Bern Audio guided walking tour 1h50 and 23 audio commentary

Here is the cathedral of Bern! Or more precisely the collegiate church of St. Vincent in Bern. It is the largest religious building of the late Middle Ages in Switzerland. In the 15th century, Bern was the most important city north of the Alps and had no cathedral.

You will soon realize that water is everywhere in Bern and that the city is dotted with beautiful fountains. Already in the 13th century, the city had many water points. The supply was via the underground creek which supplied wells and cisterns.

Here is one of the most famous fountains in Bern, known in French as the Ogre Fountain. I can't tell you his full name in German, but his translation literally means the fountain of the devour of little children. Lovely.

Right next to the Grain Hall, you have the Municipal Theater of the City of Bern. This neo-Baroque opera house opened in 1903, built by architect René Von Wurstemberger and financed by a private company.

The imposing building, which you see in front of you, is the old Grain Hall, built in the 1710s. Grains were stored there to have a reserve in case of war or famine.

Here it is, the magnificent clock tower of Bern! The Zytglogge, in Bernese patois. Every full hour, the tower gives us a wonderful spectacle, that of the carousel of its figurines of the Middle Ages. 3 minutes before time, the chime starts, thanks to a hand-activated 16th century mechanism!

There are a lot of fountains in Bern. This one is that of Zähringen, named after the man of the same name who founded the city of Bern in 1191. It was built in 1535. The original basin was octagonal.

The new fountain you see here is Samson and the Lion. It was built in 1544 by Hans Gieng and represents the biblical story of Samson killing a lion. This story comes from the Book of Judges, one of the books of the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament for Christians.

Once again we pass a fountain bearing a colorful statue. This time it is Moses. It was built in 1544, but was damaged by a storm.

The terraces of the Collegiate Church, formerly the church cemetery, are now very popular with locals and tourists alike. It is a real intergenerational meeting place between pétanque and table tennis.

You guessed it, the new statue before you is none other than the fountain of Justice. Moreover, for those who did not take German LV2, know that the street on which you walk also translates into the street of justice.

As you know, Bern is a bear town. And this iconic animal is closely linked to the history of the city. Legend has it that in 1191, Duke Berthold V of Zähringen decided to create a city to house the peasants of the surrounding area.

Here you are at the traditional viewpoint of the old town of Bern. You can see on your right the Nydegg bridge that crosses the Aare. See on the deck the four cottages located at each end.

Here you are on Helvetiaplatz, bordered by several museums. The one that looks like a castle is the Bern History Museum which traces the history of the city from the Middle Ages to the present day. There is also an exciting permanent exhibition on Einstein on the 2nd floor.

The wonderful thing about Bern is that you have regular access to places that offer panoramic views of the city. Here you are on the terraces of the Federal Palace which surround the entire building and allow you to admire the nature that surrounds the city.

You have, on your right, the Bern Casino. Opened in the 1900s, it was recently renovated with the idea of creating a social house and combining under one roof several facets of Bern’s cultural, event and culinary life.

Here you are in the Bundesplatz, opposite the Federal Government Palace. Bern is the capital of Switzerland, and it is here that the Federal Trip Tip and the Federal Assembly sit, and basically it is here that everything is decided.

This fountain is called the Anna Seiler Fountain. It was built in 1545 to replace an old fountain from the 14th century. The statue that decorates it depicts a woman filling a bowl of water with a jug and symbolizes the cardinal virtue of Temperance.

Here you are in front of one of the iconic images of Bern, its prison tower. The one you see before you is more recent, but the original was built between 1256 and 1344 to serve as a city gate and watchtower.

As you may know, Albert Einstein was born in Germany, but he came to Switzerland at the age of 16. The following year, he joined the Federal Polytechnic of Zurich where he met Mileva Maric, whom he married in 1903.

Here is the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Bern. It is the first Catholic building in the city and the episcopal seat of the Christian Catholic Church in Switzerland. It was built at the end of the 19th century, thanks to an international architectural competition.

Right next to the church, you noticed the beautiful façade of the City Inn. If you see the flag of Bern raised on the roof, it means that politicians sit inside. It is here in the Government Inn, nicknamed the Little Brother of the Federal Palace, that the seven Trip Tip members meet every week.

This pleasant shady walk follows the Aare to the large metal bridge in Kirchenfeld. The Aare is the main river in Switzerland. It originates in the Bernese Alps and flows into the Rhine in Koblenz.