Bern

Construction of the Untertorbrücke (Lower Gate Bridge) in Bern, Tschachtlanchronik, late 15th century

No archaeological evidence that indicates a settlement on the site of today's city centre prior to the 12th century has been found so far. In antiquity, a Celtic oppidum stood on the Engehalbinsel (peninsula) north of Bern, fortified since the second century BC (late La Tène period), thought to be one of the 12 oppida of the Helvetii mentioned by Caesar. During the Roman era, a Gallo-Roman vicus was on the same site. The Bern zinc tablet has the name Brenodor ("dwelling of Breno"). In the Early Middle Ages, a settlement in Bümpliz, now a city district of Bern, was some 4 km (2 mi) from the medieval city.

The medieval city is a foundation of the Zähringer ruling family, which rose to power in Upper Burgundy in the 12th century. According to 14th-century historiography (Cronica de Berno, 1309), Bern was founded in 1191 by Berthold V, Duke of Zähringen.

In 1218, after Berthold died without an heir, Bern was made a free imperial city by the Goldene Handfeste of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II.

In 1353, Bern joined the Swiss Confederacy, becoming one of the eight cantons of the formative period of 1353 to 1481.

Bern invaded and conquered Aargau in 1415 and Vaud in 1536, as well as other smaller territories, thereby becoming the largest city-state north of the Alps; by the 18th century, it comprised most of what is today the canton of Bern and the canton of Vaud.

Bern in 1638

The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river Aare. The Zytglogge tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the Käfigturm took over this role until 1345. It was, in turn, succeeded by the Christoffelturm (formerly located close to the site of the modern-day railway station) until 1622. During the time of the Thirty Years' War, two new fortifications – the so-called big and small Schanze (entrenchment) – were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula.

After a major blaze in 1405, the city's original wooden buildings were gradually replaced by half-timbered houses and subsequently the sandstone buildings which came to be characteristic for the Old Town. Despite the waves of pestilence that hit Europe in the 14th century, the city continued to grow, mainly due to immigration from the surrounding countryside.[10]

Bern c. 1870.
Etching by Heinrich Müller

Bern was occupied by French troops in 1798 during the French Revolutionary Wars, when it was stripped of parts of its territories. It regained control of the Bernese Oberland in 1802, and following the Congress of Vienna of 1814, it newly acquired the Bernese Jura. At this time, it once again became the largest canton of the Confederacy as it stood during the Restoration and until the secession of the canton of Jura in 1979. Bern was made the Federal City (seat of the Federal Assembly) within the new Swiss federal state in 1848.

A number of congresses of the socialist First and Second Internationals were held in Bern, particularly during World War I when Switzerland was neutral; see Bern International.

The city's population rose from about 5,000 in the 15th century to about 12,000 by 1800 and to above 60,000 by 1900, passing the 100,000 mark during the 1920s. Population peaked during the 1960s at 165,000 and has since decreased slightly, to below 130,000 by 2000. As of September 2017, the resident population stood at 142,349, of which 100,000 were Swiss citizens and 42,349 (31%) resident foreigners. A further estimated 350,000 people live in the immediate urban agglomeration.[11]

The Old City of Bern with the Minster and its platform above the lower Matte quarter and the Aare

The Aare flows in a wide loop around the Old City of Bern.

View of Bern from the ISS. The Old City is in the lower right-hand side.

Bern lies on the Swiss plateau in the canton of Bern, slightly west of the centre of Switzerland and 20 km (12 mi) north of the Bernese Alps. The countryside around Bern was formed by glaciers during the most recent ice age. The two mountains closest to Bern are Gurten with a height of 864 m (2,835 ft) and Bantiger with a height of 947 m (3,107 ft). The site of the old observatory in Bern is the point of origin of the CH1903 coordinate system at 46°57′08.66″N 7°26′22.50″E.

The city was originally built on a hilly peninsula surrounded by the river Aare, but outgrew natural boundaries by the 19th century. A number of bridges have been built to allow the city to expand beyond the Aare.

