- This European capital was shaped by an ancient winding river.

It has a UNESCO status old town and is dotted with medieval towers and soaring church spires.

And let's be honest here, have you ever seen a prettier view?

(Christine speaks in foreign language) To Bern.

(cheerful music) Curious Traveler is made possible by the following.

(upbeat music) (cheerful music) Beautiful Bern was founded in 1191 on the perfect peninsula to protect the residents of this new city.

Over the centuries, it grew and grew from tower to tower until, unfortunately, in 1405 a fire wiped out much of the wooden city, but Bern rose from the ashes and created a new stone city full of beautiful arcades, a soaring church, and lots and lots of bears.

Today we are taking you to get curious about the capital of Switzerland, Bern.

(cheerful music) Bern is the capital of Switzerland and was founded in the 12th century as a military post between the German-speaking people to the east and the French-speaking people to the west.

And today it still lies on a border between the French and German cantons or states of Switzerland.

Bern's wonderfully curious shape is thanks to the wiggly, winding Aare River, which, as you can see from above, carved out a pretty little peninsula.

(cheerful music) It was so darn pretty that an important Duke decided to establish his city here.

And as we'll see, there is water surrounding the city and also inside the city popping up in the prettiest of places.

(cheerful music) So here's what I'm curious about in Bern.

(lively music) Who is this funny little fella on this clock?

What exactly is going on here?

Where can you find a sacred inscription on this church?

Why are there so many bears here, there, and everywhere?

When did world leaders take a snooze inside this palace?

(lively music) And how did a mighty city grow from this unusually carved peninsula?

Who, what, where, why, when, and how?

So much to be curious about in Bern.

(lively music) Our curious exploration into Bern begins with those bears and a fellow named Berchtold V. Painted into the murals, carved into the arcades, even embedded into the streets, bears, bears, and more bears are what you will find here in Bern.

Why?

Well, because the bear is the symbol of the city.

It all goes back to the founding of Bern in the 12th century with Berchtold V who liked to do two things, create new cities, and unfortunately, go hunting.

According to legend, the very first time he went hunting, he killed a bear.

And apparently he felt so bad about it, he named a city after it, because Bern loosely translated means bear.

(lively music) And once Berchtold V established his bear-themed city, he needed to protect his people from the threat of the Burgundian nobles.

As we've seen, he chose a pretty good spot, because thanks to the Aare River, Bern is protected on three sides.

And on the exposed fourth side, our Duke built walls and towers and gates, some of which you can still see today.

And one has a very special bear-themed contraption, which we will visit soon.

But first let's mosey into the charming old town to find out how a tragic fire resulted in a grand city of stone with ornate fountains dotting it.

What you see today used to be a town of about 650 wooden houses, but sadly, in 1405 a huge fire swept through the town.

But this tragedy had a silver lining.

When the town was rebuilt, sandstone instead of wood was used, which created this fireproof, durable, and delightful old town that we see today.

(lively music) This rebuilding also gave us another Bern delight, its elegant arcades.

Originally built to protect the workers rebuilding those houses, today it's a graceful work of architecture that can protect you from the elements, especially if you're on a Swiss shopping spree.

(lively music) And those arcades frame the main streets, which if you look down, you can see there is a stream running underneath them, the water source that helped to put out that 1405 fire.

And today, if you follow that stream, you'll discover how it bubbles up into some fascinating works of art.

(lively music) Ever since the city was founded in the 12th century, there have always been fountains throughout Bern simply to provide a water source for the residents and the animals.

But it wasn't until the 16th century that really elaborate beautiful fountains like this one were built.

There are 11 of them in total, and this one is pretty interesting.

It is called the Zahringen fountain because the Zahringens were the noble family who founded Bern.

And that is why you will see their symbols, the golden lion on a red background, on the flag and on the shield.

But that is not what makes this fountain so curious.

Do you see who or rather what is holding that flag and shield?

Of course, it's a bear, the symbol of Bern.

Yep, fountains are a pretty big deal here in Bern.

In fact, Bern is known as the city of fountains, with more than 100 of them sprinkled throughout the city.

These thirst-quenching works of art are part of the reason Bern's Old Town has a UNESCO status.

Some of the fountains are ornate with wonderful symbols like this one, but others are a bit simpler, and all share a similar history.

A source of drinking water, as you can clearly see, visitors are still filling their water bottles today.

These fountains were also the local watering hole or town gathering spot, kind of the medieval version of water cooler talk.

(cheerful music) And our next fountain is certainly a conversation starter.

This fountain is called the Pfeiferbrunnen and that simply translates to the fountain of the whistler.

And this particular whistler, if you can see way up at the top, is a bagpiper.

And there's two parts to the story about why we have a bagpiper here.

One story says that bagpipers used to entertain guests outside a restaurant nearby.

