Switzerland's federal capital and UNESCO-listed medieval city — where six kilometres of arcaded Lauben shelter the world's longest covered shopping promenade, the Zytglogge clock tower performs every hour, and Einstein developed his theory of relativity while working as a patent clerk
Bern (135,000) is Switzerland's federal capital, a compact medieval city built on a peninsula loop of the Aar River and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983 for its exceptional preservation. Six kilometres of arcaded colonnades (Lauben) run continuously through the old town — one of the longest covered pedestrian promenades in Europe — sheltering shops, cafés, and fountains below sandstone arcades that have barely changed since the 16th century. Albert Einstein lived at Kramgasse 49 from 1902–1909 and worked as a patent clerk at the Bern patent office while developing the special…
Bern was founded in 1191 by Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen — according to tradition, named after the first animal hunted nearby, a bear (Bär). The bear motif has appeared on Bern's coat of arms ever since, and a live bear park by the Nydeggbrücke bridge maintains the tradition today. The city became a free imperial city in 1218 and developed its distinctive arcade street system through the 13th–16th centuries. Bern joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353 and emerged as its informal capital after the 1848 federal constitution established the Federal Palace here — a deliberate choice of a central…