Canton of Bern capital Bern
The canton of Bern or Berne (German: Kanton Bern; Romansh: Chantun Berna; French: canton de Berne; Italian: Canton Berna) 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 canton of Jura and the canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the canton of Neuchâtel, the canton of Fribourg and canton of Vaud. To the south lies the canton 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 31 December 2020) of 1,043,132. 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.Geography
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 5,959 km2 (2,301 sq mi). 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.
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