Bern

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Bern
Bern
Bärn
Top left: Historical Museum, Top right: Federal Palace, Bottom: Aerial view of Bern
Country Switzerland
Details
Canton Bern
District Bern-Mittelland adminstrative district
7°27′E / 46.95°N 7.45°E / 46.95; 7.45Coordinates: 7°27′E / 46.95°N 7.45°E / 46.95; 7.45
Population 122,925 (December 2008^[update])
  - Density 2,382 /km² (6,170 /sq mi)
Area 51.6 km² (19.9 sq mi)
Elevation 542 m (1,778 ft)
  - Highest 864 m - Gurten, Bern
  - Lowest 480 m - Aare
Postal code 3000
SFOS number 0351
Mayor (list) Alexander Tschäppät SPS/PSS
Demonym Berner
Surrounded by
(view map) Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
Website www.bern.ch
SFSO statistics

The city of Bern or Berne (German: Bern, pronounced [ˈbɛrn]  ( listen); French: Berne [bɛʀn]; Italian: Berna [ˈbɛrna]; Romansh: Berna [ˈbɛrnə]; Bernese German: Bärn [b̥æːrn]) is the Bundesstadt (federal city, de facto capital) of Switzerland, and, with about 130,000 people [1], the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities,[2] has a population of 349,000.[3] Bern is also the capital of the Canton of Bern, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons.

The official language of Bern is German, but the main spoken language is the Alemannic dialect called Bernese German, most people speak both.

The historic center of Bern has been featured in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1983, and Bern is among the world’s top ten cities for the best quality of life.[4]

History

Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen founded the city on the River Aare in 1191 and allegedly named it after a bear (Bär in German) he had killed. It was made an Imperial Free City by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in 1218 after Berthold died without an heir. In 1353 Bern joined the young Swiss Confederation, becoming a leading member of the confederation. It 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. It was occupied by French troops in 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars, when it was stripped of parts of its territories. In 1831 the city became the capital of the Canton of Bern and in 1848 it additionally became the Swiss capital.

The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare. Initially, the Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345, which, in turn, was then succeeded by the Christoffelturm (located close to today's train station) until 1622. During the time of the Thirty Years' War two new fortifications, the so-called big and small Schanze (entrenchment), were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula.

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 Berne International.)

Geography

Bern lies in the Swiss plateau within the Canton of Bern, somewhat west of the centre of Switzerland and 20 km (12 mi) north of the Bernese Alps. The landscape around Bern was formed by glaciers in the last Ice Age. The two mountains closest to Bern are the Gurten with a height of 958 and the Bantiger with a height of {947 m (3,106.96 ft) . The site of the old observatory in Bern is the point of origin of the CH1903 coordinate system at 7°26′22.50″E / 46.9524056°N 7.439583°E / 46.9524056; 7.439583.

The city was originally built on a hilly peninsully surrounded by the river Aare but outgrew these natural boundaries in the 19th century. A number of bridges were built to allow the city to grow beyond the Aare.

Bern is built on very uneven ground. There are several dozens of meters in height difference from the quarters on the Aare (Matte, Marzili) to the higher ones (Kirchenfeld, Länggasse).

Bern has an area of 51.6 square kilometers (19.9 sq mi). Of this area, 20.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 33.5% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 44.2% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (2.1%) is non-productive (rivers or glaciers).[5]

Climate

Climate data for Bern Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 2.2
(36) 4.6
(40) 8.5
(47) 12.6
(55) 17.2
(63) 20.6
(69) 23.5
(74) 22.7
(73) 19.4
(67) 13.7
(57) 7.1
(45) 3
(37) 12.9
(55)
Daily mean °C (°F) -1.2
(30) 0.5
(33) 3.7
(39) 7.3
(45) 11.5
(53) 14.9
(59) 17.3
(63) 16.4
(62) 13.3
(56) 8.6
(47) 3.1
(38) -0.3
(31) 7.9
(46)
Average low °C (°F) -3.7
(25) -2.4
(28) -0.1
(32) 3
(37) 6.9
(44) 10.1
(50) 12.1
(54) 11.7
(53) 9
(48) 5.3
(42) 0.5
(33) -2.6
(27) 4.2
(40)
Precipitation mm (inches) 66
(2.6) 58
(2.28) 70
(2.76) 84
(3.31) 108
(4.25) 121
(4.76) 104
(4.09) 113
(4.45) 84
(3.31) 73
(2.87) 81
(3.19) 67
(2.64) 1,028
(40.47)
Avg. precipitation days 10 9.8 11.3 11.6 13.7 11.8 10 10.9 8.1 8 10.1 10.2 125.5
Source: MeteoSchweiz [6] 8 May 2009

Subdivisions

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

Districts and quarters of Bern
District I Districts Quarters
District II
District III
District IV
District V
District VI

Demographics

Bern has a population (as of 31 December 2008) of 122,925.[7] As of 2007^[update], 21.7 % of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Most of the population (as of 2000^[update]) speaks German (81.2%), with Italian being second most common (3.9%) and French being third (3.6%).