BERN (SWITZERLAND)

Bern, capital of Switzerland, lies along a narrow loop of the Aare River. 
The existence of the castle of Nydegg probably led Berthold V, duke of Zähringen, to found Bern in 1191 as a military post. 
After the extinction of the Zähringen dynasty (1218), Bern became a free imperial city, and extended its power by acquiring surrounding territory, becoming an independent state that in 1353 entered the Swiss Confederation. 
After a devastating fire ravaged the predominantly wood-built town in 1405, Bern was rebuilt with sandstone.
Although much of the surrounding metropolis has since been modernized, the centre (Old Bern) still remains intact from that period.
Bern was the scene of a disputation in 1528 between Roman Catholics and Reformers that led to its acceptance and subsequent championship of Protestant doctrines. In the 18th century Bern governed 52 territories, and its patricians exercised considerable power. The whole system of Bernese patrician government was swept away by the French in 1798; it was partially revived in 1815 but ended in 1831. 
Bern became the political capital of the #Swiss Confederation in 1848.
Old Bern, connected by several bridges to newer parts of the city on the right bank, preserves more of its medieval appearance than any other Swiss city.