Bern is the de facto capital of Switzerland, and is referred to as their (e.g., in German) Bundesstadt, or “federal city” by the Swiss. Bern is the fifth most populated city in Switzerland, with a population of 140,634. The Bern agglomeration, comprised of 36 municipalities, has a population of 406,900 people. Bern is also the capital of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland’s second most populated canton.

Bern’s medieval old town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Bern is one of the top 10 cities in the world for quality of life.

Berne, part of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1191 by Duke Berthold V von Zähringen.

Bern – Info Card

Tourism in Bern

Although Berne (German: Bern) is the headquarters of most of the Swiss confederation’s institutions, it is a small to medium-sized city with a population of around 130,000 in the city itself and over 350,000 in the metropolitan area. It is located on a peninsula created by the Aare River’s meandering twists. Berne’s old town has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its extraordinary architectural coherence. It has four kilometres of arcaded walkways along streets with fountains and clock towers.

Bern has 114 Swiss historic sites of national importance. It encompasses the whole Old Town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as several sites inside and surrounding it. The Cathedral, which was begun in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, the Zytglogge and Käfigturm towers, which mark two successive expansions of the Old Town, and the Holy Ghost Church, which is one of the largest Swiss Reformed churches in Switzerland, are among the most notable in the Old Town. The list includes eleven 16th century fountains, the majority of which are credited to Hans Gieng.

Climate of Bern

Summers in Bern last from June to September, with temperatures ranging from 20 to 25 degrees Celsius during the day and 9 to 12 degrees Celsius at night.

Winters last from December to February, with average highs of 2 °C to 5 °C and nights of -2 °C to -4 °C.

Geography of Bern

Bern is located on the Swiss plateau in the Canton of Bern, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the Bernese Alps. During the most recent Ice Age, glaciers carved out the region surrounding Bern. Gurten (864 m (2,835 ft) and Bantiger (947 m) are the two mountains nearest to Bern (3,107 ft).

The city was founded on a steep peninsula encircled by the River Aare, but by the nineteenth century, it had outgrown its natural limitations. A number of bridges have been constructed in order for the city to develop beyond the Aare.

Bern is constructed on sloping terrain. The elevation difference between the inner city districts on the Aare (Matte, Marzili) and the higher districts (Kirchenfeld, Länggasse) is several meters.

Economy of Bern

Bern had a 3.3 percent unemployment rate in 2010. In 2008, there were 259 individuals working in the main economic sector, and around 59 enterprises were active in this area. In the secondary industry, 16,413 people were employed, and 950 enterprises operated. The tertiary industry employed 135,973 people and supported 7,654 firms.

The total number of full-time equivalent jobs in 2008 was 125,037. There were 203 employment in the primary sector, with 184 in agriculture and 19 in forestry or timber industry. The secondary industry employed 15,476 people, with manufacturing accounting for 7,650 (49.4 percent), mining accounting for 51 (0.3 percent), and construction accounting for 6,389 (41.3 percent). The tertiary sector employed 109,358 people. In the tertiary sector, 11,396 or 10.4 percent worked in wholesale or retail sales or motor vehicle repair, 10,293 or 9.4 percent worked in goods movement and storage, 5,090 or 4.7 percent worked in a hotel or restaurant, 7,302 or 6.7 percent worked in the information industry, 8,437 or 7.7 percent worked in the insurance or financial industry, 10,660 or 9.7 percent worked as technical professionals or scientists, 5,338 or 4.9 percent worked in education, and 17,903 or

In 2000, the municipality had 94,367 employees who commuted in and 16,424 workers who commuted out. The municipality is a net importer of employees, with around 5.7 people coming for every one leaving. 50.6 percent of the working population utilized public transportation to go to work, while 20.6 percent drove themselves.