33 Sights in Bern, Switzerland (with Map and Images)
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Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in Bern, Switzerland! Whether you want to discover the city's historical treasures or experience its modern highlights, you'll find everything your heart desires here. Be inspired by our selection and plan your unforgettable adventure in Bern. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.
Sightseeing Tours in BernActivities in Bern
The Käfigturm is a Baroque tower in Bern, Switzerland. It is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site of the Old City of Bern and the tower is a Cultural Property of National Significance. The original tower was built as a gate house during the second expansion of Bern in 1256. The tower was demolished in 1640 and completely rebuilt immediately thereafter.
The Old City is the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. Built on a narrow hill bordered on three sides by the river Aare, its compact layout has remained essentially unchanged since its construction during the twelfth to the fifteenth century. Despite a major fire in 1405, after which much of the city was rebuilt in sandstone, and substantial construction efforts in the eighteenth century, Bern's old city has retained its medieval character.
The Bärengraben, or Bear Pit, is a tourist attraction in the Swiss capital city of Bern. It is a bear pit, or enclosure housing bears, situated at the eastern edge of the old city of Bern, next to the Nydeggbrücke and the River Aar. Although still in use, the Bärengraben has been supplemented since 2009 by the adjacent BärenPark, a larger and more natural enclosure alongside the River Aar.
The Zytglogge is a landmark medieval tower in Bern, Switzerland. Built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as a guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial.
Bern Minster is a Swiss Reformed cathedral in the old city of Bern, Switzerland. Built in the Gothic style, its construction started in 1421. Its tower, with a height of 100.6 m (330 ft), was only completed in 1893. It is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland and is a Cultural Property of National Significance.
6. Federal Palace - House of Parliament
The Federal Palace is a building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Federal Council (executive). It is the seat of the government of Switzerland and parliament of the country. The building is a listed symmetrical complex just over 300 metres (980 ft) long. It is considered one of the most important historic buildings in the country and listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Assets of National Importance. It consists of three interconnected buildings in the southwest of Bern's old city. The two chambers of the Federal Assembly, the National Council and Council of States, meet in the parliament building on Bundesplatz.
7. Trinity Church
The Holy Trinity Church of Bern is a Roman Catholic basilica located at Taubenstrasse 6 in Bern, Germany. The Holy Trinity Church was built between 1896 and 1899 on the initiative of the theologian and art historian Jakob Stammler, who worked in Bern from 1876 to 1906 as a Catholic parish priest and then as bishop in the diocese of Basel. It was named a minor basilica on 6 April 1956 by order of Pope Pius XII because of its importance as an "outstanding place of worship and piety...", its architectural style and its furnishings.
8. Protestant Church in Switzerland
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The PCS is not a church in a theological understanding, because every member is independent with its own theological and formal organisation. It serves as a legal umbrella before the federal government and represents the church in international relations. Except for the Evangelical-Methodist Church, which covers all of Switzerland, the member churches are restricted to a certain territory.
Wikipedia: Protestant Church of Switzerland (EN), Website, Twitter, Facebook
9. Swiss National Library
The Swiss National Library is the national library of Switzerland. Part of the Federal Office of Culture, it is charged with collecting, cataloging and conserving information in all fields, disciplines, and media connected with Switzerland, as well as ensuring the widest possible accessibility and dissemination of such data.
10. Kornhausbrücke
The Kornhausbrücke is a road bridge in Bern, Switzerland. It spans the river valley of the Aare and connects the old town in District I with the northern districts of Altenberg, Spitalacker and Breitenrain in District V.
11. Schützenbrunnen
The Schützenbrunnen is located in Marktgasse in the old town of the city of Bern and belongs to the main group of fountains in Bern, which was created between 1542 and 1546. The fountain was moved several times and rotated in 1939.
12. Zentrum Paul Klee
The Zentrum Paul Klee is a museum dedicated to the artist Paul Klee, located in Bern, Switzerland and designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano. It features about 40 percent of Paul Klee's entire pictorial oeuvre.
13. Historical Museum of Bern
The Bern Historical Museum is the second largest historical museum in Switzerland. It was designed by the Neuchâtel architect André Lambert and built in 1894. Since it was initially conceived as the Swiss National Museum, the architect took as his model various historic castles from the 15th and 16th centuries. An extension to the original museum building was completed in 2009.
14. Kleine Schanze
The redoubts, consisting of the Great and Small Redoubts, are part of Bern's last city fortifications in the west of the old town from the 17th century. When they were no longer used for defence, they were transformed into parks in various stages.
15. Saint Paul's Church
St. Paul's Church is a Reformed Church in Bern, Switzerland built by Swiss architect Karl Moser from 1902 to 1905 in an Art Nouveau style. It a cultural property of national significance in Switzerland and one of the best examples of Art Nouveau in the country. The bell tower is 36 m high and contains 5 bells. The facade of the church features a relief sculpture with a representation of the Apostle Paul with a sword. The stained glass windows are by the artist Max Laeuger from Lörrach. The interior features blue and green hues, with rich gold decoration painting.
16. Synagogue
The synagogue of Bern was built in 1905 in the so-called Moorish style and solemnly inaugurated on 10 September 1906 by Rabbi Martin Littmann (1864–1945) in the presence of delegations from the larger sister communities, the authorities, the city clergy, the citizens' council and the University of Bern. It was built according to plans by Eduard Rybi, who, together with Ernst Salchli, had also designed St. Ursula's Church.
