The Old City (German: Altstadt) is the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. It is located on a narrow hill that is surrounded by the river Aare on three sides. The city's tight arrangement has stayed mostly the same since it was built between the 12th and 15th centuries. Even after a big fire in 1405, which led to rebuilding many buildings with sandstone, and major building projects in the 18th century, the Old City still looks medieval.

The Old City has Switzerland's tallest minster, along with other churches, bridges, and many Renaissance-style fountains. Besides the old buildings, the locations of the federal, cantonal, and municipal governments are also in the Old City. It became a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site in 1983 because of its well-preserved medieval center and how it blends modern elements with the old city. Many buildings in the Old City are recognized as Swiss Cultural Properties of National Significance, including the entire area.

History

The earliest people lived in the valley of the Aare during the Neolithic period. In the second century BC, the Helvetii settled the valley. After the Romans conquered Helvetia, a small Roman settlement was built near the Old City. This settlement was abandoned in the second century AD. The area remained sparsely settled until the founding of Bern.

The city of Bern was founded in 1191 by Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen. A local story says the duke named the city after the first animal he saw during a hunt, which was a bear. The city’s name (Bern) and its heraldic symbol, a bear, come from this legend. At that time, much of modern-day Switzerland was part of southern Burgundy and controlled by the Zähringer family. Though they did not have their own duchy, they were called dukes by the German king and held power south of the Rhine. To strengthen their position, they founded or expanded settlements, including Fribourg, Bern, Burgdorf, and Morat.

Duke Berchtold V chose a hilly peninsula surrounded by the Aare on three sides for the city. This location made the city easy to defend and shaped its later development. The peninsula’s long, narrow shape led to the city growing in long, parallel rows of houses. The only major cross streets (running north and south) were built along the city walls, which were later moved to allow expansion. These cross streets show the stages of the city’s growth.

On the eastern end of the peninsula, a small fort called Castle Nydegg was built by Berchtold IV in the late 12th century. Either when the fort was built or in 1191, the city of Bern was founded near the eastern end of the peninsula.

When Bern was first built, the city likely started near Nydegg Castle and extended to the Zytglogge (clock tower). The city was divided by three streets that ran from the castle to the city wall. The location of the town church and the shape of the eaves were typical of Zähringer cities.

In the first half of the 13th century, two more streets (Brunngasse and Herrengasse) were added. Brunngasse was a curved street on the north edge of the city, while Herrengasse was on the south side. A wooden bridge was built over the Aare, increasing trade and allowing settlements on the east bank of the river.

In the second half of the 13th century, the riverside part of Nydegg Castle was strengthened and connected to a new west city wall. This wall protected four streets outside the Zytglogge, known as the New City or Savoy City. The new wall included a gate called the Käfigturm (Prison Tower).

Around 1268, Nydegg Castle was destroyed, and the city expanded into the area where the castle had been. A section called Matte grew up in the southeast part of the peninsula below the main hill where the Old City was located.

For nearly a century, the Käfigturm marked Bern’s western boundary. As the city grew, people began living outside the walls. In 1344, the city started building a third wall to protect the growing population. By 1346, the wall was finished, and six new streets were protected by a wall and a gate called the Christoffelturm (St. Christopher Tower). The Christoffelturm remained Bern’s western border until the 19th century. From 1622 to 1634, additional defensive walls and strong points were built outside the Christoffelturm. These included the Grosse Schanze and Kleine Schanze (large and small redoubts) and the Schanzegraben (redoubt ditch or moat). These structures were never used for living space, though the Schanzegraben was briefly used to house the Bärengraben (bear pits).

Bern was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of its well-planned layout and the fact that the medieval city has kept its original character. Bern’s organized design and famous arcades were influenced by a disaster. In 1405, a fire destroyed most of the city’s wooden buildings. After the fire, the city was rebuilt with stone houses in a similar medieval style. Arcades were added in the 15th century as houses expanded into the streets. Over the next three centuries, houses were modified, but the key features (stone construction and arcades) remained.

In the 16th century, as Bern became a powerful city-state, public fountains were built. Some fountains had large statues, and 11 of these statues are still visible today. The fountains showed the city’s power and wealth and provided fresh water to citizens. The city remained largely unchanged for the next two centuries.

