History of Bern

The city of Bern was founded in the late 1100s. It grew fast and by the late 1200s, it had special status under the emperor.

In 1353, Bern joined the Old Swiss Confederacy, becoming a full member.

During the 1400s, Bern grew more powerful, taking over Aargau in 1415. Later, in 1536, it took over Vaud. This made Bern very powerful and an important Protestant city in early modern Switzerland. Even after losing some areas, the canton of Bern stayed one of the largest in Switzerland.

Since 1848, Bern has been the federal city, or capital, of Switzerland.

Name

The name Bern has an uncertain origin. A local story says that Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, the founder of the city, promised to name the city after the first animal he found while hunting. That animal was a bear, which gave the city its name and symbol. However, this link between Bern and the word bear is likely just a made-up story.

Some believe the city may have been named after the Italian city of Verona, which was called Bern in old German. An old item called the Bern zinc tablet, found in the 1980s, shows that an older name, possibly Brenodor, was still known when Rome ruled the area. This older name might be related to a word meaning "gap" or "chasm" from an ancient language.

In the past, the people of Bern often used the bear as a symbol of their strength and power in the Old Swiss Confederacy. They were sometimes called mötz or motzlin, old words for "bear," and later Mutz. The city was even playfully called Mutzopolis.

Early history

See also: Early history of Switzerland

People have lived in the Aare valley since very old times, from the Neolithic period. The first known town near Bern was built around 300 to 200 BCE at a place called Engehalbinsel. This town was important to the Helvetii, a group of people written about by Caesar. There were also smaller towns close by.

After the Roman conquest, a small Roman town called a vicus was built there. It had a place for games, small temples, homes with workshops, and a bath. The town was empty for a time between 165 and 211 CE. Even after the Roman Empire ended, some people still lived in small groups near where Bern is today.

Medieval foundation of Bern

The city of Bern began in the late 1100s when Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen founded it in 1191. At that time, much of western Switzerland was under the control of the house of Zähringen. Though they did not have their own duchy, they were called dukes by the German king and had power in the area.

Berchtold V built a small castle at Nydegg to protect the area near the Aare River. The city grew from this castle, with streets laid out in a typical Zähringen style. After Berthold V died without children, Bern gained its town privileges and became an independent city-state by the late 1200s. In 1274, King Rudolph I of Germany confirmed Bern's rights, making it fully independent within the Holy Roman Empire.

Old Swiss Confederacy

See also: Old Swiss Confederacy and Early Modern Switzerland

In 1293, a king named Adolf of Germany confirmed the rights Bern had gained. After 1300, Bern acted like an independent city and grew stronger.

In 1323, Bern formed an alliance with three forest cantons: Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. In 1339, Bern’s army won a big battle against attackers.

In 1353, Bern joined the Old Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of its members.

Growth of the city-state

Bern grew to include areas like Aargau and Vaud, becoming a large city-state north of the Alps.

Development of the city

Bern started with only a few hundred people, but grew to 3,000 by 1300. The city built strong walls and replaced wooden buildings with stone ones after a fire in 1405.

Farming became important, and tanneries and leather goods were major exports.

Society and politics

Bern’s rules stayed mostly the same from 1294 until 1798. There were two groups of leaders, and over time, only a few rich families held power.

In 1528, Bern changed to Protestantism.

Modern history

In 1798, French troops took over Bern during the French Revolutionary Wars. They took away some of Bern’s land, creating a new area called the Canton of Oberland. People there were not happy with this change. Later, in 1803, the two areas joined back together again.

After the Congress of Vienna in 1814, Bern grew larger by adding the Bernese Jura. In 1848, Bern became the Federal City, where Switzerland’s main government meets. During World War I, some important meetings about workers’ rights happened in Bern. The city’s population grew over the years and reached its highest number in the 1960s.