Grüezi / Guete Tag (Bernese German)
How locals say hello in Bern
May–September (mild summers, long arcaded walks in any weather)
Bern's 6km of covered arcades (Lauben) mean you can walk the entire old city without an umbrella in any weather. The city's bear symbol is everywhere — don't miss the Bear Park by the river.
Duke Berthold V founded Bern in 1191 on a peninsula in a sharp bend of the Aare river — a naturally defensible position that still defines the city's shape today. Legend holds the city was named after the first animal hunted there: a bear. Bern joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353 and grew into its de facto capital by the 19th century, though Switzerland's federal structure means it holds the title 'federal city' rather than official capital. Its remarkably preserved medieval old town, with sandstone arcades and fountains unchanged since the 16th century, earned it UNESCO World Heritage status in 1983.
Albert Einstein developed his Special Theory of Relativity while working as a patent clerk in Bern in 1905. His apartment at Kramgasse 49 is now a museum.
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