Editing Bern (section)

== Main sights ==
[[File:Bundeshaus_Bern_2009,_Flooffy.jpg|thumb|The central building of the Federal Palace of Switzerland]]
[[File:4377 - Bern - Kindlifresserbrunnen am Kornhausplatz.JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.45|The Ogre of the Kindlifresserbrunnen has a sack of children waiting to be devoured.]]

The structure of Bern's [[Old City (Bern)|city centre]] is largely [[medieval]] and has been recognised by [[UNESCO]] as a Cultural [[World Heritage Site]]. Perhaps its most famous sight is the ''[[Zytglogge]]'' (Bernese German for "Time Bell"), an elaborate medieval clock tower with moving puppets. It also has an impressive 15th century [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] cathedral, the ''[[Münster (Bern)|Münster]]'', and a 15th-century town hall. Thanks to {{convert|6|km|0|abbr=off}} of arcades, the old town boasts one of the longest covered shopping promenades in Europe.

Since the 16th century, the city has had a bear pit, the ''[[Bärengraben]]'', at the far end of the [[Nydeggbrücke]] to house its heraldic animals. The four bears are now kept in an open-air enclosure nearby, and two other young bears, a present by the Russian president, are kept in [[Dählhölzli]] zoo.<ref>{{cite news|title= City of bears receives Russian bruins|newspaper= swissinfo.ch|date= 16 September 2009|url= http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/City_of_bears_receives_Russian_bruins.html?cid=1008832|access-date= 13 July 2010|archive-date= 5 January 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120105171617/http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/City_of_bears_receives_Russian_bruins.html?cid=1008832|url-status= live}}</ref>

The Federal Palace ([[Federal Palace of Switzerland|Bundeshaus]]), built from 1857 to 1902, which houses the [[Swiss Federal Assembly|national parliament]], government and part of the federal administration, can also be visited. [[Albert Einstein]] lived in a flat at the [[Kramgasse]] 49, the site of the [[Einsteinhaus]], from 1903 to 1905, the year in which the [[Annus Mirabilis papers|''Annus Mirabilis'' papers]] were published. The Rose Garden (''Rosengarten''), from which a scenic panoramic view of the medieval town centre can be enjoyed, is a well-kept Rosarium on a hill, converted into a park from a former cemetery in 1913.

There are [[List of fountains in Bern|eleven Renaissance allegorical statues]] on public fountains in the Old Town. Nearly all the 16th-century fountains, except the [[Zähringerbrunnen|Zähringer fountain]], which was created by [[Hans Hiltbrand]], are the work of the [[Fribourg]] master [[Hans Gieng]]. One of the more interesting fountains is the [[Kindlifresserbrunnen]] (Bernese German: ''Child Eater Fountain''), which is claimed to represent a Jew,<ref>[http://www.bern.ch/stadtrat/sitzungen/archiv/1998/980514n.pdf City Council of Bern minutes of the 14 May 1998 5:00PM session] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213224744/http://www.bern.ch/stadtrat/sitzungen/archiv/1998/980514n.pdf |date=13 February 2012 }} accessed 23 November 2008 {{in lang|de}}</ref> the Greek god [[Chronos]], or a [[Swabian-Alemannic-Fastnacht|Fastnacht]] figure meant to frighten disobedient children.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://digibiblio.unibe.ch/digibern/Chopin/Engine/Systematik/viewer.asp?KatalogID=1&ImgNum=285&ImgCount=8&RecordNr=18 |title=Hofer, 281 |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707004313/http://digibiblio.unibe.ch/digibern/Chopin/Engine/Systematik/viewer.asp?KatalogID=1&ImgNum=285&ImgCount=8&RecordNr=18 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Bern's most recent sight is the set of fountains in front of the Federal Palace. It was inaugurated on 1 August 2004. The [[Universal Postal Union]] is situated in Bern.

[[File:The Zytglogge clock tower.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Zytglogge]] clock tower and the city's medieval covered shopping promenades (''Lauben'')]]

=== Heritage sites of national significance ===
Bern is home to 114 Swiss [[Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance|heritage sites of national significance]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch/internet/bs/de/home/themen/kgs/kgs_inventar/a-objekte.html |title=Kantonsliste A-Objekte |year=2009 |website=KGS Inventar |publisher=Federal Office of Civil Protection |language=de |access-date=25 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628110559/http://www.bevoelkerungsschutz.admin.ch/internet/bs/de/home/themen/kgs/kgs_inventar/a-objekte.html |archive-date=28 June 2010}}</ref>

It includes the entire [[Old Town of Bern|Old Town]], which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many sites within and around it. Some of the most notable in the Old Town include the [[Bern Minster|Cathedral]] which was started in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, the [[Zytglogge]] and [[Käfigturm]] towers, which mark two successive expansions of the Old Town, and the [[Church of the Holy Ghost, Bern|Holy Ghost Church]], which is one of the largest [[Swiss Reformed Church|Swiss Reformed]] churches in Switzerland. Within the Old Town, there are eleven [[List of fountains in Bern|16th-century fountains]], most attributed to [[Hans Gieng]], that are on the list.

Outside the Old Town the heritage sites include the Bärengraben, the [[Gewerbeschule Bern]] (1937), the [[Eidgenössisches Archiv für Denkmalpflege]], the {{ill|Kirchenfeld, Bern|de|Kirchenfeld (Bern)|lt=Kirchenfeld mansion district}} (after 1881), the [[Thunplatzbrunnen]], the [[Swissmint|Federal Mint]] building, the [[Swiss Federal Archives|Federal Archives]], the [[Swiss National Library]], the [[Historical Museum of Bern|Historical Museum]] (1894), [[Alpine Museum of Bern|Alpine Museum]], [[Museum of Communication Bern|Museum of Communication]] and [[Natural History Museum of Bern|Natural History Museum]].