Canton of Bern

The canton of Bern or Berne is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the de facto capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the canton, displayed on a red-yellow background.

Comprising ten districts, Bern is the second-largest canton by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it is surrounded by eleven cantons. It borders the cantons of Jura and Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the cantons of Neuchâtel, Fribourg, and Vaud. To the south lies the cantons of Valais. East of the canton of Bern lie the cantons of Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Lucerne and Aargau. The geography of the canton includes a large share of all three natural regions of Switzerland: the Jura Mountains (the Bernese Jura), the Swiss Plateau (the Bernese Mittelland) and the Alps (the Bernese Oberland).

The canton of Bern is bilingual, officially German- and French-speaking, and has a population (as of ) of . The largest city, Bern, is also the seat of the federal government of Switzerland. Other major cities are Thun and Biel/Bienne. The canton is also renowned for its numerous Alpine resort towns, notably Interlaken and Gstaad.

Formerly part of the Holy Roman Empire, the canton of Bern entered an alliance with the Swiss Forest Cantons in 1323 and joined the Old Swiss Confederacy in 1353.

==History==

Bern joined the Old Swiss Confederation in 1353. Between 1803 and 1814 it was one of the six directorial cantons of the Napoleonic Swiss Confederation.

Early prehistory

The earliest traces of a human presence in the area of the modern Canton is found in three caves in the Simmental region; Schnurenloch near Oberwil, Ranggiloch above Boltigen and Chilchlihöhle above Erlenbach. These caves were used at various times during the last ice age. The first open-air settlement in the area is an Upper Paleolithic settlement at Moosbühl in Moosseedorf. During the warmer climate of the Mesolithic period, increasing forest cover restricted the movement of hunters, fishers and gatherers. Their temporary settlements were built along lake and marsh edges, which remained free of trees due to fluctuations in water level. Important Mesolithic sites in the Canton are at Pieterlenmoos and Burgäschisee lake along with alpine valleys at Diemtig and Simmental. During the Neolithic period, there were a number of settlements on the shores of Lake Biel, the Toteisbecken (Lobsigensee, Moossee, Burgäschisee and Inkwilersee) and along rivers (Aare, Zihl). Several of these sites are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

One of the best explored Neolithic sites is at Twann (now Twann-Tüscherz). In the Twannbach delta there were about 25 Cortaillod culture and Horgen culture villages that existed between 3800 and 2950 BC. One of the oldest examples of bread from Switzerland, a sourdough from 3560 to 3530 BC, came from one of these villages.

Iron Age

thumb|Helveto-Roman settlement Bern-Engehalbinsel

During the Early Iron Age changes in climate forced the Hallstatt culture (800–450 BCE) to abandon settlements along many waterways and in the valley floors and move to the plateaus and hills. With increased trade contacts across the Alps, the cultural influence of the Mediterranean region grew in the area. Evidence of this trade include a hydria which was discovered in Grächwil. Burial rituals and social classes became more developed during this time. The so-called princely graves became more common, many of the burial mounds were over in diameter and high and richly outfitted with grave goods. In a grave mound in Bützberg the first burial in the mound was followed by several later burials. Often, several grave mounds combined to become a necropolis, such as at Grossaffoltern, Ins, Bannwil, Langenthal and Bützberg. Most of the knowledge about the Hallstatt culture in the Canton comes from graves. The only discovered settlement is around Blanche Church in La Neuveville.

The grave goods show that iron was forged into swords, daggers, spearheads, knives and wagon accessories. Gold, which was probably collected from river sand, was made into diadems, rings and pendants. Thin bronze arm, leg and neck plates with geometric designs were often buried, especially in the graves at Allenlüften in Mühleberg, at Ins and at Bützberg. The jewelry that was buried included bracelets and rings which were also made of jet and lignite coal. At Münchringen, the grave pottery was both shaped by hand or thrown on a potter's wheel, and was painted with multi-colored ornamentation.

The transition to the Late Iron Age of the La Tène culture (450−1st century BCE) is indicated by a sudden change of style in the metalworking and ceramic industries. Numerous graves (from unknown settlements), along with the two oppida at Bern-Engehalbinsel and Jensberg by Studen, mark the population centers during the late Iron Age. Gold coins (from Melchnau) along with silver and bronze coins first start to appear during this era. A sword with Greek characters that said Korisios was found at the Port site. At the oppidum at Bern-Engehalbinsel, there were studios for glass and ceramic production, and iron working achieved a high level of skill, along with craftsmen who worked in wood, leather and goldsmithing. There was a nearby place of worship in the Bremgarten wood, and cemeteries at Münsingen and Bern-Engehalbinsel.