17. Glasbrunnen
The Glass Fountain is a captured spring in the Bremgarten Forest, one of the local recreation areas on the territory of the municipality of Bern, and owned by the Burgergemeinde Bern. The fountain is also a field name, a crossroads of forest paths, a meeting place and a place of pilgrimage for esotericists.
18. Volkshaus
Since 1893, the organized workers of the city of Bern have gathered in the Volkshaus Bern on Zeughausgasse. The stock corporation of the same name was founded in 1905 with the purpose of operating the Volkshaus. In 1914, the new reinforced concrete building, built according to plans by the architect Otto Ingold, was opened. Since its renaming to Hotel Bern in 1981 and its complete renovation until March 1983, the house with its well-preserved façade in the neoclassical style has been run as a business and seminar hotel.
19. Untertorbrücke
The Untertorbrücke is a stone arch bridge that spans the Aare at the easternmost point of the Enge peninsula in the city of Bern, Switzerland, connecting the Mattequartier in the Old City to the Schosshalde neighbourhood. Built in its current form in 1461–89, it is the oldest of Bern's Aare bridges, and was the city's only bridge up until the middle of the 19th century. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
20. Ka-We-De
The Ka-We-De, short for artificial ice rink and wave pool Dählhölzli, is an artificial ice rink and an outdoor swimming pool in the Bernese district of Kirchenfeld-Schosshalde in Switzerland. It borders directly on the Dählhölzli Zoo and the former US Embassy. From 1933 to 1967, the ice stadium was the home ground of SC Bern from the National League A, which won two Swiss championship titles.
21. Swiss Federal Archives
The Swiss Federal Archives are the national archives of Switzerland. Additionally, the cantons have official archives of their own. The building and its collections are a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
22. Heiliggeistkirche
The Church of the Holy Ghost is a Swiss Reformed Church in Bern, Switzerland. The Swiss heritage site of national significance building is located at Spitalgasse 44 in the Old City of Bern. It is one of largest Swiss Reformed churches in Switzerland.
23. Bärenplatzbrunnen
The Bärenplatz fountain is located in the middle of the Bärenplatz in the city of Bern. It is one of the non-figurative Bernese fountains of the 18th and 19th centuries. When the fountain was moved to the square in 1901, a group of bears was added. This was replaced in 1935 by a figure of a rice runner with a bear.
24. SAPA Foundation
The SAPA Foundation, the Swiss Archive of the Performing Arts, preserves and disseminates Switzerland's cultural heritage in the field of performing arts. The SAPA Foundation operates three offices in Bern, Lausanne and Zurich.
Wikipedia: Stiftung SAPA, Schweizer Archiv der Darstellenden Künste (DE), Website
25. Klingendes Museum Bern
The Klingende Museum Bern is a music museum in the Swiss city of Bern, specializing in historical wind instruments. It was initially opened in 2017 as the "Musical Collection" and presents a permanent exhibition, a study collection and special exhibitions.
26. Lenbrunnen
The Lenbrunnen is the oldest surviving spring fountain in the city of Bern. It is located in Bern's old town in the house at Postgasse 68, entrance via the State Chancellery or Lenbrunnengässli. The fountain is no longer in operation and is not open to the public. However, it can be visited freely during the office hours of the State Chancellery.
27. Untertorturm
The Felsenburg is a fortified castle and tower in the city of Bern, Switzerland. It is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site of the Old City of Bern and, together with the adjacent Untertorbrücke, it is a cultural property of national significance
28. Anna Seiler Fountain
The Anna-Seiler-Brunnen is a fountain on Marktgasse in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland. It is a Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance and is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Old City of Bern.
29. Neubrücke
The Neubrügg or Neubrücke is a covered wooden bridge over the river Aare between the village of Kirchlindach and Bern in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
30. Lindenbrunnen
The Lindenbrunnen, today also known as the Zeughausgassbrunnen, is located in the Zeughausgasse in the old town of Bern. It is one of the non-figurative Bernese fountains of the 18th and 19th centuries.
31. Museum of Communication
The Museum of Communication is an interactive museum dedicated to the subject of communication in Bern, Switzerland. In 2019 it was awarded the Council of Europe Museum Prize. It was founded in 1907 as the corporate museum of Swiss Post, the national postal service of Switzerland. The restructuring of the museum into a foundation of Swiss Post and Swisscom led to a broadening of the overall theme and a new name, the Museum of Communication. The latest incarnation of the museum, which opened its doors with a redesigned permanent exhibition in 2017, is focused completely on its visitors.
Wikipedia: Museum of Communication Bern (EN), Website, Facebook
32. Gewerbeschule
The gibb Vocational School Bern is the largest vocational school in Switzerland. It offers both basic vocational training and the vocational baccalaureate. In addition, various continuing education courses are offered, including higher technical schools (HF).
Wikipedia: Gewerblich Industrielle Berufsschule Bern (DE), Website
33. Natural History Museum of Bern
The Natural History Museum Bern is a natural history museum in Bern. It is one of the most important natural history museums in Switzerland. It is visited by up to 131,000 people annually and works closely with the University of Bern in teaching and research. Among the most famous objects of the house are the legendary rescue dog Barry, the giant crystals from the Planggenstock and the collection of African animals of the big game hunter Bernhard von Wattenwyl. Its historical dioramas of native and African animals made the museum internationally famous in the 20th century. The museum is also a research institution with a focus on meteorite research, paleontology, cynology, malacology, herpetology and arachnology.
Wikipedia: Naturhistorisches Museum der Burgergemeinde Bern (DE), Website, Website
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