Bern - Swiss Capital

Bern the capital of Switzerland is a UN world heritage site.

Bern was founded in 1191 by
Berchthold V. von Zähringen.
A legend says that he said he would name the city after the next animal he caught. So when he caught a bear (German: "Bär") the city was named Bern. Zähringen built the city in the half-circle the river Aare makes.

The city is beautiful and is a mix of old buildings and new structures. Since the city is what it was originally only changes are in the facilities available. The swiss goverment has done a good job of maintaining the old city .

bundeshaus

The old city is made on the banks of river "Aare". The old city is a site to watch in itself. The church which is visible in the backdrop on the picture below, is a huge and beautiful. I can't show you the picture right now as I forgot to take my still photography camera. But will update as soon as I find a picture of it from the internet. I am actually planning to go again. So would update this page soon (hopefully)

The city is filled with the statues of bears. I don't know if they were built far back in history under the rule of king or later by the goverment. The art work in the streets and on the buildings is beautiful. The city is made more on the lines of beauty than war, which is what one would notice in India. India has a lot of forts, here it seems less dominating probably due to the fact that Indian history is far older than European.