Stefanie Christ
Sonja Berger
Dear Bern
A
graphic fan book about the most beautiful city in the world
Dear Bern
A graphic fan book about the most beautiful city in the world
Stefanie Christ
Sonja Berger
An infographic fan book
Some appreciate its cozy atmosphere, others its historical surroundings, and still others its cultural offerings, proximity to nature, or sports clubs: there’s no question that Bernese people love their city and like to call it “the most beautiful in the world.” “Dear Bern” explores all facets of the Swiss capital city. Learn all about its geographical features, the walking speed of its residents, the city’s flora and fauna, its special buildings, and, of course, the different types of Bern fans. Once you feel ready, you can test your knowledge of Bern in a series of puzzles!
Which Bern?
Emigrants have carried the name Bern out into the world – especially in the 18th century to the United States, where new settlements were founded with this city name. But even in Europe there is more than one place called Bern.
Bern, California
Bern, Idaho
Bern, Kansas
Bern, Gelderland NL
Bern, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Bern, Schweiz
Berne, Minnesota
Berne, Indiana
Berne, New York
Bernstadt, Kentucky
Newbern, Iowa
Newbern, Illinois
Newbern, Tennessee
Newbern, Alabama
Newbern, Virginia
Newbern, Indiana
Newbern, Ohio
New Bern, North Carolina
Bernville, Pennsylvania
Berna, Baskenland (Spanien)
Berna, Santa Fe (Argentinien)
Nuevo Berna, Pando (Bolivien)
Lat: 46° 56’ 51.3’’ (N) and Long: 7° 26’ 26.6’’ (E), these are the coordinates of Loebegge, a meeting place and department store in the heart of Bern.
Bern shares the longitude of 7° 26’’ with the German island of Baltrum, Monaco, Guelma in Algeria, Tchadoua in Niger, and the island of Príncipe (São Tomé and Príncipe).
Geographical indications
The 47th parallel runs just north of Bern and, on its journey around the world, touches Quebec City in Canada, Chișinău in Moldova, and Simushir in the Kuril Islands.
The total area of the municipality of Bern covers 51.6 square kilometers. This means that Bern would fit approximately once into the small state of San Marino or 15 times into the US city of New York.
At 542.1 meters above sea level, the city, or rather the Loebegge, is about twice as high as the Slovenian capital Ljubljana and half as high as the Brazilian capital Brasília.
Bern has 4.07 million square meters of public space, which is slightly more than the size of the English Garden in Munich.
Bern and its people
145,735: That is how many people lived in the city of Bern at the end of 2022, including 110,299 Swiss citizens and 35,436 foreigners. The 6,226 German nationals represent the largest group of foreign residents in Bern, accounting for 17.5% of the total. In second place are Italians with just under 11.1%, followed by Spaniards with 5.2%, Portuguese (3.8%), North Macedonians and Ukrainians (3.3% each), and Kosovars and Turks (3.2% each).
The age distribution in Bern is as follows:
When life draws to a close, Bern has three municipal cemeteries with a total area of 38.8 hectares and around 13,000 gravesites available.
A brief history of the city Part 1
Around 200 BC: The Celtic settlement of Brenodor is founded on the Enge peninsula. Covering 130 hectares, it is one of the largest cities in Celtic Europe and the largest of its kind in Switzerland.
Around 50 BC: Brenodor becomes Roman and is now called Brenodurum. Gallo-Roman rule begins. At its peak, up to 2,000 people live in Brenodurum.
Around 250 AD: The traces of Brenodurum are lost.
From 500 AD to the mid-11th century: Graves, fortifications, and the original Mauritius Church dating back to the early Middle Ages were found in the area that is now the Bümpliz district, indicating settlement. No such evidence has been found in what is now the city center.
1191: Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen lays the foundation stone for the city of Bern.
1208: The name Bern appears for the first time in a document. What the name refers to remains unclear to this day. Bern could refer to the heraldic animal, the bear, or have Celtic origins. According to the most famous legend, the city’s founder, Berchtold V of Zähringen, wanted to name the city after the first animal he killed in the surrounding forests. That animal is said to have been a bear.
1300–1555: Bern expands and conquers Aargau in 1415, followed by Vaud in 1536. This makes Bern the largest city-state north of the Alps.
The borders of Bern
2
1353: Bern becomes the eighth canton to join the Swiss Confederation.
1405: Great city fire. 100 people die, over 600 buildings fall victim to the flames – around a third of the built-up urban area. As a consequence, the construction of wooden sheds and stables in the city center was prohibited.
1468–1475 (with interruptions): Adrian von Bubenberg is Bern’s head of state, known as the Schultheiss. During this period, he also served as commander in the Burgundian Wars, including during the Battle of Murten.
1528: The Reformation prevails. Shortly thereafter, iconoclasm breaks out in Bern: church sculptures, paintings, and stained glass windows associated with Catholicism are destroyed.
From 1643: The patriciate begins to develop as an exclusive circle of ruling families.
From 1798: Bern is occupied by French troops. France imposes the Helvetic Republic. As a result, Vaud and Aargau become independent cantons.
1799–1802: Bern is the capital of the centralist Helvetic Republic, Helvetia.
1802: After the French retreat, the situation in the country becomes unstable, leading to an uprising known as the Stecklikrieg. The hole left by a cannonball can still be seen today on a building on Läuferplatz. The Helvetic Republic collapses.
Bern has grown steadily since its founding in 1191. The city’s boundaries have changed over the centuries:
Construction period
⁃ 12th century
⁃ 13th century
⁃ 14th century
⁃ 17th century
Anyone strolling through Bern’s main train station today will find not only the remains of the walls of the Christoffelturm tower in the basement, but also a wooden bust of Saint Christopher. The Christoffelturm tower (originally called the Obertor or Oberspitalturm) was built between 1344 and 1346 and marked Bern’s western border at the time. In the middle of the 15th century, it was raised by 10 meters and supplemented with a figure of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, after whom it was named. This figure was replaced in 1498 by a 9.7-meter-
high wooden figure and, after the Reformation in 1528, was unceremoniously reinterpreted from the Catholic St. Christopher to Goliath. Finally, in the spring of 1865, what was then Switzerland’s tallest tower at 52 meters was demolished on private initiative — an unnecessary measure in terms of urban planning. At least the people of Bern still have a reminder: the replica of the wooden head in the Christoffel underpass at the train station. The original is in the Bern Historical Museum.
1 Reichsburg Nydegg
2 Untertor (Felsenburg)
3 Ländtetor
4 Bubenbergtörli
5 Zytgloggeturm
6 Aarenturm
7 Unteres Marzilitor
8 Judentor
9 Käfigturm
10 Holländerturm
11 Frauentor
12 Predigerturm
13 Blutturm
14 Aarbergertor
15 Golatenmatttor
16 Obertor (Christoffelturm)
17 Oberes Marzilitor
18 Wächterschanze
19 Other modern fortifications (demolished)