In 1322, the brothers Eberhard II of Neu-Kyburg and Hartmann II of Neu-Kyburg started fighting with each other over who would inherit the family's lands around Thun. The fighting led to the "fratricide at Thun Castle" where Eberhard killed his brother Hartmann. To avoid punishment by his Habsburg overlords, Eberhard fled to Bern. In the following year, he sold the town of Thun, its castle and the land surrounding Thun to Bern. Bern then granted the land back to Eberhard as a fief. Bern's support of Eberhard, their resulting expansion into the Oberland and their alliance with the Forest Cantons brought the city into conflict with the Habsburgs during the 14th century. The Gümmenenkrieg in 1333 between Bern and Fribourg over rights and influence in the Sense/Singine area ended without resolving anything.

In 1334, Bern fought with the Barons of Weissenburg and occupied Wimmis and Unspunnen in the Oberland. Bern's victory allowed them to bring the Oberhasli region, its capital of Meiringen and Weissenburg under their control. Bern's continued expansion was at the expense of the feudal lords in the surrounding lands. In 1339 the Habsburgs, Kyburgs and Fribourg, marched against Bern with 17,000 men and besieged the border town of Laupen. To raise the siege, Bern raised a force of 6,000, consisting of Bernese, supported by the Forest Cantons, and other allies (Simmental, Weissenbur and Oberhasli). The allied Bernese forces were victorious at the Battle of Laupen and Bern drew closer to the Swiss Forest Cantons. It entered into a permanent or eternal alliance with Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden in 1353. This date is usually considered the date of Bern's entrance into the Swiss Confederation; however, the alliance only indirectly tied Bern to Zürich and Lucerne.

In 1358 the cash-strapped Count Peter II of Aarberg pawned the County of Aarberg to Bern. However, in 1367 he sold it, without repaying Bern, to his cousin Rudolf IV of Nidau. After Rudolf's death (1375) Bern acquired clear right to the Aarberg lands from the other heirs.

Throughout the 14th century, Bern entered into alliances and treaties with many of its neighbors, including members of the Swiss Confederation. Bern entered into a series of agreements with Biel/Bienne, which led to a conflict with Biel's ruler, Jean de Vienne, the Prince-Bishop of Basel, in 1367–68. The bishop marched south and destroyed Biel along with a number of towns in the southern Jura Mountains. During the Gugler war in 1375, there were several battles between Bernese troops and English mercenaries under Enguerrand de Coucy.

By the 1370s, the Kyburgs (which still held Thun as a fief for Bern) were deeply in debt to Bern. On 11 November 1382, Rudolf II of Neu-Kyburg made an unsuccessful raid on Solothurn. The ensuing conflict with the Old Swiss Confederacy (known as the Burgdorferkrieg or Kyburgerkrieg) allowed Bern to move against the Habsburgs in Aargau. After the Bernese laid siege to Burgdorf, Neu-Kyburg was forced to concede an unfavourable peace. Bern bought Thun and Burgdorf, the most important cities of Neu-Kyburg, and their remaining towns passed to Bern and Solothurn by 1408. The last of the Neu-Kyburgs, Berchtold, died destitute in Bern in 1417. in 1528 the Oberland rose up in resistance to the Protestant Reformation and in 1641 Thun revolted.

In the Bernese Oberland during the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century Interlaken Monastery grew to become the largest landholder in the region. The Monastery controlled the towns of Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen and numerous farms along Lake Brienz. However, in 1350 a period of crises and conflicts led to a decline in the number of monks and nuns and increasing debt. In 1348, the people of Grindelwald and Wilderswil joined a mutual defense league with Unterwalden. Bern responded with a military expedition to the Bernese Oberland, which ended in defeat for Unterwalden and its allies. By 1472, Bern was the patron of the Monastery. During the Protestant Reformation, the Monastery was secularized in 1528. The canons received a financial settlement and the properties were now managed by a Bernese bailiff. The tenants of the Monastery who had expected the abolition of all owed debts, responded by rioting, which was suppressed by Bern.

thumb|Map of the modern Canton of Vaud, which was annexed by Bern from 1536 until 1798

