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March 2002

Bern

David Aaronson
2005-09-27 19:57:50

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The city of Bern sits on a small promontory carved out by a U-shaped bend in the Aare river. The result is a series of long narrow parallel cobblestone streets crowded by high contiguous buildings, like these (1). The prominent clock here is the Zeitglockenturm. On the hour, a bunch of mechanical figures to the right of the lower clock do a variety of things. It's not worth waiting very long to see it, but if you do, the rooster is clearly the highlight.

Bern is the capital of Switzerland and this is the Bundeshauser, or Parliament building. Despite all the cars in this picture, the center of Bern is a nightmare to drive in (2). Nearly all the roads are necessarily one-way and they seem to be designed primarily to get you out of the center of town. If you're trying to get from one part of the city center to another it can be very difficult. Ultimately though, all of Bern's attractions can be seen easily on foot as nothing is very far from the clock tower in the center.

From across the river you can actually see how large the government complex is. Switzerland is a confederation of 23 cantons and is strongly decentralized. The President serves only a one-year term and is always replaced by the Vice-President (who is then replaced from the federal assembly). Furthermore the President doesn't actually have any special authority over the federal council. Towns in some cantons, notably Appenzeller, hold an annual meeting of all citizens and take voice votes on any legislative issues.

Dominating the skyline of Bern as the tallest building in Switzerland is the Munster (cathedral). This is the panel above the main door depicting the Last Judgement - on the left is heaven and on the right is hell (3). The gold figure with the sword is the archangel Michael. All 170 of the small figures in the center panel are originals from the 15th century.

The Munster is rather elaborate. ...