Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. Bern is the Bundesstadt, federal city and de facto capital of Switzerland. Bern is the fourth city by number of inhabitants after Zurich, Geneva and Basel. The official language of Bern is German.
According to the local legend, based on folk etymology, the founder of the city of Bern, vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, and this turned out to be a bear. Based on the legend, the bear is today the heraldic animal of the seal and coat of arms of Bern. Bern offers a great variety of things to do. A visit to the BearPark, is a special experience for children as well as adults.Today, the bear pit and interconnected 6,000 square metres of enclosure house four brown bears: Byörk and Finn and their two cubs, born in December 2009, Ursina and Berna.
The Clock Tower (Zytglogge) was Bern's first western city gate and is now one of Bern's most important sights. This enormous clock was built in 1530 and used to measure travel distance, as well as time. The Cathedral (Münster) is Bern's most impressive example of Late Gothic architecture. The basilica with its three naves rises above Bern's Old Town. It is a Swiss Reformed cathedral, the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, with a height of 100.6 m (the tower).
The Parliament Building is the seat of the Swiss government and the parliament. Opposite the parliament building is a public market where there are traditional Swiss food products. In the old town the tourist can see numerous public fountains found at regular intervals in the middle of the street, dating from the 16th century and crowned with statues representing biblical scenes or concepts such as justice.
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