By the early 19th century, Bern had expanded as much as possible within its old walls. More people lived outside the city in nearby communities. Throughout the 19th century, modern cities grew around the Old City without destroying its medieval core. However, this growth led to several projects.

Inside the Old City, many old stone buildings were restored without changing their appearance. The bell tower of the Münster (cathedral) was completed, making it the tallest church in Switzerland. A new bridge was built across the Aare at Nydegg between 1842 and 1844. This bridge was larger than the older Untertorbrücke, which had been built between 1461 and 1487.

One major project was the removal of the Christoffelturm to open up the city’s western end. After a close vote, the tower and wall were removed in 1865. Today, the site of the Christoffelturm is a large road interchange, a bus station, and a train station.

After the Sonderbundskrieg (Separate Alliance War) in 1847, Switzerland created a federal constitution, and Bern was chosen as the capital of the new federal state. The decision to make Bern the capital was not widely supported in Bern itself (419 votes against, 313 for) due to concerns about cost. The first Bundesrathaus (Parliament House) was built between 1852 and 1857 in a New-Renaissance style. The mirror-image Bundeshaus Ost (East Federal Building) was built between 1884 and 1892. Finally, the domed Parlamentsgebäude (Par

Districts and neighbourhoods

The old city was divided into four Viertel and four Quartiere. The Viertel were the city's official administrative areas. They were created for tax and defense reasons in the 13th century and stopped being used in 1798 after the fall of the Ancien Régime in Bern.

The Quartiere were more important for daily life. They were the four traditional neighborhoods where people of similar social and economic backgrounds lived together. These neighborhoods began in the late Middle Ages, covered parts of the Viertel areas, and are still clearly visible in the city today.

The oldest and central neighborhood was the Zähringerstadt (Zähringer town). It held the medieval city's main political, economic, and spiritual buildings. These buildings were strictly separated: government buildings were near the Kreuzgasse (Cross Alley), church-related buildings were along the Münstergasse (Cathedral Alley) and Herrengasse (Lords' Alley), while guilds and merchants' shops were near the central Kramgasse (Grocers Alley) and Gerechtigkeitsgasse (Justice Alley). Junkerngasse (Junker Lane), which runs parallel to Gerechtigkeitsgasse, was originally called Kirchgasse (Church Lane) but was renamed because many patricians or untitled nobility lived on its southern side.

The second oldest neighborhood, the Innere Neustadt ('Inner New City'), was built when the city expanded westward in 1255. It was located between the first western wall, guarded by the Zytglogge tower, and the second wall, guarded by the Käfigturm. Its main feature was the wide Marktgasse (Market Alley).

In the northeast and southeast of the Aare peninsula, the Nydeggstalden and the Mattequartier formed the smallest neighborhood of medieval Bern. This area had many workshops and businesses. Medieval records mention complaints about the loud and annoying noise from machines, carts, and trade. The Matte area near the river had three man-made canals that directed Aare water to power three city-owned watermills built in 1360. In the early 20th century, a small hydroelectric plant was built there. Nearby, the busy Schiffländte (ship landing-place) allowed goods transported by boat to be reloaded.

The last neighborhood built was the Äussere Neustadt ('Outer New City'), which added the third and final layer of defense to Bern starting in 1343. All these walls, gates, and earthworks were destroyed in the 19th century, ending with the demolition of Bern's largest of three guard towers, the Christoffelturm. In late medieval times, only the four central streets had homes, while the rest of the area was used for farming and raising animals.

Significant buildings

The entire old town of Bern is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many buildings and fountains in the city are especially important and are listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance.

The Münster of Bern is a Protestant Gothic cathedral located on the south side of the peninsula. Construction began in 1421 and was completed in 1893 with the bell tower. The bell tower is 100 meters (328 feet) tall and is the tallest in Switzerland. The largest bell in the tower is also the largest in Switzerland. This bell, which weighs about 10 tons and has a diameter of 247 centimeters (8.1 feet), was made in 1611 and is rung every day. People can stand near the bell when it rings, but they must cover their ears to protect their hearing.

Above the main entrance, there is a rare collection of Gothic sculptures. These sculptures show the Christian idea of the Last Judgment, where good people are separated from bad people. There are 47 large statues that are copies (the originals are in the Bern History Museum) and 170 smaller statues that are real.