Another one says that this sculpture was modeled after a 1514 woodcut by the famous Albrecht Durer.

But I really wanted to show you this fountain because it's just so happy.

You have the bagpiper at the top, you've got little children and gestures dancing around at the bottom, and you even have little geese joining in on the fun.

Because the next fountain we're about to see is not quite so happy.

(cheerful music) Here's that woodcut by Albrecht Durer.

Can you see the similarities?

The head tilt, the little knee poking out, even the details of the fringe on his cloak.

Darling, isn't it?

Well, store up on this cute imagery because our next fountain is a doozy.

This fountain is called the Kindlifresser, and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for you, it's a little bit creepy.

As you can see here, it has the figure of a man or an ogre standing at the top of a pillar surrounded by children, and one of those children is in his mouth.

Now, there's all kinds of theories about what in the world this could possibly symbolize.

One theory is that it is about the mythological Kronos who, as we know, actually ate his children before they could grow up and take over his power.

Another theory is a religious one, basically a warning to sinners that if they didn't live a virtuous life, that this would be their fate.

And last but not least, and unfortunately it's probably this one, that it was a warning to children to be on their best behavior.

So kids, make sure you brush your teeth and clean your rooms.

Yikes.

All right, everyone, step away from the creepy ogre.

(cheerful music) Let's head back to a more pleasant part of town to see one of those towers set up by Berchtold V, rebuilt after that 1405 fire right next to a gorgeous mural on the side of an old apothecary, what more could you ask for?

Well, how about the coolest, most curious clock you've ever encountered?

(cheerful music) In the heart of the city is the most treasured landmark of Bern, it is the Zytgloggeturm, and it's a pretty convenient landmark because it will tell you the time of day, the day of the month, the lunar calendar, and the zodiac signs all in one place.

And it's all done with the help of a couple of friendly figures, including a rooster, a lion, a jester, Kronos, and of course, a couple of dancing bears.

Now, the bell will chime on the hour and every 15 minutes, so there's no excuse for being late here in Bern, because you know how much the Swiss really like punctuality.

(cheerful music) So I made sure I was on time for our next appointment inside the clock tower, even though I had all these steps to climb.

It's worth it, though, because from up here you get the best views of the city, including that stripe down the middle of Marktgasse, covering the stream and connecting all those fountains that we just visited below.

And if you're here at the right time of day, you can hear church bells ringing across the rooftops.

And for some more magical melodies, we entered the mechanical room.

Hello!

- Hello, how are you?

Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

This is amazing.

To learn more about the inner workings of this historic landmark with local guide Thomas Meyer.

We're used to maybe seeing the mechanisms inside a watch, but not something on this scale.

Tell us a little bit how all of these clicks and clacks and different pieces of machinery work.

What do we have here behind us?

- Most of the pieces are still original pieces in here, which you see.

Here we have the main one.

This is actually the heart of the whole thing that keeps the whole thing going.

And then we have two more here that are responsible for the figures that go around on the outside.

(bells ringing) - Speaking of which, so the first set of figures that I noticed from down at street level, the bears.

- The first bears we know here in town, they were 1513, because the Bernese, they were famous as mercenaries.

They went to fight for other countries here.

- And so these bears that go around here in the clock, those are the fighting bears.

- Yes, yes, those are the, they have music instruments, they have weapons and everything, so they remind at this story.

(clock ticking) (lively music) - [Christine] Believe it or not, this clock has run uninterrupted for nearly 500 years.

And here's something else.

It wasn't even built to be a clock tower in the first place, it was originally just a city gate in 1220 back in Berchtold V's time.

Then it was a watch tower, but then it went through some curious changes over the following years.

- It changed into a women's prison, only women were in here.

- Really?

- In 1405 we had a big fire in this area, and that was the moment when the authorities started to think, what shall we do with it?

And they decided, let's show the people what time is.

(lively music) - [Christine] So in 1405, to teach people about time, first the clock was added and then our tough little bears, then a rooster, then a joker, and finally Kronos, watching over the whole scene with his hourglass in his hand.

(lively music) And this giant cannonball was added later to keep things tick-tocking along smoothly.

- It's about 300 pounds, that weight is about 300 pounds.

- That's a good use for a cannonball.

- Right.

- Yeah.

(Thomas laughs) Incredible.

And it wasn't just the concept of measuring time that was taught from this tower, but the universe itself was diagrammed here for all to see.

Astronomical clocks were very popular during the Renaissance, and this one here in Bern is one of Europe's finest.

With the phases of the moon, the path of the sun, and the signs of the zodiac, this was quite the science lesson for those 15th century residents of Bern.

(bell ringing) - Which... - Something just happened.

What does that tell us?

- This is going to be the 30.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

The half hour.

- I think that's our cue.

