BERN

the chief canton of Switzerland, 2660 square miles, 506,465 inhabitants (among whom the on vast majority are Calvinists), with a capital of the time same name. Kuno von Bubenberg, in the twelfth recentury, inclosed the small place Bern, in the vicinity ago of the fortre of Nydeck, with a moat and walls, It was and the Duke of Zahringen, to whom Nydeck and belonged, gave the new dty laws. Its population of was much increased in the thirteenth century. The merged lower nobility of the adjacent country fled to it for protection against the oppre ions of tiie higher, and by the were joined by the country people, and particularly the by the dtizens of Friburg and Zuridi. llie Emperor beau- Frederick II. declared it a free dty of the empire in num- 1218, and confirmed its privil^es by a diarter. as which is still preserved in the archives, in 12^S King Bern was bes i^^ by Rodolph of Hapsbui^, but not never taken; and in 1291 the dtizens the first only one-third of their number. After this victorr political the dty continued to increase, and in 1S53 entered 825,389, into the perpetual league of the Helvetic Confederacy, in whid i it held a rank inferior only to Zurich. a Until the close of that century Bern enlarged its They dominions, partly by purchase and partly by oonquo«^t part so In 1405 the greater part of the city was deetroyeil by fire, but was afterwards regularly rebuilt. The Juan long • wars with Austria, Milan, Burgundy, and George Savoy soon after broke out, firom all which the Cunand, federacy came off victorious, and in which Bern conquered Aargau. In 1528 the dtizens of Bern George, embraced the cause of the Be fon nation. In the Hasubsequent war with the Duke of Savoy they con of the quered the Pays de Yaud. The oountries gainet] They by conquest were governed l^ bailiffs, who remdi^l in mountain castles. From that time to March 5. in 1798, the prosperity and wealth of Bern was con* Btantly increasing, as may be clearly perceived from the large buiob spent for the pablic administration. At that time the canton contained above 5000 square miles, and about 380,000 inhabitants. Upon the day above mentioned 80,000 French troops marched against Bern. It was again an Erlach who led 18,000 citizens of Bern, together with 8000 auxiliary troops of the confederttbe cantons, into the field; but the memory of Morgarten, of Laupen, and Murten. no longer inspired them to victory: the troops of the confederates, on their retreat, slew their own commander. Bern for the first time opened its gates to an enemy, and lost about half of its po e ions. The northern part was united with the present canton of Aargau, and out of the south-western (Pays de Vaud) the present canton of Vaud was formed. By the decrees of the congre at Vienna) however, the g^reater part of the bishopric of Basel was joined to the canton; and according to the new aristocratic constitution of the canton, the sovereign power ia exercised by a bailiff, and the great and le er councils of the dty and republic of Bern, consisting of 200 members chosen from the city of Bern, and ninety-nine from the towns and the ooimtry. The former are chosen from the citizens over twenty-nine years old, by an elective a embly composed of the members of the le er council, and a committee of the great. The ninety-nine members from the towns and country, are chosen partly from the towns by the municipal authorities, partly from each of the twenty-two districts into which the country is divided, by elective a emblies, and partly by the greaA council. Two bailiffs preside in turn, each for the space of a year, in the great and le er councils. The former has the legislative, the latter the executive power. In 1870 Sie re/ertrulum was introduced into Bern, according to which no laws have force until they have been approved by a vote of the people after having been discu ed by the greater ooundL The northern part of the canton is hilly, with beautiful plains and valleys, and has a fertile and highly-cultivated soil, producing com, wine and fruits. Here is situated Emmenthal, one of the richest and most fertile valleys in Switzerland, whero the finest cattle are raised, and the well-known Emmenthal cheese made. Neat houses, comfortable dre es, and cheerfulne indicate the prosperity of the inhabitants of this valley. The southern part of the canton, the Oberland (Up perl and), (to which the valleys of Hasli, GrindelvaJd, Lauterbrun, Gander, Frutingen, Adelboden, Simmen, and Saanen, with numerous smaller valleys, belong), begins at the foot of the high mountain chain towards the Valais, and extends to its summit. The lower valleys produce good fruits, and are fertile and agreeable: higher up aro excellent Alpine pastures; then succeed bare rocks, extensive glaciers (the source of magnificent waterfalls), and the highest mountains of Switzerland, as the Finsteraarhom, the Shreckhom, and Wetter horn, the Eiger, the Jungfrau. The inhabitants of the Oberland live principally by raising cattle. — ^The chief trade is in linen and woollen manufactures, especially in Emmenthal. The revenues of the state amount to about 6,700,000 francs, or £228,000 sterling. The canton furnishes 5824 men to the army of the Confederacy, and contributes 104,080 Swi francs to its support. Bern (36,000 inhabitants), the capital, one of the best-built cities in Switzerland, is situated upon the declivity of a hill, on a peninsula^ washed on three sides by the Aar. The streets are, for the greater part, straight, wide, and well paved, and the houses, partly provided with piazzas, are substantially built of stone. The streets are purified by rills of water, and adorned with fountains. Among ihe public buildings are the great Gothic cathedral, built between 1421 and 1502, with a spire 190 feet high; the church of the Holy Spirit; the university, with a full equipment of profe ors in all the different faculties and arts; the handsomely built hospital, the townhouse, a Gothic edifice of the fifteenth century; the mint, where money is coined for several cantons; the com market and com magazine, for storing grain in case of scarcity; the observatoxy, the deaf and dumb institution, the infirmary, the orphan and lunatic asylums. Bern has an academy and several literary societies. The gallexy for native specimens of natural history, foimded in 1802, contains viviparous animals, birds, butterflies, insects, and plants. The pubUc library po e es great treasures, both of printed books and manuscripts. Several private persons have museums, which are generally open to strangers. Trade and commeroe are lively; the manufactures consist of woollen doth, printed Ibiens, silk stuffs, stockings, . There are few dties with finer promenades, or where they are kept in better repair. One of the favourite walks, for instance, is near the cathedral, raised at ^reat expense, and planted with four rows of trees. The side towards the Aar is 108 feet above the river, which here forms a beautiful cascade, equalling that of the Bhine at Lauff en. 172