Bern is built on very uneven ground. An elevation difference of up to 60 metres exists between the inner city districts on the Aare (Matte, Marzili) and the higher ones (Kirchenfeld, Länggasse).

Bern has an area, as of 2013, of 51.62 km² (19.93 sq mi). Of this area, 9.42 km² (3.64 sq mi) or 18.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while 17.21 km² (6.64 sq mi) or 33.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 23.76 km² (9.17 sq mi) or 46.0% is settled (buildings or roads), 1.08 km² (0.42 sq mi) or 2.1% is either rivers or lakes, and 0.14 km² (0.054 sq mi) or 0.3% is unproductive land.[12]

Of the developed area of Bern, 3.1% consists of industrial buildings, 22.3% housing and other buildings, and 12.9% is devoted to transport infrastructure. Power and water infrastructure, as well as other special developed areas, made up 1.2% of the city, while another 6.5% consists of parks, green belts, and sports fields.

Of Bern's total land area, 32.8% is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 13.3% is used for growing crops and 4.4% is designated to be used as pasture. Local rivers and streams provide all the water in the municipality.[12]

Aerial view by Walter Mittelholzer (1919)

According to the Köppen Climate Classification, Bern has an oceanic climate (Cfb)[13] closely bordering on a humid continental climate (Dfb).

The closest weather station near Bern is located in the municipality of Zollikofen, about 5 kilometres (3 mi) north of the city centre. The warmest month for Bern is July, with a daily mean temperature of 18.3 °C (64.9 °F), and a daily maximum temperature of 24.3 °C (75.7 °F).[13] The highest temperature recorded at Bern / Zollikofen is 37.0 °C (98.6 °F),[14] recorded in August 2003. On average, a temperature of 25 °C (77 °F) or above is recorded 40.7 days per year, and 6 days per year with a temperature of 30 °C (86 °F) or above at Zollikofen,[13] and the warmest day reaches an average of 32.1 °C (89.8 °F).[15]

There are 103.7 days of air frost, and 22.3 ice days per year at Bern (Zollikofen) for the period of 1981–2010, as well as 14.1 days of snowfall, 36.7 days of snow cover per year and the average amount of snow measured per year is 52.6 centimetres (20.7 in).[13] On average, January is the coldest month, with a daily mean temperature of −0.4 °C (31.3 °F), and a daily minimum temperature of −3.6 °C (25.5 °F).[13] The lowest temperature ever recorded at Bern (Zollikofen) was −23.0 °C (−9.4 °F),[16] recorded in February 1929, and typically the coldest temperature of the year reaches an average of −12.8 °C (9.0 °F)[17] for the period of 1981–2010.

The municipality is administratively subdivided into six districts (Stadtteile), each of which consists of several quarters (Quartiere).

Erlacherhof

Rathaus

The Municipal Council (de: Gemeinderat, fr: conseil municipal) constitutes the executive government of the City of Bern and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councillors (German: Gemeinderat/-rätin, French: conseiller/conseillère municipal(e)), each presiding over a directorate (de: Direktion, fr: direction) comprising several departments and bureaus. The president of the executive department acts as mayor (de: Stadtpräsident, fr: Le Maire). In the mandate period 2021–2024 (Legislatur) the Municipal Council is presided by Stadtpräsident Alec von Graffenried. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the City Council are carried by the Municipal Council. The regular election of the Municipal Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Bern allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Municipal Council. Contrary to most other municipalities, the executive government in Berne is selected by means of a system of Proporz. The mayor is elected as such as well by public election while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The executive body holds its meetings in the Erlacherhof, built by architect Albrecht Stürler after 1747.