The lands around the northern shore of Lake Geneva and between Lake Neuchâtel were the next area into which Bern expanded. The region had originally been part of the Carolingian Empire. Then, in 1032 the Zähringens of Germany defeated the Burgundians, who were then replaced by the counts of Savoy in 1218. Under the counts of Savoy the area was given political unity, and established as the Barony of Vaud. However, as the power of the Savoys declined at the beginning of the 15th century the land was occupied by troops from Bern. By 1536 the area was completely annexed. Reformation was started by co-workers of John Calvin, including Viret, who engaged in a famous debate at the cathedral of Lausanne; but it was only decisively implemented when Bern put its full force behind it. Vaud was another French-speaking region in the mostly German-speaking canton, which caused several uprisings.

Both Château-d'Œx and Saanen were part of the county of Gruyère. Both districts had quite a bit of independence and often entered into treaties against the will and best interests of the Counts. In 1340 the Saanen valley concluded a peace treaty with the Simmental, which provided for arbitration in disputes. They entered into another treaty in 1393 with the Valais. In 1401, Count Rudolph of Gruyère entered into a treaty with Bern which included Saanen. Two years later Saanen negotiated their own alliances with Bern. Due to the Bernese alliance, Saanen sent troops, under their own banner, to support the Bernese invasions of Aargau in 1415 and Valais in 1418. The military losses and taxes following the Old Zürich War led Saanen to support the Evil League (Böser Bund) in 1445 against Bern.

thumb|left|Siege and execution of the garrison at Grandson

In 1475, during the Burgundian Wars, the mountain regions of Saanen and Pays-d'Enhaut, who were allied with Bern, attacked and burned the tower of Aigle Castle. They then gave Aigle town and the surrounding district to Bern in exchange for not having to pay one-third of their income to Bern. In the treaty of Fribourg from 1476, Fribourg received rights over the Aigle district, which they gave up to Bern in 1483. Bern rebuilt Aigle Castle in 1489 and made it the seat of the bailiwick of Aigle. Also in 1475, the Confederation attacked and captured Grandson Castle. In the next year, Charles the Bold retook the castle and executed the Bernese garrison. In 1476, at the Battle of Grandson, Charles' forces retreated and the Bernese retook Grandson. After Charles' defeat at the Battle of Murten, Grandson became a shared territory between Bern and Fribourg. Each city appointed a vogt for five-year periods. Aigle and Grandson were the first French speaking regions in the Canton of Bern.

During the Burgundian War in 1475, Saanen, together with troops from Château-d'Œx and the Simmental captured the Savoy district of Aigle for Bern. Saanen and the surrounding district enjoyed a great deal of independence during the 16th century. However, in 1555 the last Count of Gruyère lost both districts to Bern when his county went bankrupt. Bern took over the entire Saanen valley in the following year and introduced the Protestant Reformation. They incorporated the Pays-d'Enhaut with Château-d'Œx into the new Bernese district of Saanen. These offices became very lucrative as the Bernese territories grew. Patrician Landvögte, sheriffs, ruled the politically powerless countryside, often using armed force to put down peasant revolts.

In Vaud the Bernese occupation was not popular amongst the population. In 1723, Major Abraham Davel led a revolt against Bern, in protest at what he saw as the denial of political rights of the French-speaking Vaudois by the German-speaking Bernese, and was subsequently beheaded.

Napoleonic period

thumb|The Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1801

Inspired by the French Revolution, the Vaudois drove out the Bernese governor in 1798 and declared the Lemanic Republic. Vaud nationalists like Frédéric-César de La Harpe had called for French intervention in liberating the area and French Revolutionary troops moved in, taking over the whole of Switzerland itself in the process and setting up the Helvetic Republic.

In 1798, with the establishment of the Helvetic Republic, Bern was divided, the canton of Oberland with Thun as its capital and the canton of Léman with Lausanne as its capital were detached from what was left of the Canton of Bern.

Within the new canton of Oberland, historic borders and traditional rights were not considered. As there had been no previous separatist feeling amongst the conservative population, there was little enthusiasm for the new order.

Between 1803 and 1814 Bern was one of the six directorial cantons of the Napoleonic Swiss Confederation.

Modern history

With the post−Napoleonic Restoration of 1815, Bern acquired the Bernese Jura with Biel/Bienne from the bishopric of Basel, while the canton of Léman became the canton of Vaud and remained separate from Bern.

