be characteristic for the Old Town. Despite the waves of pestilence that hit Europe in the 14th century, the city continued to grow, mainly due to immigration from the surrounding countryside.

Modern history

Bern was occupied by French troops in 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars, when it was stripped of parts of its territories. It regained control of the Bernese Oberland in 1802, and following the Congress of Vienna of 1814, it newly acquired the Bernese Jura. 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 in 1979.
Bern was made the Federal City within the new Swiss federal state in 1848.
A number of congresses of the socialist First and Second Internationals were held in Bern, particularly during World War I 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 resident foreigners. A further estimated 350,000 people live in the immediate urban agglomeration.

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 countryside around Bern was formed by glaciers during the most recent ice age. 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 surrounded by the river Aare, 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 and the higher ones.
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, or 2.1% is either rivers or lakes, and or 0.3% is unproductive land.
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, Bern has a humid continental climate closely bordering on an oceanic climate.
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 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 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, each of which consists of several quarters.

Government

The Municipal Council constitutes the executive government of the City of Bern and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councillors, each presiding over a directorate comprising several departments and bureaus. The president of the executive department acts as mayor. In the mandate period 2017–2020 the Municipal Council is presided by Stadtpräsident Alec von Graffenried. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the City Council are carried by the Municipal Council. The regular election of the Municipal Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Bern allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipal Council. Contrary to most other municipalities, the executive government in Berne is selected by means of a system of Proporz. The mayor is elected as such as well by public election while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The executive body holds its meetings in the Erlacherhof, built by architect Albrecht Stürler after 1747.
, Bern's Municipal Council is made up of two representatives of the SP, and one each of CVP, GFL, and GB, giving the left parties a very strong majority of four out of five seats. The last regular election was held on 27 November 2016/15 January 2017.
Municipal Councillor
PartyHead of Directorate ofelected since
Alec von Graffenried GFLMayor's Office 2017
Reto Nause CVPSecurity, the Environment and Energy 2009
Franziska Teuscher GBEducation, Social Welfare and Sport 2013
Ursula Wyss SPCivil Engineering, Transport and Green Spaces 2013
Michael Aebersold SPFinances, Personnel and IT 2016

Dr. Jürg Wichtermann is State Chronicler since 2008. He has been elected by the collegiate.

Parliament

The City Council holds legislative power. 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.
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.
The last regular election of the City Council was held on 27 November 2016 for the mandate period from 2017 to 2020. The City Council consist of 24 members of the Social Democratic Party including 2 members of the junior party JUSO, 9 Green Alliance of Berne, 9 The Liberals, 9 Swiss People's Party, 8 Grüne Freie Liste , 8 Green Liberal Party including one member of its junior party jglp, 3 Conservative Democratic Party, 2 Christian Democratic People's Party, 2 Evangelical People's Party, 2 Junge Alternative , 2 Alternative Linke Bern, 1 Grüne Partei Bern – Demokratische Alternative , and 1 Swiss Party of Labour.
The following parties combine their parliamentary power in parliamentary groups : AL and GPB-DA and PdA, SP and JUSO, GB and JA!, GFL and EVP, glp und jglp, BDP and CVP, FDP, and SVP. This gives the left parties an absolute majority of 49 seats.

National elections

National Council

In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 28.7% of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the Green Party, the pvl, the UDC, PLR, and the BDP/PBD. In the federal election a total of 49,030 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 56%.
In the 2015 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 34.3% of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the Green Party, the UDC, and the FDP/PLR, glp/pvl, and the BDP/PBD. In the federal election, a total of 48,556 voters were cast, and the voter turnout 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 cooperation with the Austrian city Salzburg.

Demographics

Population

Bern has a population of.. About 34% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the 10 years between 2000 and 2010, the population changed at a rate of 0.6%. Migration accounted for 1.3%, while births and deaths accounted for −2.1%.
Most of the population speaks German as their first language, Italian is the second most common and French is the third. 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 and 15,092 non-Swiss men. There were 51,531 Swiss women and 13,726 non-Swiss women. 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 make up 15.1% of the population, while adults make up 65% and seniors 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.
, 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 were permanently occupied, while 5,352 apartments were seasonally occupied and 1,444 apartments were empty., 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 francs per month. The average rate for a one-room apartment was 619.82 CHF, a two-room apartment was about 879.36 CHF, a three-room apartment was about 1040.54 CHF and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 2094.80 CHF. The average apartment price in Bern was 99.4% of the national average of 1116 CHF. The vacancy rate for the municipality,, was 0.45%.

Historic population

The historical population is given in the following chart:

Colors=
id:lightgrey value:gray
id:darkgrey value:gray
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: 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: color:GE
points: color:GE
points: color:GE
points: color:GE
points: color:GE
points: color:FR
points: color:FR
points: color:FR
points: color:FR
points: color:FR
points: color:PR
points: color:PR
points: color:PR
points: color:PR
points: color:PR
points: color:PR
points: color:CA
points: color:CA
points: color:CA
points: color:CA
points: color:CA
points: color:CA
points: color:SW
points: color:SW
points: color:SW
points: color:SW
points: color:SW
points: color:SW

Religion

From the, 60,455 or 47.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 31,510 or 24.5% were Roman Catholic. Of the rest of the population, there were 1,874 members of an Orthodox church, there were 229 persons who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 5,531 persons who belonged to another Christian church. There were 324 persons who were Jewish, and 4,907 who were Muslim. There were 629 persons who were Buddhist, 1,430 persons who were Hindu and 177 persons who belonged to another church. 16,363 belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 7,855 persons did not answer the question. On 14 December 2014 the Haus der Religionen was inaugurated.