As of 2021, Bern's Municipal Council is made up of two representatives of the SP (Social Democratic Party), and one each of CVP (Christian Democratic Party), GFL (Grüne Freie Liste a.k.a. Green Free List, who is the newly elected mayor since 2017), and GB (Green Alliance of Berne), giving the left parties a very strong majority of four out of five seats. The last regular election was held on 29 November 2020.[20] [21]

Dr. Jürg Wichtermann is State Chronicler (Staatsschreiber) since 2008. He has been elected by the collegiate.

The City Council (de: Stadtrat, fr: Conseil de ville) holds legislative power. It is made up of 80 members, with elections held every four years. The City Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the Municipal Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of proportional representation.

The sessions of the City Council are public. Unlike members of the Municipal Council, members of the City Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Bern allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The parliament holds its meetings in the Stadthaus (Town Hall).

The last regular election of the City Council was held on 29 November 2020 for the mandate period (German: Legislatur, French: la législature) from 2021 to 2024. The City Council consist of 23 (-1) members of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS) including two seats by the junior party JUSO, 11 (+3) Green Liberal Party (glp/pvl) including two member of its junior party jglp, 10 (+1) Green Alliance of Berne (GB), 8 (-1) The Liberals (FDP/PLR) including one seat by its junior partner JF / DL, 7 (-2) Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 7 (-1) Grüne Freie Liste (GFL) (Green Free List), 3 (+1) Junge Alternative (JA!) (or Young Alternatives), 3 (+1) Alternative Linke Bern (AL), 2 (-1) Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD), 2 (-) Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), 2 (-) Evangelical People's Party (EVP/PEV), 1 (-) Swiss Party of Labour (PdA), and 1 Grüne alternative Partei (GaP) (or Green alternative Party).[20][22]

In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 28.7% (-5.6) of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the Green Party (25.2%, +7.9), the pvl (13.5%, +4.1), the UDC (9.5%, -2.9), PLR (4.2%, -2.8), and the BDP/PBD (7.0%).[23] In the federal election a total of 49,030 votes were cast, and the voter turnout was 56%.[24]

In the 2015 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 34.3% of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the Green Party (17.4%), the UDC (12.4%), and the FDP/PLR (9.9%), glp/pvl (9.4%), and the BDP/PBD (7.0%). In the federal election, a total of 48,556 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 56.0%.[25]

The Municipal Council of the city of Bern decided against having twinned cities except for a temporary (during the UEFA Euro 2008) cooperation with the Austrian city Salzburg.[26][27]

Largest groups of foreign residents 2012
Nationality	Number	% total (foreigners)
Germany	5,957	4.7 (20.0)
Italy	4,113	3.2 (13.5)
Spain	1,977	1.6 (6.5)
Portugal	1,433	1.1 (4.7)
Turkey	1,161	0.9 (3.8)
North Macedonia	1,120	0.9 (3.7)
Kosovo	1,085	0.9 (3.6)
Sri Lanka	898	0.7 (3.0)
Serbia	898	0.7 (3.0)
France	668	0.5 (2.2)
Austria	629	0.5 (2.1)

Bern has a population (as of December 2020) of 134,794.[28] About 34% of the population are resident foreign nationals. Over the 10 years between 2000 and 2010, the population changed at a rate of 0.6%. Migration accounted for 1.3%, while births and deaths accounted for −2.1%.[29]

Most of the population (as of 2000) speaks German (104,465 or 81.2%) as their first language, Italian is the second most common (5,062 or 3.9%) and French is the third (4,671 or 3.6%). There are 171 people who speak Romansh.[30]

As of 2008, the population was 47.5% male and 52.5% female. The population was made up of 44,032 Swiss men (35.4% of the population) and 15,092 (12.1%) non-Swiss men. There were 51,531 Swiss women (41.4%) and 13,726 (11.0%) non-Swiss women.[31] Of the population in the municipality, 39,008 or about 30.3% were born in Bern and lived there in 2000. There were 27,573 or 21.4% who were born in the same canton, while 25,818 or 20.1% were born somewhere else in Switzerland, and 27,812 or 21.6% were born outside of Switzerland.[30]