Bern still remained the largest canton of the confederacy from 1815 to 1979, when parts of the Bernese Jura broke away to form the canton of Jura. In 1994 the Laufen District was transferred to the canton of Basel-Landschaft.

Geography

thumb|View from the [[Chasseral across the Mittelland to the Bernese Alps]]

The canton of Bern is mainly drained by the river Aare and its tributaries. The area of the canton is commonly divided into six regions. The most populated area is the Bernese Mittelland on the plateau north of the Alps, with the capital city of Bern. The northmost part of the canton is the Bernese Jura bordering the Canton of Jura. The Bernese Oberland is the mountainous region which lies in the south of the canton.

The area of the canton is . Of this area, 6.9% is occupied with houses, businesses or roads. 42.6% of the canton is agricultural land, and 31.3% is forested. Less than 19.2% is considered non-productive, which includes glaciers, cliffs and lakes.

Bernese Mittelland

The Bernese Mittelland (Bernese Midlands) is made up of the valley of the rivers Aare, the (Grosse) Emme, some of the foothills of the Bernese Alps, as well as the plain around the capital Bern, and has many small farms and hilly forested regions with small to mid-sized towns scattered throughout. It is perhaps best known by foreigners and visitors for the Emmental. The classic Swiss cheese with holes Emmentaler comes from this region's forests and pastures, of hilly and low mountainous countryside in the range.

Three Lakes Region and Bernese Jura

In the north of the canton lies the predominantly French-speaking Three Lakes Region (Seeland), concentrated around Lake Biel, Neuchâtel, and Murten, which rises from the plain up to the northernmost Swiss mountain chain of the Jura. This area, culminating at the Chasseral, has more relaxed geography, although still some lower mountains and some waterfalls, and large lakes.

Bernese Oberland

thumb|[[Staubbachfall]]

The Bernese Oberland () constitute the north side of the Bernese Alps and the west side of the Urner Alps within the canton of Bern. The highest mountain in the Bernese Alps is the Finsteraarhorn at , but the best known mountains are Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.

The well known hiking and ski resorts in the eastern Oberland are located around Interlaken and the Jungfrau, such as car-free Mürren and Wengen in the Lauterbrunnen valley, and Grindelwald. Further east, in the Haslital are the Aareschlucht and the town of Meiringen, famous for the fateful scene of Sherlock Holmes's 'death' at the hands of Professor Moriarty on the nearby Reichenbach Falls. In the Western Bernese Oberland there are many other resorts and small villages catering to visitors. These are accessed from the lake town of Thun, and the most notable of them are Kandersteg with the Oeschinensee and Adelboden. Further west is the Simmental with Lenk and Zweisimmen and the Saanenland with the famous resorts Gstaad and Saanen.

The whole area is very mountainous, with steep cliffs, many glaciers, and countless waterfalls. It is renowned for its scenic beauty and the charm of the small Swiss villages that dot the area. As a result of this, tourism is one of the main sources of income in the Bernese Oberland. The region also has an extensive train network as well as many cable cars and funiculars, with the highest train station in Europe at the Jungfraujoch and the longest gondola cableway in the world from Grindelwald to the Männlichen.

Mountains in the Bernese Oberland include:

thumb|upright|[[Wetterhorn, painting by Joseph Anton Koch, 1824]]

{| border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0

|- valign=top

| width=33% |

Finsteraarhorn –
Jungfrau –
Mönch –
Schreckhorn –
Eiger –
Wetterhorn –
Blümlisalp –
Sustenhorn –
Wildhorn –
Schilthorn –

Government

thumb|The Grand Council, the cantonal parliament

The Grand Council of Bern (/) is the parliament of the canton of Bern. It consists of 160 representatives elected by proportional representation for four-year terms of office. The French-speaking part of the canton, the Bernese Jura, has 12 seats guaranteed and 3 seats are guaranteed for the French-speaking minority of the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne.

The Executive Council of Bern (/) is the government of the canton of Bern. This seven-member collegial body is elected by the people for a period of four years. The cantonal constitution reserves one seat in the Executive Council for a French-speaking citizen from the Bernese Jura.

The canton has a two-tiered court system, consisting of district courts and a cantonal Supreme Court (, ). There is also an administrative court (; ) as well as other specialised courts and judicial boards.

