24 Sights in Bern, Switzerland (with Map and Images)

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.

Wikipedia: Old City (Bern) (EN)

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.

Wikipedia: Bärengraben (EN), Website

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.

Wikipedia: Bern Minster (EN), Website, Opening Hours

The Natural History Museum Bern is a natural history museum in Bern, Switzerland. Along with the institutions from Basel and Geneva, 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 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 known 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

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.

Wikipedia: Federal Palace of Switzerland (EN)

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 their 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

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

The Church of the Holy Trinity of Bern is a Roman Catholic cathedral located at 6 Taubenstrasse, Bern. The Church of Holy Trinity was founded between 1896 and 1899 and was initiated by theologian and art historian Jacob Stamler, who served as Catholic vicar in Bern from 1876 to 1906 and later as bishop in the diocese of Basel. Because of its importance as "an outstanding place of worship and piety …", its architectural style and furnishings, it was declared "an outstanding place of worship and piety" on June 6th. On April 15th, 1956, Pope Pius XII ordered. Designated as a chapel.

Wikipedia: Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Bern) (DE)

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.

Wikipedia: St. Paul's Church, Bern (EN), Website

Bern Casino, temporarily known at the turn of the century as Bern Cultural Casino, is a concert hall located at Casinoplatz 1, formerly at Herrengasse 25, in Bern and a cultural asset of national importance, KGS-Nr. 8996. From 2017 to September 2019, Bern Casino was closed and completely renovated. Since then, the hotel has had several gourmet concepts-bistro bars, salons, chef tables and guild tables-and has combined them with cultural events, the most important of which is the Bern Symphony Orchestra.

Wikipedia: Casino Bern (DE), Website

Since 2018, St. John's Church in Bremgarten near Bern has been the Roman Catholic parish church of the parish of Heiligkreuz in the parish of Bern and the surrounding area. The church, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, was built in 1972 as a branch church of the parish of Heiligkreuz by the architectural office W. Frey-A. Egger-W. Peterhans. The catchment area of the parish extends over Bremgarten, Tiefenau, Herrenschwanden, Ortschwaben, Uettligen, Meikirch, Wahlendorf and a part of Worblaufen.

Wikipedia: Johanneszentrum (Bremgarten bei Bern) (DE)

The synagogue of Bern was built from 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 Burgerrat 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.

Wikipedia: Synagoge (Bern) (DE)

The Swiss Theatre Collection (STS) documents Swiss theatre production. It consists of archive, library and museum. The STS is sponsored by the SAPA Foundation, Swiss Archives of the Performing Arts. The STS is financed by the Swiss Confederation and the University of Bern. The Swiss Theatre Collection is located on Schanzenstrasse in Bern and, as a collection, is a cultural asset of national importance, KGS no. 650.

Wikipedia: Schweizerische Theatersammlung (DE), Website

The KA-WE-de, for short ice rink and wave pool in Dählhölzli, is an artificial ice rink and an outdoor pool in the Bern district of Kirchenfeld-Schosshalde in Switzerland. It borders directly on the Dählhölzli zoo and the former American message. From 1933 to 1967 the ice stadium was the home venue of SC Bern from the National League A, which won in this two Swiss championship title.

Wikipedia: Ka-We-De (DE)

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.

Wikipedia: Bern Historical Museum (EN), Website

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.

Wikipedia: Swiss National Library (EN), Website

The glass fountain is an enclosed spring in the Bremgartenwald, 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 of esoterics.

Wikipedia: Glasbrunnen (DE)

The gibb Berufsfachschule Bern is the largest vocational school in Switzerland. It offers both basic vocational education and training and the vocational baccalaureate. In addition, various continuing education courses are offered, including higher technical colleges (HF).

Wikipedia: Gewerblich Industrielle Berufsschule Bern (DE), Website

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.

Wikipedia: Church of the Holy Ghost, Bern (EN)

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.

Wikipedia: Zentrum Paul Klee (EN)

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 quarters Altenberg, Spitalacker and Breitenrain of district V.

Wikipedia: Kornhausbrücke (Bern) (DE)

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.

Wikipedia: Anna-Seiler-Brunnen (EN)

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.

Wikipedia: Swiss Federal Archives (EN), Website

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.

Wikipedia: Neubrügg (EN)