The best city hikes and walks around Bern

The second weekend in May is not exactly ideal, as the Grand Prix Bern (running race) with 30,000 participants takes place here 😄

Bern Town Hall (built between 1406 and 1417) The Town Hall, built between 1406 and 1417, housed the meeting rooms for the Small and Great Councils. The Kreuzgasse (Cross Lane) gained prominence as an urban center (Zähringer town) with the construction of the new Town Hall between 1406 and 1417. While the mayor and council had possessed a modest meeting place since the mid-13th century in the courthouse behind the choir of St. Vincent's Church (parish church of St. Vincent), this building contained only a small council or courtroom. The old town hall was too small for the meetings of the Council of Two Hundred, which had been institutionalized during the constitutional reform of 1294, nor for the council elections held annually during the Easter holidays, nor for the periodic accounting of the city's officials and administrators. Therefore, since the second half of the 13th century, citizens and council members had held their meetings in the spacious monastery churches of the Franciscans and Dominicans. Only proceedings concerning the lower courts were usually held in the corner building next to the chancel of the parish church by the mayor, his deputy, the bailiff, and the court clerk. The mayor, along with his deputy, the bailiff, and the court clerk, was also usually present. Text / Source: City of Bern https://www.bern.ch/themen/stadt-recht-und-politik/informationen-im-stadtarchiv/suche-nach-themen-und-ereignissen/internetpublikation-gott-ist-burger-zu-bern/raeumliche-gliederung-des-stadtgebiets/kommunale-gebaeude/rathaus

Wide walkway under/next to the car bridge, offering excellent views of the old town. A good route from the train station to the old town.

View of the donkey barn in Bern.

Bern's Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983 and is undoubtedly an absolute highlight. The arcades with their diverse shops and cafés, as well as the small, charming alleys, invite both a short stop and a longer visit. World-famous sights such as the Federal Palace, the Minster, the Zytglogge Tower, and the Bear Pit are also just a few minutes away. Good information about the Old Town can also be found on Bern's website: https://bern.com/de/erleben/attraktionen/sehenswuerdigkeiten/berner-altstadt

The St. George Fountain, dating from 1548, originally stood on Gurzelngasse and was moved to the quieter Kornmarkt (now Börsenplatz) in 1777. The fountain trough is hewn from a single piece of Jura limestone. Above the baluster-like, twisted and fluted column on the canopy capital, with its angels blowing shawms behind mythical creatures, stands the fountain figure by Laurent Perroud from Le Landeron. It depicts St. George in armor, with the dragon, and the king's daughter.

Solothurn Old Hospital – A House with History Whether as a hospital, an orphanage, or a hostel for artisans: hospitality has remained a central characteristic of Solothurn's Old Hospital since its first mention in the 14th century. With the construction of the new Bürgerspital (Citizens' Hospital) in 1930, the Old Hospital lost its original function. As a result, the late 18th-century building complex gradually fell into disrepair and was even threatened with demolition in the early 1970s. It is thanks to the initiative of far-sighted private individuals that the Old Hospital was renovated by the municipality of Solothurn in the 1980s and gradually converted to its current use as a cultural and conference center with an adjoining restaurant and hotel. Text / Source: Old Hospital Solothurn, Culture & Congresses, Oberer Winkel 2, Solothurn https://altesspital.ch/uber-uns/geschichte/ https://altesspital.ch/app/uploads/2018/07/Geschichte-Altes-Spital-Solothurn.pdf

Beautiful view of the Aare, the Marzilibad and the local mountain of Bern "Gurten"