Our time is up here at the clock tower, so let's go back down all those stairs and head on over to our next curious location.

(cheerful music) Okay, now that we have bears and pipers and ogres covered, how about some angels and devils and lions?

I know just where to find them.

Follow me.

Tucked away into a quiet little corner of the old town is the Rathaus.

No, not a house full of rats, but a house for politicians.

Insert your own joke here.

The Rathaus was built in the early 15th century at a time when Bern was exploding on the political scene.

Bern was always in competition with Zurich over who was the most powerful and this beautiful building was a statement of that power.

All along the facade, there are all kinds of curious symbols to explore.

The first set of symbols, right there along the rooftop, you can see all sorts of coats of arms, those were for all the different districts within the Bern city state.

But as we get a little closer, there are even more symbols to discover.

(cheerful music) Up here on the balcony level, there are even more curious symbols to explore.

Right here in the center, of course, we see yet another bear, but this is a very important bear because this is the Bernese coat of arms.

Over here on the left, you will see a beautiful woman there, she is the symbol of truth, but wouldn't you know it?

We also have her counterpart here on the right and she is the symbol of lies.

You can see her taking her mask off.

And there is a wonderful legend about truth and lies here in the middle ages.

It is said that when all the representatives from around the region would gather here for important meetings, if they were truth tellers, they could take this staircase, but if they were known for telling lies, they could only take this staircase.

So wait, why am I standing on this side?

This is the side I wanna be on.

(cheerful music) But we're not done yet, there are even more symbols here to discover.

(cheerful music) Back down here at ground level, we have the biblical story of Samson and the lion to symbolize strength.

And just up from Samson, we have a little angel peacefully watching over the city.

(cheerful music) And over on this side, we have Diogenes as a symbol of a wisdom.

And last but not least, just up from Diogenes, close to the balcony, we have this freaky little devil guy.

Seriously, what is he?

(cheerful music) (lively music) Next, we go from some scary little devils to some glorious angels and saints and to yet another fountain, but this one making a very important statement.

Some of the fountains throughout the city have a religious theme to them, like this one, the Moses Fountain.

You can see Moses standing tall, holding the 10 Commandments.

But if you look really closely, you can see he is pointing at one particular commandment, the Second Commandment, why?

Well, it has a little something to do with the placement of the fountain.

We are standing here on the edge of Munsterplatz and Munsterplatz simply means the plaza of the minster.

So if you go from Moses, you can see where he's looking right over here.

Yep, just on the other side of the plaza, you can see that Moses is staring straight at Bern Munster cathedral, the largest and most important late medieval church in Switzerland.

The cathedral was built in the 15th century as a Catholic church with many ornate sculptures, paintings, and elaborate works of art inside and out.

But once Bern became Protestant in the 16th century, one of the beliefs of the Protestant Reformation was that the worship of religious imagery breaks the Second Commandment.

So that's why Moses is pointing at the Second Commandment and is forever giving the hard stare at Bern Munster.

But even with this disapproval, Bern Munster remains a treasured icon of the city.

To tell us more, we are rejoined by our friend Thomas Meyer.

We are standing in front of the tallest, the best, the biggest feature in all of Bern.

No matter where you are, you either see it or hear it or both.

- Right, so in the middle age, in the early middle age, Bern wanted to build a church.

There was actually already a church here, but they wanted to show the importance, they wanted to build a bigger church, so they built this monster here.

And they started out 1421.

But all in all, they constructed for about 150 years to finish the whole thing.

- It takes a while to build something like this.

- That's right.

- It takes a while.

- And by that time, the top of the tower was not even on yet, they put it on in the 19th century.

So this was quite an important thing, yes.

- Bern Munster, or Minster, is the tallest church in Switzerland.

Its spire alone is nearly 300 feet high, and its lacy architecture soars into the heavens.

(lively piano music) And back down at ground level is one of the church's most treasured works of art with 294 beautifully carved sculptures, although some of these sculptures might scare the wits out of you.

As the congregation would come inside, there's a very important symbolism above the doorway, very intricate, lots of different figures.

What do we see over the doorway?

- This is actually one of the remains of the Catholic period, because after the Reformation, we threw out all the statues, all the altars, all the pictures.

So this is a remain that's from the Catholic period and it shows the Last Judgment Day.

- The Last Judgment is considered a masterpiece.

Sculpted in the late 15th century, there are angels and prophets and believers and sad souls and some pretty creepy other stuff.

- They also show you that everybody can go to heaven or to hell because the Pope is in heaven, but the Pope is even in hell twice.

There's a gallows and people are hung up on their tongue to show that they shall not say anything wrong.

- There are some- - Things like this, you know?

- really grotesque figures and I would assume the idea is, it's scaring people into doing the right thing.

- And somehow it was educative, you know?

They wanted to show, yeah.