Apartment blocks at Bern-Bethlehem

As of 2000, children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 15.1% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 65% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 19.9%.[29]

As of 2000, there were 59,948 people who were single and never married in the municipality. There were 49,873 married individuals, 9,345 widows or widowers and 9,468 individuals who are divorced.[30]

Houses in the Old City of Bern

As of 2000, there were 67,115 private households in the municipality, and an average of 1.8 persons per household.[29] There were 34,981 households that consist of only one person and 1,592 households with five or more people. In 2000, a total of 65,538 apartments (90.6% of the total) were permanently occupied, while 5,352 apartments (7.4%) were seasonally occupied and 1,444 apartments (2.0%) were empty.[32] As of 2009, the construction rate of new housing units was 1.2 new units per 1000 residents.[29]

As of 2003 the average price to rent an average apartment in Bern was 1108.92 Swiss francs (CHF) per month (US$890, £500, €710 approx. exchange rate from 2003). The average rate for a one-room apartment was 619.82 CHF (US$500, £280, €400), a two-room apartment was about 879.36 CHF (US$700, £400, €560), a three-room apartment was about 1040.54 CHF (US$830, £470, €670) and a six or more room apartment cost an average of 2094.80 CHF (US$1680, £940, €1340). The average apartment price in Bern was 99.4% of the national average of 1116 CHF.[33] The vacancy rate for the municipality, in 2010, was 0.45%.[29]

The historical population is given in the following chart:[34]

From the 2000 census, 60,455 or 47.0% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church, while 31,510 or 24.5% were members of the Catholic Church. Of the rest of the population, there were 1,874 members of an Orthodox church (or about 1.46% of the population), there were 229 persons (or about 0.18% of the population) who belonged to the Christ Catholic Church, and there were 5,531 persons (or about 4.30% of the population) who belonged to another Christian religion. There were 324 persons (or about 0.25% of the population) who were Jewish, and 4,907 (or about 3.81% of the population) who were Muslim. There were 629 persons who were Buddhist, 1,430 persons who were Hindu and 177 persons who belonged to another religion. 16,363 (or about 12.72% of the population) belonged to no religion, are agnostic or atheist, and 7,855 persons (or about 6.11% of the population) did not answer the question.[30] On 14 December 2014 the Haus der Religionen was inaugurated.

Bern is home to 114 Swiss heritage sites of national significance.[38]

It includes the entire Old Town, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and many sites within and around it. Some of the most notable in the Old Town include the Cathedral which was started in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland, the Zytglogge and Käfigturm towers, which mark two successive expansions of the Old Town, and the Holy Ghost Church, which is one of the largest Swiss Reformed churches in Switzerland. Within the Old Town, there are eleven 16th-century fountains, most attributed to Hans Gieng, that are on the list.

Outside the Old Town the heritage sites include the Bärengraben, the Gewerbeschule Bern (1937), the Eidgenössisches Archiv für Denkmalpflege, the Kirchenfeld mansion district (after 1881), the Thunplatzbrunnen, the Federal Mint building, the Federal Archives, the Swiss National Library, the Historical Museum (1894), Alpine Museum, Museum of Communication and Natural History Museum.

• Bern Theatre[39]
• Narrenpack Theatre Bern[40]
• Schlachthaus Theatre[41]
• Tojo Theater
• The Theatre on the Effinger-Street[42]
• Theatre am Käfigturm[43]

Bern has several dozen cinemas. As is customary in German Switzerland, films are generally in German. Some films in select cinemas are shown in their original language with German and French subtitles.

• Shnit international shortfilmfestival shnit International Shortfilmfestival, held annually in early October.
• Queersicht – gay and lesbian film festival, held annually in the second week of November.

