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Federal Palace of Switzerland (Bundeshaus)

Federal Palace of Switzerland (Bundeshaus)

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Federal Palace of Switzerland (Bundeshaus)

Recommended by 152 hikers out of 157

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Location: Bern-Mittelland, Bern, Espace Mittelland, Switzerland

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Paul

November 8, 2024

Federal Palace Bern, history
On April 1, 1902, the new building was ceremoniously handed over to the Swiss Confederation.
Where a music hall and an old hospital once stood, parliament and government now meet. The Federal Palace in Bern has its task of uniting the country's inhabitants literally carved in stone.
When the Federal Constitution came into force on September 12, 1848, the question of where the government and parliament should be located was not yet clear. It was not until November that the Federal Assembly decided on Bern as the seat of the authorities. Two years later, the Bern municipal council announced an architectural competition for the "Federal City Hall". In the meantime, the Federal Council met in the Erlacherhof, the current seat of the Bern government.
With the total revision of the Federal Constitution in 1874, the federal government was suddenly given new areas of responsibility that had previously been the responsibility of the cantons. The administration soon reached its space limits and a new building was needed. The city therefore handed over its responsibility to the federal government two years later. In 1880, he bought the Inselspital building, which had to make way for the new Federal Palace seven years later. An architectural competition was held again, and Alfred Friedrich Bluntschli and Hans Wilhelm Auer were chosen as the winners. This is how today's Federal Palace East was created, a symmetrical counterpart to the existing "Federal City Hall" in the west.

Eleven years later, the two architects Bluntschli and Auer were invited to another competition, this time for a parliament building between the two administrative wings. Although an international committee of architects was called upon to select the best design, in 1891 the Federal Council decided on its own authority to accept Hans Wilhelm Auer's proposal. This proposed a domed building in the style of the Capitol in Washington D.C. After several years of work, 30 types of Swiss stone were used with the help of 38 local artists to create a national monument with an impact on all cantons. The new building was ceremoniously handed over to the Swiss Confederation on April 1, 1902. The building cost 7.2 million Swiss francs – compared to today's conditions, this would be equivalent to around 700 million Swiss francs.
Text / Source: SRF Swiss Radio and Television
srf.ch/news/bundeshaus-und-parlament-geschichte-des-bundeshäuser

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Anne 💚 Berge

August 28, 2022

Parliament building with domed hall and terrace with a view of the Aare.

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Arno

October 28, 2018

The Federal Palace is the seat of the government and the parliament of the Swiss Confederation in the federal city of Bern. It is a listed building, the symmetrical building complex is just over 300 meters long.
There are 7 arched windows in the dome above, corresponding to the Federal Council, which consists of 7 Federal Councilors.

admin.ch/gov/de/start.html

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Elevation 530 m

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Thursday 23 October

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Location: Bern-Mittelland, Bern, Espace Mittelland, Switzerland

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Federal Palace of Switzerland (Bundeshaus)

1. Bern Minster – Zytglogge Clock Tower loop from Altenberg

2. Dählhölzli Animal Park Bern – View of the Bernese Alps loop from Bern DMB

3. Elfenau Ferry – Marzili Pool loop from Bern DMB

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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