It's like the little children, if you do this, you get something, you get a goodie, and if you do that, you get punished, you know?

- Or like the ogre fountain where he eats the children.

- Yeah, right, right.

- It's very simple.

It's very simple, folks, just do what you need to do.

And there is one more secret carving, you just have to know where to look.

The architect or the designer put a special little message on the back of the church.

- Yeah, actually- - What was it?

- Yeah, actually he put up above one door, he put a little sign that says, (Thomas speaks in foreign language) in the sense, do it the same way when you do something like this.

- Because this is, my work of art is so magnificent.

- Right, right.

- I hope you or I'm telling you to do the same.

- Right.

- That's hilarious.

- Yeah, he was proud.

- That's funny.

As he should be, as he should be.

- [Thomas] Definitely.

- And then at the very tippy-top, there's one more somewhat secret curiosity to be found.

I understand there is or used to be an apartment- - Yes, right.

- up there.

- We used to have a guard up there.

This guard, the main duty was to observe the city to see whether there are fires or whatever.

They use this apartment now for, you can rent it out for- - I would rent it out.

- for parties if you want.

- It's fantastic.

Oh, rent out to live there.

- Yeah, okay.

- I'm ready to live there.

I'll go up the steps, I don't mind.

- You can apply for it if you want.

- [Christine] Only 344 steps up, no problem, although grocery delivery might be a bit tough.

(cheerful music) But if the idea of climbing more than 300 steps up to your bed each night isn't your cup of tea, I've got another option you might like better.

Follow me.

Because our last stop takes us to a very important part of Bern's history.

(lively music) As the capital of Switzerland, Bern's parliament and federal buildings are all here in Parliament Square.

And just on the other side of the government complex is this picture-perfect walkway, which true to the beauty of Bern leads you right to a palace, Bellevue Palace, in fact, an historical listed building of Switzerland.

And this palace is just as elegant as its name implies.

You feel like royalty as you descend the red carpeted stairs.

And when you do, you'll be following in some pretty famous footsteps because this palace happens to be a luxury hotel built for some very important VIPs in 1913, - It was the last grand hotel being built in the Belle Epoque 'cause Belle Epoque stopped with the First World War.

So we just opened in November, 1913.

- Just in time.

- Yeah, absolutely.

- Just in time.

So yes, Bellevue Palace was built specifically for all those diplomats and heads of state, who after a hard day's work at parliament, would just mosey a few steps over here to their hotel, although I'm sure many of them had a fancy coach or a car or a motorcade.

- We got the Constitution in 1848, and then they started building the Parliament Building, the ministries, which are just literally around the hotel right here across the road.

And there was traffic coming, political traffic, diplomatic traffic.

We have now 100 embassies here in Bern, and that was the need for a hotel.

So they closed the old hotel in 1911 and they built this one in 18 months as the Bellevue Palace, and there was a need for that.

- Absolutely, so it started as a need for diplomats and important heads of state- - Absolutely.

- to come here.

- Absolutely.

And it's continued with that now.

- Absolutely, I mean, we belong, today we belong to the Swiss government.

We are the guest house of the Swiss government since the 1976 and so we have all the state visits and official visits of the government.

- That's incredible.

And not to name-drop or anything, but just look at this guest list.

Heads of state, kings, queens, and world leaders, from Queen Elizabeth II to Nelson Mandela to the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, they all stayed here during their official visits to burn.

And today you don't have to be head of state to enjoy this luxurious piece of Bern history, in fact, everyone can enjoy the thing that Bellevue Palace is named for, this bellevue or beautiful view you get from the palace balcony.

What better way to wrap up our visit to Bern.

I wonder if we'll see any bears from up here.

(cheerful music) So from a happy kilt-wearing bagpipe player to a super scary ogre.

Seriously, kids, please clean your rooms.

To the tallest spire in Switzerland with a tiny little apartment on top and some more grotesque warnings at the bottom.

Yikes.

To a bear here, a bear there, everywhere a bear, bear.

(cheerful music) To the inner workings of a curious contraption built to teach the residents of this medieval town about a little thing called time, and oh yeah, the universe.

To a winding river and some soaring towers which encircle the city.

Finally, to an elegant palace, good enough for a queen or a plain old curious traveler.

Bern, Switzerland has so much to be curious about.

(cheerful music) Thank you for joining us on our educational journey, and hopefully now you're even more curious about the who, what, where, why, when, and hows of curious Bern.

As they say here, what's my line again?

(Christine speaks in foreign language) (cheerful music) Curious Traveler is made possible by the following.

(upbeat music) Still curious?

Go to curioustravelertv.com and follow us on Facebook at CuriousTravelerTV, on Twitter at CuriousTravTV, and on Instagram at CuriousTravelerTV.

(cheerful music) (lively music)