• BeJazz Summer and Winter Festival
• Buskers Bern Street Music Festival
• Gurtenfestival
• Internationales Jazzfestival Bern
• Taktlos-Festival

The Musikpreis des Kantons Bern is an annual musical event where "Outstanding musicians which styles shape the Bern music scene" are honored.[44][45]

• Zibelemärit – The Zibelemärit (onion market) is an annual fair held on the fourth Monday in November.
• Bernese Fasnacht (Carnival)

Bern is served by a dense network of trains, trams, trolleybuses, and conventional motorbuses. The Bern S-Bahn is Switzerland's second busiest.

Bern is the centre of the Libero tariff network, which covers the cantons of Bern and Solothurn and includes the towns of Biel/Bienne, Solothurn, and Thun. The network allows easy and coordinated travel on all modes of public transport, such as trains, PostAuto buses, trams, buses (trolleybuses and motorbuses) and others, regardless of transport operator. Fares are based on the number of zones in a journey. The central part of Bern, (excluding Bümpliz, Betlehem, Bottigen, Brünnen, and Riedbach in the west of the municipality), is part of the fare zone 100.

The city is well served by railways, with the extensive S-Bahn network and many regional and international connections. Bern's central railway station (Bahnhof Bern) is Switzerland's second busiest station (202,600 passengers per working day in 2014), and is the main transport hub in the region.

A funicular railway called the Marzilibahn leads from the Marzili district to the Federal Palace. With a length of 106 m (348 ft), it is the second shortest public railway in Europe after the Zagreb funicular.

Several Aare bridges connect the old parts of the city with the newer districts outside of the peninsula.

Bern is well connected to other cities by several motorways (A1, A12, A6).

Bern Airport (colloquially called Bern-Belp or Belpmoos) located outside the city near the town of Belp, as of March 2021 mostly serves general aviation and charter flights. Zurich Airport, Geneva Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg serve as gateways for air traffic, all reachable in less than two hours by train or car from Bern.

The city has made efforts to make Bern the "bicycle capital" of Switzerland through the creation of better infrastructure, such as dedicated cycle paths.[54] PubliBike operates a bike-sharing system.

• Conrad Justinger (c. 1360–1438) – chronicler, magistrate and notary public of the city of Bern
• Johann Jakob Grynaeus (1540–1617) – Protestant divine, a theologian of the school of Huldrych Zwingli.[55]
• Robert Scipio, Freiherr von Lentulus (1714–1786) – military officer, in Austrian and later, Prussian service
• Emmanuel Han (1801–1867) – military officer and philhellene, fought in the Greek War of Independence
• Walter Breisky (1871–1944) – Austrian jurist, civil servant and politician
• Rosalie Dreyer (1895–1987) – naturalized British nurse, pioneer in Britain's public-funded nursing service
• August R. Lindt (1905–2000) – lawyer and diplomat, Chairman of UNICEF 1953–1954 and UN High Commissioner for Refugees 1956–1960
• Marc Hodler (1918–2006) – lawyer, President of the International Ski Federation 1951–1998, exposed the 2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal
• Hans Urwyler (1925–1994) – Christian minister of the New Apostolic Church
• Kofi Annan (1938–2018 in Bern) – UN Secretary-General 1997–2006
• Algirdas Paleckis (born 1971) – Lithuanian diplomat, politician and columnist

• Adrian von Bubenberg (c. 1434–1479) – Bernese knight, military commander and 3-time mayor (Schultheiss) of Bern, hero of the Battle of Murten
• Niklaus Dachselhofer (1595–1670) – Bernese politician, Schultheiss (mayor) of Bern 1636–1667
• Christoph von Graffenried, 1st Baron of Bernberg (1661–1743) – founder of New Bern, North Carolina
• Susanna Julie von Bondeli (1731–1778) – famous salonist and lady of letters, the salon became the center of intellectual life in Bern.
• Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia (1781 – Elfenau, near Bern 1860) – German princess of the ducal house of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
• Mikhail Bakunin (1814– 1876 in Bern) – Russian revolutionary anarchist.[56]
• Karl Schenk (1823–1895) – pastor, politician; served on the Swiss Federal Council 1863–1895
• Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) – lived in Bern 1914–1917
• Louise Elisabeth de Meuron (1882–1980) – aristocrat and eccentric personality in Bern
• Dom Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza (born 1945) – claimant to the defunct Portuguese throne, as the head of the House of Braganza
• Regula Rytz (born 1962) – politician, sociologist and historian [57]
• Ursula Wyss (born 1973) – economist and politician
• Min Li Marti (born 1974), politician, publisher, sociologist and historian

