The picturesque unknown capital of Switzerland retaining a provincial atmosphere - Old City of Berne 267
What and Why
With such a picturesque landscape, arcades and water fountains in the Old Town (German: Altstadt), the city of Bern is easily one of Switzerland's (Schweiz) most beautiful towns. Since its foundation in the early 12th century CE, the city has always brimmed with a provincial town atmosphere while carrying the important title of the de facto capital of the country. With this backdrop, it is almost incomprehensible that most people do not know that Bern is the capital of Switzerland, although technically speaking according to the Swiss Constitution (Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft), the Switzerland and its confederation intentionally has no official 'capital', but Bern has all governmental institutions such as the Federal Assembly (Bundesversammlung) and other organs. This is easily considered one of the best kept tourist secrets of Switzerland.
Although fortified settlements were established since antiquity, the mediaeval city proper was founded by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen (Herzog Berthold V, von Zähringen) in the late 12th century CE. The city then joined the Swiss Confederacy (Corpus Helveticum), becoming one of its eight founding cantons. In 1848 CE, the city was chosen as the newly Swiss Federation (Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft) as the federal city. Bern was chosen in purpose ahead of Zürich and Lucerne (Luzern) to avoid concentration of economic and religious power.
Bern is also very famous for being the city of fountains. Around the Old Town there are more than 100 ornate fountains or cisterns going all the way to the 16th century CE. Many of them still stand in the middle of the road and just spotting them is a joy by itself.
Toponymy
Legend has it that when Berthold V founded the city, he vowed to name the city after the animal he next hunted. It turned out he hunted a bear (Bär) and hence the name started with Bärn and eventually became Bern. The city's coat-of-arms has featured a bear since the 13th century CE and it started keeping bears in the Bärengraben since the mid-15th century CE.
Recent development of etymological research shows however that the city name may have derived from the Celtic word '*berna' meaning 'cleft' or 'opening' which refers to the river Aare flowing around Bern.
See
Federal Assembly Building (Bundeshaus)
The neo-classical Federal Assembly (Bundeshaus) building sits on the cliff overlooking the river Aare. As one can see from the outer facade, the building is not that old at 120 years old, as compared to other European counterparts, but it is still considered one of the most important historic buildings in Switzerland.
The building is actually open for public visit. Unfortunately during our visit, it coincided with a parliamentary session and hence we could not invite ourselves into the building.
Bärenplatz
The Bärenplatz, literally meaning the 'bear place' can be considered the central hub of Bern's Old Town with the Bundehaus located just adjacent to it. The place as it suggests was where they used to keep the Bern bears inside a pit, but was moved to Bärengraben in the mid-19th century CE due to the city expansion.
The place is landmarked with the Baroque tower Käfigturm. Käfigturm means the 'caged tower' was built in the mid-13th century CE and it is so named as it was used as the city prison. In a drastic turn of events, today the tower has become a meeting forum on discussions on democracy, freedom and political engagement.
Marktgasse
The Marktgasse is the main tourist centre of Bern which runs between the Käfigturm to the Zytglogge. The street was documented as early as mid-13th century CE. The street is probably recognised as Bern's main shopping area with beautiful arcades lined with shops.
Along Marktgasse, one will definitely notice the many impressive fountains which form an essential part of Bern's image, as picture above. Bern is a city surrounded by the river Aare and hence water is aplenty. Hence Bern has over 100 fountains supplying its citizens not only with potable water but an important gathering spots all around the city. Men and women met around any of Bern's fountains to socialise or conduct businesses. This has become a very important social element of the city since these fountains were made during 16th century CE. It is no surprise that all these fountains still sit in the middle of the street nowadays, and many just joke that they are the world's most charming traffic blocks.
Out of the so many fountains, a number of them are of historic importance and eight of the these figures were made by sculptor Hans Gieng from Freiburg. The sculptures are magnificent examples of extravagant Renaissance art, showing the wealth and prosperity of the city then. In Markgasse the most celebrated of all fountains must be Anna-Seiler-Brunnen, the founder the city's first hospital, and Schützenbrunnen, the marksman sculpture.
Zytglogge
The most recognised landmark of Bern, the Zytglogge, is a mediaeval astronomical clock tower located at the end of Marktgasse. Built during the 13th century CE, the name itself comes from Bernese German which translates to German as 'Zeitglocke' meaning 'time bell'. As a result of multiple renovations however, especially the major one in 1770 CE, the clock tower retains very little visible trace of its mediaeval roots, it looks more contemporary Baroque with some continental flair.
The two big clockfaces on the top, one facing east and facing west are standard large clock. the only particular thing is that the golden sun is pivoted so that it is always facing up. The smaller astronomical clock is usually the one that attracts attention. Without going into too much details, it indicates on one single face, the time of the day, the time of sunrise and sunset, the lines of the horizon, the length of daylight, the zodiac, the day of the week, the moon phase. The painted frieze above the astronomical clock shows the five deities from Ptolemaic cosmology, corresponding to both a day of the week and a planet: Saturn with sickle and club for Saturday (Latin: diēs Sāturnī), Jupiter with thunderbolts for Thursday (Old Norse: Þórsdagr) meaning 'Thor's Day', Mars with sword and shield for Tuesday (Latin: dies Martis), Venus with Cupid for Friday (Old English: frīġedæġ) meaning the 'Frig's day' with the Nordic goddess Frigg associated with Venus, and Mercury with staff and bag for Wednesday (Latin: dies Mercurii).
