Bern, Switzerland

In May of 2024 I went on a European road trip with my son & his family.  We visited 9 countries on our trip.  One of the cities we toured was Bern, Switzerland.  Bern, which means bear in German, is said to have been named after a bear that was hunted by the city's founder.

Zytglogge

My very favorite thing about Bern is the clocktower, or Zytglogge, which is in the old city center, located at the end of Kramgasse. Kramgasse & Gerechtigkeitsgasse are streets that connect at Kreuzgasse (a cross-roads street) in Bern's old city center, and these streets date back to 1191.  Cars cannot drive on Kramgasse without a special permit.  When we visited, tourists filled the streets, shopping, eating, and waiting for the clock tower to make another performance.  You can read about the clock tower, the Zytglogge on their official website here:

Zytglogge 

Every hour on the hour people gather around the Zytglogge to watch the bears, jester, golden rooster, and Cronos perform their show.

The Zytglogge in Bern

This is the east side of the Zytglogge

The west side of the Zytglogge

walking down Marktgasse toward the Zytglogge

Berner Munster

The Bern Cathedral is the largest church in Switzerland and dates back to 1421.  Their official website is here:  Bern Cathedral

Approaching the Bern Cathedral

The "Mosesbrunnen" or Moses Fountain

This sculpture is of the Virgin Mary and the body of Jesus Christ by Tscharner

Baren Park

The Bear Park in Bern is another fascinating place that we visited while walking through Bern.  Their official website is here:  Bear Park

We walked across the Nydeggbrucke (bridge) towards BarenPark and we could see the bears playing on the hill near the Aare River.  Then we walked along the top of the park and looked down at several bears.  It is free to watch them.  

If you look closely, you can see bears on the slope

You can see people above the bear park, looking down at them from the fenced path, and people below the bear park, who can also look up at the bears from their fenced path.

My grandson admiring the view of the bears from the bridge

The Aare River and the bear park as viewed from the Nydeggbrucke

You can't see the names very well, but names were on the cobblestones of the walkway.  I'm assuming these were names of patrons who helped pay for walkway of the bear park

View from the fenced pathway above of the bear park

My grandson posing with a bear and a pig at the bear park

Beautiful view of the Aare River and Switzerland from above the Bear Park.

This sculpture of a tightrope walking bear is by Carlo Lischetti.  It's called "The Balancing Bear"

Exploring the City of Bears

walking back up Munstergasse towards the Bern Cathedral

This is a game of Nine Men's Morris, a popular street game in Bern

My grandsons really enjoyed the bears everywhere!

Walking on Bundesplatz

walking the old city streets of Bern

The Parliament Building, or Bundeshaus, in Bundesplatz.  The square turns into a giant fountain

Cantonal Bank of Bern, also in Bundesplatz

Barenplatzbrunnen is a drinking fountain near Bundesplatz

This restaurant is right next to the Barenplatzbrunnen water fountain

Piazza Italia in Bern

Omega Boutique

walking under the Zytglogge from the west side to the east side

under the Zytglogge

The Zahringerbrunnen fountain (it is a bear wearing a helmet)

The Statue of Lady Justice on top of the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice) 

Of all the places my grandsons could have chosen to eat in Bern, they wanted to eat at Burger King!

Rudolf von Erlach Statue near the Bern Theater

Kirche Saint Peter & Paul

The Church of Saint Peter and Paul was built in 1864 and is a Catholic Church.  It is located at Rathausgasse 2, 3011 in Bern.  

The Kornhausbrucke

This bridge is near the Bern City Theater and crosses the Aare River.  It was built in 1898.

View of the Kornhausbrucke

Bern Theater and Colorful Giraffe

Dahlholzli is the colorful giraffe in front of the city theater.  Its four colors represent the opera, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, drama, and dance.  The official website for the theater is here:  Stadttheater

Here is a short video of our time in Bern, at the Bear Park and at the Zytglogge, although we weren't there on the hour so didn't catch the full performance of the clock:

Bern Switzerland