• Albrecht von Haller (1708–1777) – anatomist, physiologist, naturalist, bibliographer and poet [58]
• Carl Adolf Otth (1803–1839) – naturalist
• Gustav Heinrich Otth (1806–1874) – mycologist
• Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl (1823–1914) – entomologist who specialised in Orthoptera
• Ludwig Fischer (1828–1907) – botanist, researched phanerogams and cryptogams
• Adolph Francis Alphonse Bandelier (1840–1914) American archaeologist.[59]
• Emil Theodor Kocher (1841–1917) – physician and medical researcher, received the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on the thyroid [60]
• Arnold Klebs (1870–1943) – physician who specialized in the study of tuberculosis
• Anna Tumarkin (1875–1951) – Russian-born, naturalized Swiss academic, the first woman to become a professor of philosophy at the University of Bern
• Albert Einstein (1879–1955) – worked out his theory of relativity while living in Bern, employed as a patent examiner at the patent office
• Ida Hoff (1880–1952) – pioneering doctor, a feminist activist, an early regular female motorist
• Aimé Félix Tschiffely (1895–1954) – Swiss-born, Argentine professor, writer and equestrian adventurer
• Hans Albert Einstein (1904–1973) – Swiss-American engineer and educator, the second child and first son of Albert Einstein
• Friedrich Tinner (born 1937) – nuclear engineer connected with the proliferation of nuclear materials in Iran, Libya, and North Korea
• Claudia Rosiny (born 1960) – German-Swiss academic in Dance and Media studies, a festival director and cultural manager
• Daniel Mojon (born 1963) – ophthalmologist and ophthalmic surgeon, invented minimally-invasive strabismus surgery
• Peter Jüni (born c. 1975) - scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, works at St. Michael's Hospital (Toronto)

• Ulrich Boner or Bonerius (early 14th century) – German-speaking Swiss writer of fable [61]
• Hans von Rüte (died 1558) – Bernese dramatist and chronicler of the Swiss Reformation
• Johann David Wyss (1743–1818) – author, best remembered for The Swiss Family Robinson
• Charles Victor de Bonstetten (1745–1832) – liberal writer [62]
• Daniel Albert Wyttenbach (1746–1820) – German Swiss classical scholar [63]
• Johann Rudolf Wyss (1782–1830) – author, writer, and folklorist who wrote the words to the former Swiss national anthem [64]
• Charles Monnard (1790–1865) – historian and member of the Helvetic Society
• Vincent O. Carter (1924-1983) – American writer, author of The Bern Book[65]
• Selma Urfer (1928–2013) – author, translator and actress [66]
• Liselotte Pulver (born 1929) – actress, well known for her hearty and joyful laughter [67]
• Yves Rénier (1942–2021) – French actor, director, screenwriter and voice actor [68]
• Lukas Hartmann (born 1944) – children's writer, Switzerland's "first husband" in 2015
• Yang Lian (born 1955) – Swiss-Chinese poet associated with the Misty Poets
• Sibylle Canonica (born 1957) – actress, has appeared in more than forty films since 1981 [69]
• Georges Delnon (born 1958) – theatre director, artistic director and professor
• Sabine Timoteo (born 1975) – actress [70]
• Yangzom Brauen (born 1980) – actress, activist and writer [71]
• Cleo von Adelsheim (born 1987) – German-Chilean actress [72]

