Berne, the is the Swiss capital
and capital of the canton of the same name, boasts an impressive UNESCO-listed medieval
old town - which is primarily responsible for my small-time
love affair with Bern and it now ranks as of my favorite
cities in Switzerland. Nestled
on a peninsula of the River Aare, the Old Town is an absolute
delight to spend several hours walking around.
Main sights
The Berne
Münster (Cathedral) is the largest gothic building
in Switzerland with
a 100 meter tower. Entry to the cathedral is free, but
for a few francs you can climb the tower for fantastic
views of the old town. IMO, the views from the top of
spire is worth every franc and every step up and down.
The Berne Old Town (Altstadt) is a UNESCO
listed gem and is remarkably well preserved. The
cobbled streets of the medieval old town, perched on
a pensinsular in Aare river, and the arcaded a pleasure
to simply stroll through and do a spot of shopping
(including undestreet shops) in what is supposed to
be the worlds longest collection of arcaded shopping
and is a joy to walk around.
Albert
Einsteins House in Kramgasse is of historic
importance as this is where Albert Einstein wrote
his most famous equation E = mc2 and his
Special Theory of Relativity. Einsteins Annus Mirabilis,
1905, saw five revolutionary papers written as follows:
On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production
and Transformation of Light (For this paper on the
photoelectric effect he received the Nobel Prize of
1921.)
On the Movement of Small Particles Suspended in Stationary
Liquids Required by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of
Heat (On a problem in statistical mechanics)
On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies (Special
theory of relativity)
Does the Inertia of a Body Depend upon Its Energy
Content? (Equivalence of mass and energy and the theory
which gave us E = mc2)
A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions (His
doctoral dissertation)
On the Theory of Brownian Motion (Published in 1906)
I won't bore you with the details of such theories - but
there they are.
The Clock
Tower (Zytglogge) dates from 12th / 13th
Century (1191 - 1256) marks the boundry of the citys
first expansion and the main entrance to the Old
Town from the station side. The impressive astronomical
clock on the exterior masks the towers previous varied
uses as a guard tower and prison.
The Swiss
Federal Parliament is based in Berne - in
its capacity as the Swiss Capital. The Parliament
building, also known as the Federal Palace, was built
to the designs of the architect H. Auer and inaugurated
in 1902. The two houses which form parliament sit
in seperate chambers which meet in the "Hall
of the Dome" which is decorated by various symbols
of Switzerland. The
glass dome, for example, is decorated with the coats
of arms of 22 Cantons while the Coats of Arms of
Jura is shown seperately along with the date of the
cantons accession to the Union (1978). Guided tours
of the Parliament building are available when
Parliament is not sitting.
Bear pits - the bear is the symbol of Berne and
bears are kept in the pits - albeit controversially amongst
the opinions of m'colleagues.
Berne - a short city guide
Berne, the is the Swiss capital and capital of the canton of the same name, boasts an impressive UNESCO-listed medieval old town - which is primarily responsible for my small-time love affair with Bern and it now ranks as of my favorite cities in Switzerland. Nestled on a peninsula of the River Aare, the Old Town is an absolute delight to spend several hours walking around.
Main sights
The Berne Old Town (Altstadt) is a UNESCO listed gem and is remarkably well preserved. The cobbled streets of the medieval old town, perched on a pensinsular in Aare river, and the arcaded a pleasure to simply stroll through and do a spot of shopping (including undestreet shops) in what is supposed to be the worlds longest collection of arcaded shopping and is a joy to walk around.
Albert Einsteins House in Kramgasse is of historic importance as this is where Albert Einstein wrote his most famous equation E = mc2 and his Special Theory of Relativity. Einsteins Annus Mirabilis, 1905, saw five revolutionary papers written as follows:
- On a Heuristic Point of View Concerning the Production
and Transformation of Light (For this paper on the
photoelectric effect he received the Nobel Prize of
1921.)
- On the Movement of Small Particles Suspended in Stationary
Liquids Required by the Molecular-Kinetic Theory of
Heat (On a problem in statistical mechanics)
- On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies (Special
theory of relativity)
- Does the Inertia of a Body Depend upon Its Energy
Content? (Equivalence of mass and energy and the theory
which gave us E = mc2)
- A New Determination of Molecular Dimensions (His
doctoral dissertation)
- On the Theory of Brownian Motion (Published in 1906)
I won't bore you with the details of such theories - but there they are.The Clock Tower (Zytglogge) dates from 12th / 13th Century (1191 - 1256) marks the boundry of the citys first expansion and the main entrance to the Old Town from the station side. The impressive astronomical clock on the exterior masks the towers previous varied uses as a guard tower and prison.
The Swiss Federal Parliament is based in Berne - in its capacity as the Swiss Capital. The Parliament building, also known as the Federal Palace, was built to the designs of the architect H. Auer and inaugurated in 1902. The two houses which form parliament sit in seperate chambers which meet in the "Hall of the Dome" which is decorated by various symbols of Switzerland. The glass dome, for example, is decorated with the coats of arms of 22 Cantons while the Coats of Arms of Jura is shown seperately along with the date of the cantons accession to the Union (1978). Guided tours of the Parliament building are available when Parliament is not sitting.
Bear pits - the bear is the symbol of Berne and bears are kept in the pits - albeit controversially amongst the opinions of m'colleagues.
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