Main sights

The structure of Bern's city centre is largely medieval and has been recognised by UNESCO as a Cultural World Heritage Site. Perhaps its most famous sight is the Zytglogge, an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets. It also has an impressive 15th century Gothic cathedral, the Münster, and a 15th-century town hall. Thanks to of arcades, the old town boasts one of the longest covered shopping promenades in Europe.
Since the 16th century, the city has had a bear pit, the Bärengraben, 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, built from 1857 to 1902, which houses the national parliament, government and part of the federal administration, can also be visited.
Albert Einstein lived in a flat at the Kramgasse 49, the site of the Einsteinhaus, from 1903 to 1905, the year in which the Annus Mirabilis papers were published.
The Rose Garden, 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 master Hans Gieng. One of the more interesting fountains is the Kindlifresserbrunnen, which is claimed to represent a Jew, the Greek god Chronos, 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 is situated in Bern.
clock tower and the city's medieval covered shopping promenades

Heritage sites of national significance

Bern is home to 114 Swiss heritage sites of national significance.
It includes the entire Old Town, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many sites within and around it. Some of the most notable in the Old Town include the Cathedral which was started in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, the Zytglogge and Käfigturm towers, which mark two successive expansions of the Old Town, and the Holy Ghost Church, which is one of the largest Swiss Reformed churches in Switzerland. Within the Old Town, there are eleven 16th-century fountains, most attributed to Hans Gieng, that are on the list.
Outside the Old Town the heritage sites include the Bärengraben, the Gewerbeschule Bern, the Eidgenössisches Archiv für Denkmalpflege, the , the Thunplatzbrunnen, the Federal Mint building, the Federal Archives, the Swiss National Library, the Historical Museum, Alpine Museum, Museum of Communication and Natural History Museum.

Culture

Theatres

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

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

Fairs

Bern was the site of the 1954 Football World Cup Final, a huge upset for the Hungarian Golden Team, who were beaten 3–2 by West Germany. The football team BSC Young Boys is based in Bern at the Stade de Suisse Wankdorf, which also was one of the venues for the European football championship 2008 in which it hosted 3 matches.
FC Breitenrain Bern, founded in 1994, also play in Bern.
SC Bern is the major ice hockey team of Bern which plays in the PostFinance Arena. They compete in the National League, the highest league in Switzerland. The team has ranked highest in attendance for a European hockey team for more than a decade. The PostFinance Arena was the main host of the 2009 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, including the opening game and the final of the tournament.
The PostFinance Arena was also the host of the 2011 European Figure Skate Championships.
Bern Cardinals is the baseball and softball team of Bern, which plays at the Allmend
Bern Grizzlies is the American football club in Bern and plays at Athletics Arena Wankdorf.
Bern was a candidate to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, but withdrew its bid in September 2002 after a referendum was passed that showed that the bid was not supported by locals. Those games were eventually awarded to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
RC Bern is the local rugby club 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 course that at one time hosted the Swiss Grand Prix.
Bern Bears is an NGO Basketball Club since 2010 in city of Bern.
The Swiss Grand Prix was held on the Circuit Bremgarten street track from 1950-1954, with MotoGP also running their Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix from 1949 to 1954. The circuit eventually fell into disrepair after Switzerland banned motorports after the 1955 Le Mans Disaster, but they made an amendment in 2015 to host electric racing, which is how the Swiss ePrix 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 and there were 950 businesses in this sector. 135,973 people were employed in the tertiary sector, with 7,654 businesses in this sector.
the total number of full-time equivalent 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 were in manufacturing, 51 or were in mining and 6,389 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. 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, whose buildings are mainly located in the Länggasse quarter, is located in Bern, as well as the University of Applied Sciences and several vocations schools.
In Bern, about 50,418 or of the population have completed non-mandatory upper secondary education, and 24,311 or have completed additional higher education. 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, 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.
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 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 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 and 32.7% have a different mother language than the classroom language.
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

The public transport in and around Bern is operated by BERNMOBIL, which is integrated into the fare network libero with coordinated timetables, which in itself covers the area of canton of Bern and Solothurn. The fare network includes any mode of public transport, such as any kind of train, PostAuto buses, trams, buses and others. Fares are based on the number of zones crossed during a specified time and are independent of the mode of transport or the number of connections. 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.
Bern's central railway station Bahnhof Bern) is not only the central network nucleus of Bern, but also of the whole urban and inter-cantonal region. It connects the city to the urban, national and international railways network and is Switzerland's second most busy railway station.
A funicular railway leads from the Marzili district to the Bundeshaus. The Marzilibahn funicular is, with a length of, the second shortest public railway in Europe after the Zagreb funicular.
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.
Bern is also served by Bern Airport, located outside the city near the town of Belp. The regional airport, colloquially called Bern-Belp or Belpmoos, is connected to several European cities. Additionally Zurich Airport, Geneva Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg also serve as international gateways, all reachable within less than two hours by train or car from Bern.

Notable people

; Public servants, the military and the church
; Politicians and the landed gentry
; Science and academia
; Writing and acting
; Artists and painters
; Musicians
; Business
; Sports