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The city of Berne or Bern ( 1, 2, 3, Romansh: Berna 4, Bernese German: Bärn 5) is the Bundesstadt (federal city, de facto capital) of Switzerland and, with 128,041 people (agglomeration: 344,000 / metropolitan area: 660,000), the fifth most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich, Geneva, Basel and Lausanne) and the forth most populous urban area (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel).
The official language of Berne is German. The local Swiss German dialect is Bernese German, spoken by most of the inhabitants. Due to the presence of a large part of the federal administration, several embassies and a fair number of immigrants, the other national languages and many others may be heard in the streets.
Berne also functions as the capital of the Canton of Berne, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons.
The German-born physicist Albert Einstein worked out his theory of relativity while employed as a clerk at the Berne patent office.
History
main: History of Berne
The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aar. Initially, the Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345, which, in turn, was then succeeded by the Christoffelturm (located close to today's train station) until 1622. During the time of the Thirty Years' War two new fortifications, the so-called big and small Schanze (entrenchment), were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula. The protection by these edifices was sufficient for the prosperous growth of the city of Berne up to the 19th century.
A number of congresses of the socialist First and Second Internationals were held in Berne, particularly during World War I when Switzerland was neutral. (See Berne International.)
Geography
The city was originally built on a hilly peninsully surrounded by the river Aar but outgrew these natural boundaries in the 19th century. A number of bridges were built to allow the city to grow beyond the Aar.
Berne is built on very uneven ground. There are several dozens of meters in height difference from the quarters on the Aar (Matte, Marzili) to the higher ones (Kirchenfeld, Länggasse).
Subdivisions
The municipality is administratively subdivided into six districts (Stadtteile), each of which consists of several quarters (Quartiere).
Politics
City Hall Berne is governed by an 80-member legislative council (Stadtrat) and a 5-member executive council (Gemeinderat).