The inside of the cathedral is large and open, with few decorations. Most of the art and altars were removed in 1528 during the Protestant Reformation. These items were thrown onto the Cathedral Terrace, making it an important place for archaeologists to study. The only art that remained inside are the stained-glass windows and the choir stalls.

The stained-glass windows were made between 1441 and 1450 and are the most valuable in Switzerland. They include symbols, religious images, and a full "Dance of Death" window. This window shows a skeleton, representing death, taking people from all jobs and social classes. The "Dance of Death" reminded people that death affects everyone, no matter their wealth or position, and may have been comforting in times of disease and war.

The choir, located on the east side of the cathedral between the nave and the sanctuary, contains the first Renaissance choir stalls in Switzerland. These stalls are carved with lifelike animals and scenes from daily life.

The Zytglogge is a medieval clock tower in the Old City of Bern. It has been around since about 1218–1220 and is one of Bern’s most famous landmarks. The name "Zytglogge" means "time bell" in Standard German. A "time bell" was an early public clock that rang a small bell every hour. The Zytglogge is one of the three oldest clocks in Switzerland.

After Bern expanded, the Zytglogge was part of the city’s western walls. It was a short tower, about 16 meters (52 feet) tall, with an open back. Later, when the city expanded again, the tower was moved to the back of the wall. In 1270–1275, the tower was made taller to see over nearby buildings. After another expansion, the Zytglogge became a women’s prison, often holding women who had relationships with priests. At this time, the tower got its first slanted roof.

In the Great Fire of 1405, the tower burned completely. Repairs took until 1983 to finish. The prison cells were later closed, and a clock was added above the gate. This clock, along with a bell made in 1405, gave the tower its name. In the late 1400s, the tower was decorated with corner towers and symbols. The clock was expanded in 1527–1530. The tower also has mechanical figures that move at three minutes before each hour. These figures include a rooster, a fool, a knight, a piper, a lion, and bears. The animals move around, the fool rings bells, and the rooster caws. People often gather near the tower to watch the show.

In 1607–1610, the tower’s outside was painted by Gotthard Ringgli and Kaspar Haldenstein, who added the large clock faces on the east and west sides. The corner towers were removed before 1603. In 1770–1771, the tower was renovated by Niklaus Hebler and Ludwig Emanuel Zehnder to match Baroque style.

Both sides of the tower were painted in the Rococo style by Rudolf von Steiger in 1890. People later disliked this design, so a competition in 1929 led to new designs. The west side now has a painting called "Beginning of Time" by Victor Surbek, and the east side has a version of the 1770 design by Kurt Indermühle. The tower was fully restored to its 1770 look in 1981–1983.

The Parliament Building, known as Bundeshaus in German, is located along the southern edge of the peninsula. It covers the area where the old Käfigturm wall once stood. The building is used by the Swiss government and Parliament. It includes three parts: Bundeshaus West (built 1852–1857), the central Parliament Building (built 1894–1902), and Bundeshaus East (built 1884–1892). A fountain was added to the central plaza in 2004. The plaza has 26 water jets, one for each Swiss canton. The design won two international awards.

The central Parliament Building is designed to be visible and has large copper domes on top. The inside was decorated by 38 artists from across Switzerland. Their work focused on three themes: Swiss history, the country’s founding principles (like freedom and independence), and the diversity of Switzerland (including its geography, culture, and politics).

The two main rooms where the National Council and Council of States meet are separated by the Hall of the Dome. The dome is 64 meters (209 feet) tall outside and 33 meters (108 feet) tall inside. The center of the dome has a mosaic showing the Swiss coat of arms and the Latin phrase "Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno" (One for all, all for one). Around it are the coats of arms of the 22 cantons that existed in 1902. The coat of arms of the Canton of Jura, created in 1979, is placed outside the mosaic.

The Untertorbrücke, or Lower Gate Bridge, is the oldest bridge in Bern still in use. The first bridge, likely made of wood, was built in 1256 across the Aare River near the Nydegg Fortress. It was destroyed in a flood in 1460. A new stone bridge was built within a year. A small chapel, the Mariakapelle, was added to