Political subdivisions

thumb|Districts of the canton of Bern

On 1 January 2010, the 26 districts (Amtsbezirke) were combined into 10 new districts (Verwaltungskreise):

Bern-Mittelland with capital Ostermundigen, made up of all or part of the former districts of Bern, Fraubrunnen, Konolfingen, Laupen, Schwarzenburg and Seftigen
Biel/Bienne with capital Biel/Bienne, made up of all of the former district of Biel and about half of the former district of Nidau
Emmental with capital Langnau im Emmental, made up of all or part of the former districts of Burgdorf, Signau and Trachselwald
Frutigen-Niedersimmental with capital Frutigen, made up of all or part of the former districts of Frutigen and Niedersimmental
Interlaken-Oberhasli with capital Interlaken, made up of all or part of the former districts of Interlaken and Oberhasli
Jura bernois with capital Courtelary, made up of all or part of the former districts of Courtelary, Moutier and La Neuveville
Oberaargau with capital Wangen an der Aare, made up of all or part of the former districts of Aarwangen and Wangen
Obersimmental-Saanen with capital Saanen, made up of all of the former districts of Obersimmental and Saanen
Seeland with capital Aarberg, made up of all or part of the former districts of Aarberg, Büren, Erlach and Nidau
Thun with capital Thun, made up of all of the former district of Thun

Demographics

The canton of Bern is bilingual: () both German (85.1% of the population) and French (10.4%) are spoken. The German-speaking majority speaks Bernese German, a Swiss German dialect. French-speakers live in the western and northern part of the canton, the Bernese Jura. Both German and French are spoken in the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne. In the cantonal government and administration, both languages are official languages of equal standing.

In December 2020, Bern had a population of . In 2014, 15.0% of the population were resident foreign nationals. From 2010 to 2014, the population increased at a rate of 3.0% annually. In 2000, most of the population spoke German (804,190 or 84.0%) as their first language; French was the second most common (72,646 or 7.6%) native language and Italian was the third (18,908 or 2.0%). There were 688 people who speak Romansh. Of the population in the canton, 292,559 or about 30.6% were born in Bern and lived there in 2000. There were 339,659 or 35.5% who were born in the same canton, while 154,709 or 16.2% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 129,864 or 13.6% were born outside of Switzerland.

There were 454,000 private households in the canton in 2014, and an average of 2.2 persons per household. The vacancy rate for the canton, , was 1.19%.

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{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"

! colspan="12" | Historic Population Data The SVP received about the same percentage of the vote as they did in the 2007 Federal election (33.6% in 2007 vs 29.0% in 2011). The SPS retained about the same popularity (21.2% in 2007), the BDP moved from below fourth place in 2007 to third and the GPS moved from below fourth place in 2007 to fourth.

Federal election results

{| class="wikitable sortable" style ="text-align: center"

! colspan="16"| Percentage of the total vote per party in the canton in the federal elections, 1971–2019

! colspan="2" | Party !! class="unsortable" | Ideology !! 1971 !! 1975 !! 1979 !! 1983 !! 1987 !! 1991 !! 1995 !! 1999 !! 2003 !! 2007 !! 2011 !! 2015 !! 2019

! FDP.The Liberals

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Classical liberalism || 17.3 || 17.6 || 18.0 || 15.1 || 16.1 || 13.7 || 15.6 || 17.2 || 14.8 || 15.1 || 8.7 || 9.3 || 8.4

! CVP/PDC/PPD/PCD

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Christian democracy || 5.3 || 5.3 || 2.5 || 2.1 || 2.4 || 2.6 || 1.9 || 2.4 || 2.3 || 4.7 || 2.1 || 1.8 || 1.9

! SP/PS

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Social democracy || 31.0 || 31.0 || 30.5 || 28.3 || 22.3 || 20.0 || 24.7 || 27.6 || 27.9 || 21.2 || 19.3 || 19.7 || 16.8

! SVP/UDC

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || National conservatism || 29.2 || 27.1 || 31.5 || 29.0 || 27.8 || 26.3 || 26.0 || 28.6 || 29.6 || 33.6 || 29.0 || 33.1 || 30.0

! LPS/PLS

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Classical liberalism || * || *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| 0.3 || *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *

! Ring of Independents

| || Social liberalism || 6.3 || 4.7 || 3.1 || 3.2 || 3.6 || 2.9 || 1.9 || 0.8 || *|| *|| *|| *|| *

! EVP/PEV

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Christian democracy || 4.1 || 3.5 || 3.4 || 3.3 || 3.4 || 3.3 || 3.8 || 4.0 || 5.2 || 5.4 || 4.2 || 4.3 || 4.2