• Niklaus Manuel Deutsch (c. 1484–1530) – artist, writer, mercenary and Reformed politician
• Albrecht Kauw (1621–1681) – still-life painter, cartographer and a painter of vedute
• Gabriel Lory the Elder (1763–1840) – Bernese landscape painter and illustrator
• Ferdinand Hodler (1853–1918) – painter of portraits, landscapes and genre paintings
• Lisa Wenger (1858–1941) – painter and author of children's books
• Adolf Wölfli (1864–1930) – artist associated with Art Brut
• Volkmar Andreae (1879–1962) – conductor and composer
• Eric Blom CBE (1888–1959) – British-naturalised music lexicographer, musicologist, music critic and music biographer
• Klaus Huber (1924–2017) – composer and academic
• Margrit Zimmermann (born 1927) – pianist, composer, conductor and music educator
• Mani Matter (1936–1972) – singer-songwriter [73]
• Roland Zoss (born 1951) – songwriter and novelist, lives on the Aeolian Islands
• Christine Lauterburg (born 1956) – singer, yodeler and actress [74]
• Patricia Kopatchinskaja (born 1977) – Moldovan-Austrian-Swiss violinist
• Zora Slokar, (born 1980) horn player with Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana
• Luca Hänni (born 1994) – singer-songwriter, dancer, and model, Swiss representative at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest
• Giuseppe Bausilio (born 1997) – actor, dancer, and singer [75]

• Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli (1716–1780) – agronomist, a wealthy merchant, economist, and lawyer
• Franz Rudolf Frisching (1733–1807) – Bernese patrician, officer, politician, founded the Frisching Faience Manufactory
• Rodolphe Lindt (1855–1909) – chocolate manufacturer, founded the Lindt chocolate factory
• Marianne Alvoni (born 1964) – fashion designer

Otto Hess, c.1906

Jenni Oehrli, 2013

• Otto Hess (1878–1926), a pitcher for the Cleveland Bronchos 1902 and 1904–08 and Boston Braves 1912–15
• Arnold Käch (1914–1998), a military officer, skier, ski official and writer
• Philippe Marie Eugène, Count d'Ursel (1920–2017) was a Swiss-born Belgian alpine skier and a member of the Ursel family, competed at the 1948 Winter Olympics
• Ernst Schmied (1924–2002), mountaineer, the second successful summiteer of Mount Everest in 1956
• Willi Steffen (1925–2005), a former fighter pilot and international footballer, won 28 caps for his country
• Jürg Marmet (1927–2013), a mountaineer, part of the first two-man Swiss team which climbed Mount Everest in 1956
• Christine Stückelberger (born 1947), a retired equestrian, gold medallist in dressage at the 1976 Summer Olympics compete at six Olympics: 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000.
• Christian Kauter (born 1947), a fencer, silver medallist in the team épée at the 1972 Summer Olympics and bronze medallist at the 1976 Summer Olympics
• Markus Ryffel (born 1955), a former long-distance runner, silver medallist in the 5000 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics
• Maurizio Jacobacci (born 1963), an Italian-Swiss football manager and former player
• Alain Sutter (born 1968), a footballer, 351 club caps, 58 national team caps
• Guerino Gottardi (born 1970), a retired Swiss-Italian footballer, almost 250 club caps
• Mirjam Ott (born 1972), a retired curler, captain of the Swiss Olympic Curling Team.
• Tanja Frieden (born 1976), a snowboarder and gold medallist at the 2006 Winter Olympics
• Esther Staubli (born 1979), a football referee, on the FIFA International Referees List since 2006
• Maja Neuenschwander (born 1980), a long-distance runner who competes in marathon races
• Jennifer Oehrli (born 1989), a football goalkeeper, member of the Switzerland women's national football team
• Dominik Märki (born 1990), a Swiss curler, living in Fayetteville, Arkansas, bronze medallist in the 2018 Winter Olympics
• Roman Josi (born 1990), a professional ice hockey player, selected to play for Switzerland at the 2010 Winter Olympics