Historic Cities · Switzerland
Bern through the ages
Bern, or Berne, is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city". With a population of about 146,000, 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 in 1500
Bern of the Confederates
Bern in 1500 is a compact town-looped by the green Aare, a city-state of guilds and granaries newly refashioned in grey‑green sandstone after the great fires of the fifteenth century. This walk traces the peninsula’s arcades, market streets, the Zytglogge’s painted clock, the rising Münster and the bear enclosures beside the river, following the lanes that lead traders and packhorses toward the alpine passes.
From the Aare’s rim the old town reads as a tight ribbon of stone: low rooflines of grey‑green sandstone, continuous covered arcades shielding shopfronts, and a handful of tall civic towers—Zytglogge and the unfinished Münster choir—piercing the skyline. Streets run long and narrow along the ridge; wooden trough‑fountains mark crossings; the river’s green loop, timber quays and riverside workshops set a constant, working foreground to the compact masonry town.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
Bremgarten View → Matte Quay → Nydegg Bridge → Nydegg → Bärengraben → Nydeggstalden → Münsterplatz → Berner Münster → Spitalgasse → Kramgasse → …
Step inside — 12 interiors
Tannery Loft · Bridge Guardroom · Bear House Chamber · Masons' Lodge Hall · Nave beneath Scaffolds · Clothier's Shop under Lauben · Upper Granary Floor · Council Hall · Tower Prison Cell · Clock Loft and Wheels · Jack Figures Workshop · Guildhall Dining Hall
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Bern.
Bern in 1750
Patrician Bern
Bern in 1750 is a compact, patrician-run republic whose authority is written into carved stone, painted fountains and the sober fronts of town palaces. The walk moves from the river's horseshoe bend into the arcaded main streets, past the truncated Munster tower, the granary and the corn market, and finishes on a nearby hill that looks back over the orderly rows of shutters and cobbles.
The Old City sits on a narrow Aare peninsula of warm sandstone buildings and continuous arcades whose allegorical fountains are painted bright above their columns. Rooflines are low and steep; wooden shutters hang in regular ranks; the Minster's tower remains a truncated stump. Streets are cobbled and narrow, pierced by prominent clock and gate towers. Goods arrive by boat on the river; bears live in a small pit below the eastern bridge, a civic emblem in stone and life.
The walk — 22 streets, squares and views
Engehalbinsel Approach → Nydeggbrücke → Nydegg Quarter → Bärengraben (Bear Pit) → Nydeggstalden → Marktgasse → Kramgasse → Zytglogge → Käfigturm → Gerechtigkeitsgasse → …
Step inside — 13 interiors
Nydegg Church Nave · Bear-Keeper's Shelter · Great Butchers' Hall · Arcade Cellar Shop · Zytglogge Clockroom · Käfigturm Guardroom · Carved Choir Stalls · West Vestibule Beneath Tympanum · Council Chamber · Granary Hall · Corn Market Exchange · Erlacherhof Salon · Infirmary Ward
Planned from the Wikipedia record: History of Bern.
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