The Aar flows around the Old City with a loop east expansive. The Old City of Bern is the medieval city center of Bern Switzerland. Built on a narrow hill surrounded on three sides by the Aare River, its compact layout has remained essentially unchanged since its construction during the 12th to the 15th century. Despite a major fire in 1405, after which much of the city was rebuilt in sandstone and substantial construction efforts in the 18th century, Bern's old city has retained its medieval character. The Old City is home to Switzerland's tallest cathedral as well as other churches, bridges and a large collection of Renaissance fountains. In addition to many historical buildings, the seats of the federal cantonal and municipal government are also situated in the Old City. It is an Unsecond Cultural World Heritage Site since 1983 due to the compact and generally intact medieval core and is an excellent example of incorporating the modern world into a medieval city. Numerous buildings in the Old City have been designated as Swiss Cultural Properties of National Significance as well as the entire Old City. Founding. Map of the city from 1638 showing the Old City as well as later defensive fortifications to the east. The history of the city of Bern proper begins with its founding by Duke Berthold of Zähringen in 1191. Local legend has it that the duke vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt which turned out to be a bear Both the name of the city Bern can stand for Barren, bears and its heraldic beast, come from this legend. At that time, much of today's Switzerland then considered part of southern Burgundy was under the authority of the house of Zähringen. The Zähringer leaders although with no actual duchy of their own were styled dukes by decree of the German King and exercised imperial power south of the Rhine. To establish their position there, they founded or expanded numerous settlements, including Fribourg in 1157 Bern Bergdorf and Murat .The area chosen by Berthold was a hilly Peninsula surrounded by the Aare River on three sides. This location made the city easy to defend and influenced the later development of the city. The long, narrow shape of the peninsula made the city develop as several long, parallel rows of houses. The only major cross streets going north and south developed along the city walls, which were moved to allow the city to expand. Therefore, the cross streets mark the stages of development in the Old City of Bern. On the eastern end of the peninsula a small fort, called Castle Newegg, was founded by Berthold IV in the second half of the 12th century. Either when the fort was built or in 1191, the city of Bern was founded around the eastern end of the peninsula. During the second half of the 13th century the river side foundation of Newegg Castle was strengthened and connected to a new west city wall. This wall was added to protect the four streets, known as the New City or Savoy City that had sprung up outside the Zytglogge. The new west wall included a gate known as the Käfiggturm German Prison Tower Around 1268 Newegg Castle was destroyed, and the city expanded into the area formerly occupied by the castle. In the south east part of the peninsula below the main hill that the rest of the Old City occupied, a section known as Matte grew up. An illustration of the Large and Small Redoubts Schengen added from 1622 to 1634 for almost a century the Käfigturm remained the western boundary of Bern. However as the city grew people began settling outside the city walls. In 1344 the city started to build a third wall to protect the growing population. By 1346 the project was finished and six new streets were protected by a wall and the Christoffelturm German St. Christopher Tower the Christoffelturm remained the western border of Bern until the 19th century. From 1622 to 1634 a series of defensive walls and strong points were added outside the Christoffelturm. These defensive walls, known as the Grosse Shane and Kline Shane large and small redoubt respectively well as the Schanzegraben (redoubt ditch or moat), were never used as living space for the city, though the Schanzengraben was used for a while to house the Bärengrabenb. The Munster of Bern German Berners Munster is a Protestant Gothic cathedral located on the south side of the Peninsula Construction on the Munster began in 1421 and finished with the bell tower in 1893. The bell tower is 100 m 328 ft. and is the tallest in Switzerland. The largest bell in the bell tower is also the largest bell in Switzerland. This enormous bell, weighing about 10 tons and 247 cm 8.1 ft. in diameter was cast in 1611 and is still rung every day. It is possible to stand next to the bell when it is rung, but one has to cover their ears to avoid hearing damage. Above the main portal is a rare complete collection of Gothic sculpture. The collection represents the Christian belief in the Last Judgment where the wicked will be separated from the righteous. The large 47 free-standing statues are replicas the originals are in the Bern History Museum and the 170 smaller statues are all original. The interior is large, open and fairly empty. Nearly all the art and altars in the cathedral were removed in 1528 during the iconoclasm of the Protestant Reformation. The paintings and statues were dumped in what became the Cathedral Terrace, making the terrace a rich archeological site. The only major pieces of art that survived the iconoclasm inside the cathedral are the stained glass windows and the choir stalls. The stained glass windows date from 1441–1450 and are considered the most valuable in Switzerland. The windows include a number of heraldic symbols and religious images as well as an entire Dance of Death window. This window shows death, as a skeleton, claiming people from all professions and social classes. A "Dance of Death" was intended as a reminder that death would come to everyone regardless of wealth or status, and may have been a comfort in a world filled with plagues and wars. The choir in the eastern side of the Cathedral between the nave and the sanctuary houses the first Renaissance choir stalls in Switzerland. The stalls are carved with lifelike animals and images of daily life.
