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Founding
Founding of Bern
city in Switzerland, capital of the canton of Bern and de facto capital of Switzerland
- 1191
- Europe
Founding
city in Switzerland, capital of the canton of Bern and de facto capital of Switzerland
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Bern (Swiss Standard German: [bɛrn] ⓘ), or Berne (French: [bɛʁn] ⓘ), is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city". With a population of about 146,000 (as of 2024), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland, behind Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. 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. In 1983, the historic old town (in German: Altstadt) in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is surrounded by the Aare, 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, becoming one of its eight early cantons. Since then, Bern became a large city-state and a prominent actor of Swiss history by pursuing a policy of sovereign territorial expansion. Since the 15th century, the city was progressively rebuilt and acquired its current characteristics. Bern was made the federal city in 1848. From about 5,000 inhabitants in the 15th century, the city passed the 100,000 mark in the 1920s.
The etymology of the name "Bern" is uncertain. According to the local legend, based on folk etymology, 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 (Middle High German bër). 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. The city was sometimes referred to as Bern im Üechtland to distinguish it from Verona. As a result of the finding of the Bern zinc tablet in the 1980s, it is now more common to assume that the city was named after a pre-existing toponym of Celtic origin, possibly *berna "cleft". The bear was the heraldic animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern from at least the 1220s. The earliest reference to the keeping of live bears in the Bärengraben dates to the 1440s.
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 (peninsula) north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC (late La Tène period), thought to be one of the 12 oppida of the Helvetii mentioned by Caesar. During the Roman era, a Gallo-Roman vicus 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 4 km (2 mi) 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 (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 Frederick II.
In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming the eighth canton 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 succeeded by the Christoffelturm (formerly located closer to the site of the modern-day railway station) until 1622. During the Thirty Years' War, 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 houses, and subsequently the sandstone 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 from the surrounding countryside.
During the 18th century, the city of Bern was at one point the largest shareholder in the South Sea Company, a British joint-stock company which was involved in the Atlantic slave trade. 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.
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.
On 28 November 1848, during the revolutions that year, a majority of the new Swiss Federal Assembly deputies chose Bern as the Federal City (seat of the government) of the newly created Swiss federal state, ahead of Zurich and Lucerne. Bern was chosen as not to concentrate all the power in the economic powerhouse of Zurich, while Catholic and conservative Lucerne had been part of the Sonderbund 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 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 (31%) resident foreigners. A further estimated 350,000 people live in the immediate urban agglomeration.
Bern lies on the Swiss Plateau in the canton of Bern, slightly west of the centre of Switzerland and 20 km (12 mi) 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 864 m (2,835 ft) and Bantiger with a height of 947 m (3,107 ft). The site of the old observatory in Bern is the point of origin of the CH1903 coordinate system at 46°57′08.66″N 7°26′22.50″E / 46.9524056°N 7.4395833°E.
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 (Matte, Marzili) and the higher ones (Kirchenfeld, Länggasse).
Bern has an area, as of 2013, of 51.62 km2 (19.93 sq mi). Of this area, 9.42 km2 (3.64 sq mi) or 18.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 17.21 km2 (6.64 sq mi) or 33.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 23.76 km2 (9.17 sq mi) or 46.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.08 km2 (0.42 sq mi) or 2.1% is either rivers or lakes, and 0.14 km2 (0.054 sq mi) 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.
According to the Köppen Climate Classification, Bern has an oceanic climate (Cfb) closely bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfb).
The closest weather station near Bern is located in the municipality of Zollikofen, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of the city centre. The warmest month for Bern is July, with a daily mean temperature of 18.3 °C (64.9 °F), and a daily maximum temperature of 24.3 °C (75.7 °F). The highest temperature recorded at Bern / Zollikofen is 37.0 °C (98.6 °F), recorded in August 2003. On average, a temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) or above is recorded 40.7 days per year, and 6 days per year with a temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) or above at Zollikofen, and the warmest day reaches an average of 32.1 °C (89.8 °F).
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 52.6 centimetres (20.7 in). On average, January is the coldest month, with a daily mean temperature of −0.4 °C (31.3 °F), and a daily minimum temperature of −3.6 °C (25.5 °F). The lowest temperature ever recorded at Bern (Zollikofen) was −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F), recorded in February 1929, and typically the coldest temperature of the year reaches an average of −12.8 °C (9.0 °F) for the period of 1981–2010.
The municipality is administratively subdivided into six districts (Stadtteile), each of which consists of several quarters (Quartiere).
The Municipal Council (de: Gemeinderat, fr: conseil municipal) constitutes the executive government of the City of Bern and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councillors (German: Gemeinderat/-rätin, French: conseiller/conseillère municipal(e)), each presiding over a directorate (de: Direktion, fr: direction) comprising several departments and bureaus. The president of the executive department acts as mayor (de: Stadtpräsident/-präsidentin, fr: Le Maire). In the mandate period (Legislatur) 2025–2028, the Municipal Council is presided by Stadtpräsidentin Marieke Kruit. 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, built by architect Albrecht Stürler after 1747.
As of 2025, Bern's Municipal Council is made up of two representatives of the SP (Social Democratic Party), 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.
The City Council (de: Stadtrat, fr: Conseil de ville) 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 (Town Hall).
Text from the Wikipedia article “Bern”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.