! CSP/PCS

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Christian socialism || 0.9 || 0.9 || *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *

! GLP/PVL

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Green liberalism || *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| 5.3 || 6.0 || 9.7

! BDP/PBD

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Conservatism || *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| 14.9 || 11.8 || 8.0

! PdA/PST-POP/PC/PSL

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Socialism || *|| 0.6 || 0.3 || *|| *|| 0.2 || *|| *|| *|| *|| 0.3 || 0.5 || 0.6

! PSA

| || Socialism || *|| *|| || || *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *

! POCH

| || Communism || *|| 0.5 || 1.4 || 1.6 || || || *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *|| *

! GPS/PES

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Green politics || *|| *|| *|| *|| 9.2 || 9.9 || 5.9 || 7.5 || 9.3 || 12.9 || 9.4 || 8.5 || 13.6

! FGA

| || Feminism || *|| *|| 1.1 || 2.2 || 2.6 || 2.0 || 2.5 || || *|| *|| *|| *|| *

! SD/DS

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || National conservatism || 3.7 || 3.4 || 3.6 || 6.0 || 3.2 || 6.0 || 5.5 || 3.7 || 2.7 || 1.5 || 0.6 || 0.4 || 0.4

! EDU/UDF

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Christian right || *|| 1.1 || 1.2 || 1.8 || 2.7 || 3.4 || 4.2 || 4.0 || 4.1 || 3.6 || 3.1 || 2.8 || 2.5

! FPS/PSL

| style="color:inherit;background:"| || Right-wing populism || *|| *|| *|| *|| 3.2 || 6.8 || 5.9 || 2.7 || 1.1 || 0.6 || *|| *|| *

! Separatist parties

| || || *|| 1.8 || 2.8 || 2.2 || 1.0 || 1.7 || 1.5 || *|| 1.9 || *|| *|| *|| *

! Other

| || || 0.0 || 0.2 || 0.6 || 5.2 || 2.6 || 1.2 || 0.5 || 1.6 || 1.1 || 1.3 || 3.2 || 1.7 || 3.9

! Voter participation % || || || 58.0 || 54.3 || 49.8 || 49.9 || 45.7 || 46.2 || 40.4 || 41.1 || 42.1 || 46.4 || 50.4 || 49.1 || 47.3

: FDP before 2009, FDP.The Liberals after 2009

: "*" indicates that the party was not on the ballot in this canton.

: Part of a coalition with Separatist Party

: Part of a coalition with the FGA

: Party fragmented, part remained in a coalition with the FGA and the remainder formed the Green Party of Bern

: Part of a coalition with the Green Party

Coat of arms

The blazon of the coat of arms is Gules, on a bend or, a bear passant sable, langued, armed and vilené of the field. The official blazon specifies that the tongue, claws and penis are red—and by extension it is important to always depict the bear as male.

Religion

thumb|Capital city of [[Bern with the Aare, Gothic Nydeggkirche on left]]

Most Bernese are Protestant (, 67%), and most Protestants belong to the Swiss Reformed Church, which is officially recognised as a state church (), although it is autonomous in its governance and is organised along democratic principles. The canton is also home to a great number of small Evangelical Christian denominations unaffiliated with the state church. Bernese evangelical groups are mostly found in the Emmental and Berner Oberland, where they have a long tradition; several contemporary North American religious groups, such as the Amish and Mennonites, were founded or co-founded by Bernese emigrants to the United States. Two small Evangelical political parties are represented in the Bernese cantonal parliament.

Bern features substantial Roman Catholic (16%)

From the , 607,358 or 63.5% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 153,357 or 16.0% were Roman Catholic. Of the rest of the population, there were 9,153 members of an Orthodox church (or about 0.96% of the population), there were 1,064 individuals (or about 0.11% of the population) who belonged to the Christian Catholic Church, and there were 71,233 individuals (or about 7.44% of the population) who belonged to another Christian church. There were 807 individuals (or about 0.08% of the population) who were Jewish, and 28,377 (or about 2.96% of the population) who were Muslims. There were 2,662 individuals who were Buddhist, 5,991 individuals who were Hindu and 913 individuals who belonged to another church. 74,162 (or about 7.75% of the population) belonged to no church, are agnostic or atheist, and 37,059 individuals (or about 3.87% of the population) did not answer the question.