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Bern

1191 establishments in Europe12th-century establishments in Switzerland1350s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire1353 establishments in Europe14th-century establishments in the Old Swiss Confederacy
BernCanton of BernCantonal capitals of SwitzerlandCapitals in EuropeCities in SwitzerlandCultural property of national significance in the canton of BernFree imperial citiesMunicipalities of the canton of BernPopulated places on the AareUse British English from January 2014Wikipedia pages move-protected due to vandalismWorld Heritage Sites in Switzerland
Central Bern from north
Central Bern from north

Bern (Swiss Standard German: [bɛrn] (listen)) or Berne is the de facto capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city". With a population of about 133,000 (as of 2022), Bern is the fifth-most populous city in Switzerland, behind Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000.Bern is also the capital of the canton of Bern, the second-most populous of Switzerland's cantons. The official language is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Bernese German. In 1983, the historic old town (in German: Altstadt) in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is notably surrounded by the Aare, a major river of the Swiss Plateau. Although fortified settlements were established since antiquity, the medieval city proper was founded by the Zähringer ruling family, probably in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen. Bern was made a free imperial city in 1218 and, in 1353, it joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of its eight early cantons. Since then, Bern became a large city-state and a prominent actor of Swiss history by pursuing a policy of sovereign territorial expansion. Since the 15th century, the city was progressively rebuilt and acquired its current characteristics. Bern was made the Federal City in 1848. From about 5,000 inhabitants in the 15th century, the city passed the 100,000 mark in the 1920s.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bern (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Bern
Kornhausplatz, Bern

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Wikipedia: BernContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 46.948055555556 ° E 7.4475 °
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Address

Kornhausplatz

Kornhausplatz
3011 Bern (Stadtteil I)
Bern, Switzerland
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Central Bern from north
Central Bern from north
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Kindlifresserbrunnen
Kindlifresserbrunnen

The Kindlifresserbrunnen ([kɪntliˈfʁɛsɐˌbʁʊ.nən], Swiss German for "Child-Eater Fountain") is a painted stone fountain at the Kornhausplatz (Granary Place) in Bern, Switzerland. It is one of the Old City of Bern's fountains from the 16th century. It was created in 1545–1546 by Hans Gieng to replace a wooden fountain from the 15th century. The new fountain's original name was Platzbrunnen (Plaza Fountain); the current name was used first in 1666. Kindli is a Swiss German diminutive for the German word Kind, meaning child. A literal translation of the name Kindlifresserbrunnen therefore would be "Fountain of the Eater of Little Children". The fountain sculpture depicts a seated ogre devouring a naked child. Placed at his side is a bag containing more children. Because the ogre is wearing a pointed hat resembling a Jewish one, it has been speculated about the possibility of the ogre being the depiction of a Jew as an expression of blood libel against Jews. Another theory is that the statue is the likeness of Krampus, the beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved. According to other theories it is a depiction of the Greek god Cronus eating his children or the Roman Saturn eating the months, though Cronus should have six and Saturn twelve rather than the sculpture's eight. Another theory is that it represented Cardinal Schiner who led the Swiss Confederation into several bloody defeats in northern Italy. An alternative theory is that it is a depiction of the older brother of Duke Berchtold (founder of Bern) who it is claimed, was so incensed by his younger brother's overshadowing of him that he collected and ate the town's children but such an incident is not recorded in Bern's history books. A final theory is that it is just a carnival character intended to frighten disobedient children.Another theory is the eight children depict the eight cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy and the Ogre is an enemy (possibly Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy) trying to gobble the cantons up. This would match with the fountain's base which shows a frieze of armed bears going to war, including a piper and a drummer. The frieze may have been designed by Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch.The Kindlifresserbrunnen is an important object in the novel L'ogre (The Ogre) by Jacques Chessex.