Really Unique Sights Not to Miss in Bern Switzerland

As a university student, I lived in nearby Fribourg and often visited this city and returned a few months ago. The Bernese are proud, enlightened and open-minded. Bern is the de facto capital city, political seat and gateway to the Alps. The city is built around a bend in the Aare River and traces its origins back to the 12th century, with many examples of medieval architecture preserved in the Altstadt (Old Town). There are cities more notable but none more charming.

But there are some really bizarre sights in Bern you won’t want to miss.

First We Have the Ogre Eating the Child Fountain

Or Kindlifresserbrunnen. In Swiss German this means Child Eater Fountain. It is located at the Kornhausplatz and dates back to the 16th century. The fountain sculpture depicts a seated ogre devouring a naked child.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Placed at his side is a bag containing more children. It was created in 1545–1546 by Hans Gieng to replace a wooden fountain from the 15th century. Seems like he might have worked the design a bit but..

Theories about its significance are many and varied. My favorite is the one comparing the statue to the likeness of Krampus, the beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved.

Mainly because it’s the simplest and least politically charged rendition. Honestly, the Swiss pay it no mind and simply fill their water bottles from the fountain. No big deal.

Next, the Klingendes Museum of Wind Instruments

The collection housed in this lovely building includes something like 1,600 wind instruments.  Among them are rarities such as actual horns and flutes from Mozart’s time and the prototype of an alto saxophone by its inventor Adolphe Sax in 1853. And many of the oldest instruments from Swiss instrument makers.

The Klingendes Museum is based on the Burri instrument collection. Karl Burri (1921–2003) trained as a wind instrument maker and ran a sales and repair shop in Bern from 1945. “Old” instruments also accumulated. In 1964 he began collecting them systematically. He bought items missing from his collection from instrument makers in Paris and elsewhere, as well as from antique dealers and dealers, or traded them with other collectors. He received old instruments from customers and musicians.

Klingendes Museum

It’s really a pretty interesting, if very unusual place.

And, the Woman in Black of the Haunted House Junkerngasse 54

The medieval alleyways of Bern’s Old Town are a perfect haunting ground for restless spirits. So much so that the city offers regular ‘Spooky Bern’ guided tours, with roughly one a month in English. With Halloween already booked out, the next English tour is on November 11th. 

By far the creepiest house in Bern is situated on Junkerngasse 54. Unoccupied for decades, the narrow building is said to be haunted by a woman dressed in black who sometimes appears at a window.

thelocal.ch

The “Spooky Bern” city tour is a skin-tingling stroll through Bern’s underworld, where stories of ghosts and other specters abound. After all, the medieval narrow streets of Bern’s Old Town are fertile ground for scary stories and grisly secrets. Encounters with witches, mysterious dark shapes and banished spirits await during the tour

– this from the Tour’s website

I visited. I didn’t see anything spooky but honestly, it’s not hard to imagine.

The Zytglogge Clock Tower is a Unique “Must See”

Bern’s most famous Old Town sight, this ornate clock tower once formed part of the city’s western gate (1191–1256). Crowds congregate to watch its revolving figures twirl at four minutes before the hour, after which the chimes begin. The clock tower supposedly helped Albert Einstein hone his special theory of relativity, developed while working as a patent clerk in Bern.

Lonely Planet

More on Einstein in a minute…

The dial of the Zytglogge’s astronomical clock is built in the form of an astrolabe. It is backed by a stereographically projected planisphere divided into three zones: the black night sky, the deep blue zone of dawn and the light blue day sky. The skies are crisscrossed with the golden lines of the horizon, dawn, the tropics and the temporal hours, which divide the time of daylight into twelve hours whose length varies with the time of year.

And there’s SO much more detail: Julian calendar dial, moon dial, zodiac signs, indications of sunrise dawn, dusk and sunset. You can read more here. It’s a show just to watch all the action on the hour!

And The Einstein Museum

Finally, There Are The Bern Bears

In 1515 the first bear pit was opened on today’s Bärenplatz in Bern. It featured the bear captured in 1513 at the Battle of Novara (Northern Italy) by the Swiss mercenaries fighting the French king in the Holy Alliance of Pope Julius II. Bartholomäus May, the most famous Bernese at the time, led the captured bear into the city with great pomp. 

Barenpark website

So bears are integral to Bern, dating back to the early 16th century. I get that. But for all the heraldic merit, it’s still bizarre. There have been major improvements to the facility over the years. In fact in 2009, a completely remodeled park was opened for public visits.

Worth a visit, if only to say you’ve seen them.

Last and my favorite of the “Bern Notables”…

Toblerone. Made with Pride.

The Toblerone Bar. Made with pride in Bern for over 100 years!