St. Berthold’s Day in Switzerland

Day after New Year's EveThe day after the New Year holiday - St. Berthold's Day - is celebrated in honor of the founding of Bern. The capital of the country, Bern, was founded in 1191 by order of Duke Berthold the Fifth of Ceringer, ruler of Burgundy.

The symbol of Bern

The city was laid on the banks of the river Aare in order to protect the western border of the possessions of the Duke. Berthold announced that the settlement would be named after the first animal he shot. Strikingly, the capital of Switzerland could easily now be called quail or deer. However, the Duke killed the bear. The city was named Bern from the German ber, the bear.

The bear soon became an immutable image on the coats of arms, and the locals were constantly compared with bears: they say, these Bernese are just as woolly as their symbol. However, the Bernese themselves believe that this is out of envy: once their canton was the largest and strongest in the confederation.