The city of Bern was founded by Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen. He picked out the strategically spot to found a new city in 1191. He used the surrounding forests to build the first houses. Legend has it that he named the city after his first hunting kill, a bear. It first appeared in Bern`s coat of arms in 1224.
Bern expanded rapidly. In 1339 Bern defeated the united nobility of Burgundy and joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353. In 1405 disaster came upon the city. A fire broke out and destroyed most of the city. The wooden houses were replaced by sandstone buildings. A lot of these buildings still give Bern it`s monumental character nowadays. The nobility of Bern stood their ground and survived several revolts. In 1798 the city was invaded by the French, led by Napoleon. In 1814 Bern was forced to surrender some of its territories. This was ordered by the Congress of Vienna.
In 1848 Bern was chosen as the federal capital of the new Swiss federal state. During World War I, Bern was a neutral place and was a hub of politically progressive ideas. In 1864 the medieval Christoffelturm was demolished and made way for Bern`s railway station. In the twentieth century the expansion of Bern kept going. The size of the population peaked in the 1960's. During the twentieth century a lot of new districts appeared. Bumpliz became a place where foreign immigrants settled. In 2009, 22% of the inhabitants in Bern have a foreign background. The population of the city is decreasing since its peak.
The BearPark - From 1513 until 1857 bears have been kept in the city of Bern itself, but now they can be found along the banks of the River Aare in The BearPark.
Official website: Baerenpark-bern.ch
Address: Grosser Muristalden 6, 3006 Bern
The Cathedral of Bern - When the city of Bern grew they started in 1421 with building a bigger church. After some reformations the Cathedral is the largest late Gothic building in Switzerland.
Official website: Bernermuenster.ch
Address: Münsterplatz 1, Postfach 532, 3000 Bern 8
The Rose Garden - Since 1913 visitors can enjoy the 220 different types of roses and other flowers.
Address: Alter Aargauerstalden 31b, 3006 Bern
Bern Historical Museum - Multiple temporary and permanent exhibitions such as the Albert Einstein exhibition can be found in the Bern Historical Museum.
Official website: Bhm.ch
Address: Helvetiaplatz 5, CH-3005 Bern
Botanic Garden - The parc was founded in 1859 especially for study purposes and now thousands of plant species from around the world can be found here.
Official website: Botanischergarten.ch
Address: Altenbergrain 21, CH - 3013 Bern