The bellworks on the side of the astronomical clock chime every hour with figures of clown, chicken and bear in the mechanical rotary procession. However when we were there they did not seem to be moving, to the disappointment of the gathering crowd.
At the bottom of the tower houses a public male toilet which looks fairly open.
Near the Zytglogge stands a gruesome fountain called the Kindlifresserbrunnen, meaning 'fountain of child-eater', again sculptured by Gieng. There is no definitive interpretation on the message behind the sculpture, with suggestions ranging from the ogre being Jews eating children; to the small children representing the eight cantons of Switzerland and the ogre representing Switzerland's enemy.
Kramgasse
The Kramgasse, literally the 'grocers' alley' is the principal streets in the Old Town and has been the centre of urban actions ever since. Its slightly curved streets and corresponding Baroque building arcades combine to produce an impressive streetscape. The street is honed by Zähringerbrunnen fountain, which is a memorial of a full-armoured space-suit like Berthold V with a cub.
Along Kramgasse is home of Bern's most celebrated resident Albert Einstein, the Einsteinhaus. Einstein was resident during his employment in the Swiss Patent Office (Schweizerisches Patentamt), now Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (Eidgenössisches Institut für Geistiges Eigentum) where he developed his theory of relativity. As an ardent follower of Einstein's work, to be honest the exhibits are not very impressive.
Bern Minster (Berner Münster)
The Bern Minster (Berner Münster), formerly called Münster Sankt Vinzenz, is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland and dominates the Bern skyline with its whopping 100 m tall tower. It is the latest building of the Old Town as it was only completed in 1893 CE, although construction of the cathedral began in the mid 15th-century CE. The cathedral is considered a splendid example of German Gothic (Gotik) architecture. Unfortunately we did not spend to much time there and during the visit the cathedral was partially under renovation and the tower was inaccessible.
Bern Townhouse (Berner Rathaus)
The Bern Townhouse (Berner Rathaus) is the city's council building since mid-14th century CE. The iconic staircase facade-cum-tower was only added to the sandstone building in the early 17th-century CE. At the courtyard stands the Vennerbrunnen fountain, which represents an important military-political title during mediaeval Switzerland.
Bärengraben
As mentioned above, there is a long tradition and connexion between Bern and bears, and the first bears were brought to Bern in the early 16th century CE when a live bear was brought to the city as a war booty from the victory of the Battle of Novara (Italian: Battaglia di Novara). The bear was kept in the moat in front of Käfigturm, which later became Bärenplatz. Clearly the bear pit moved a number of times and is now settled at Bärengraben, literally meaning 'bear pit' in German.
The current park called the Bärenpark, is a 6,000 m2 area along the river so that the three bears, namely Finn, Björk and Ursina can enjoy the full view of Bern and the river Aare. The park has become the bears' natural habitat. There is now even a transparent funicular called BäreBähnli which connects the upper viewing platform with the lower Aare promenade. By the way, bears hibernate and hence they do not walk around from November to March.
Expectedly there are constant animal activists around the area protesting against the park.
Buy and Do
Bundesplatz market (Bundesplatzmarkt)
There is a very good and colourful market at Bundesplatz selling very good Swiss produce and handicrafts. Things are not cheap in Bern.
Eat and Drink
Rösti
The national dish of Switzerland is rösti, which orginates from Bern. It is simple a pancake made from shredded sautéed potatoes and was supposed to be a breakfast meal but is now taken all day long. It is largely eaten in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and unsurprisingly dissed by the French-side, although Bern really sits at the border between the French and German side.
Emmental cheese (Emmentaler Käse)
From Bern, we drove to the nearby city of Emmen to visit the Emmentaler Schaukäserei, the factory for the famous Emmental cheese, as this is one of my favourites. The cheese an authentic Swiss cheese and is mild-taste and medium soft and of course is famous for its multiple holes, called eyes, within. The eyes are simply accumulation of carbon dioxide bubbles produced during fermentation, and are definitely not restricted to Emmental. As a matter fact previously cheesemakers would try to avoid these eyes but now in a reverse of fortune, Emmental cheesemakers would ensure these eyes be there and be distributed evenly around the cheese. The Emmental cheese has now achieved appellation d'origine protégée (AOP) meaning this cheese and its ingredients must come from the surrounding region, including Bern.
The tour inside the factory is a Disney-type animation tour and is very entertaining. Next to the factory, there is a small demonstration farm with cows constantly being milked. Definitely worth a visit and a great experience for my son.
Getting There and Around
The Old Town is best accessed by simply walking. From Bundesplatz to Bärengraben it would take a leisurely 30-minute walk from end-to-end, passing through a number of the fountains. The city is well connected by tramways running along the main thoroughfares of inside the city as well.
We were on a road trip in Switzerland and obviously we drove to Bern. Just to note that we are continuing our journey in the German-speaking part of Switzerland.
UNESCO Inscription
Founded in the 12th century on a hill site surrounded by the Aare River, Berne developed over the centuries in line with a an exceptionally coherent planning concept. The buildings in the Old City, dating from a variety of periods, include 15th-century arcades and 16th-century fountains. Most of the medieval town was restored in the 18th century but it has retained its original character.
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