In Bern, Switzerland

February 28, 2009 · Posted in Carnival, Switzerland, sightseeing 

Bern has one of the most beautifully preserved inner-cities that I have seen in Europe.
Bern Inner CityUNESCO designated the entire inner city a World Heritage site in 1983. When looking at the city center from atop the Rose Garden, this is what I imagined European cities look like: an inner core of antique-shingled rooftops, puffing with chimneys, disguising the cobblestone pathways underneath. Seeing the skyline from afar reminds me of the Chimney Sweep scenes in Mary Poppins.


The city is composed of a maze of arcade passageways and cellar bars, a sight to see during the city’s Carnival period, called Fasnacht.

Bern’s Carnival kicks off a week after others traditionally do. This is because, it’s explained to me, that one of the Popes once said that Sundays during Lent don’t count towards the 40 day period before Easter, and Bern is one of the cities that maintained this calendar.

Bern’s Carnival has its roots in medieval times, but like many Carnivals, was outlawed by authorities in later centuries for being too debaucherous. The Bern Carnival slowly made a comeback through the 1800s, but its modern incarnation developed only in 1982.

Bern Bear<
Now, the events begin with the liberation of the bear from the city’s town hall tower. The bear, a symbol of Bern and metaphor for all the wildness unleashed during Carnival, is set free to rule the city’s streets and imagination for three days.

Day parades give way to street fairs, where roving bands appear one after another on numerous street stages.

Bern Street Band

Bern Street Band

The streets are crowded well into the night, making it difficult to wake up in the morning. But do so, to see the views along the Aar river and from a cable car that journeys into Gurten mountain.

Aar River and Gurten Mountain

Aar River and Gurten Mountain

Benjamin Thomas

Benjamin Thomas

« Barcelona – Montpelier – Geneva – Bern| Bern to Basel »

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