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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 159 hikers out of 164

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

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2. View of the Bernese Alps – Elfenau Ferry loop from Bern DMB

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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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Roger

April 17, 2019

The Federal Palace is a listed symmetrical building complex of just over 300 meters in length. It is considered one of the most important historical buildings in the country and is in the Swiss inventory of cultural goods of national importance, KGS no. 615, listed. It consists of three interconnected buildings in the southwest of the old town of Bern. The focal point is the parliament building on Bundesplatz. In it, the National Council and the Council of States meet, the two chambers of the Federal Assembly. In addition, it serves as a meeting place for the political groups and other purposes belonging to the parliamentary enterprise. The Bundeshaus West on the Bundesgasse is the headquarters of two departments of the Federal Administration as well as the location of the Federal Chancellery and the Parliamentary Library (formerly the Federal Parliamentary and Central Library). The Federal Council also holds its meetings here. Two other departments are headquartered in Bundeshaus Ost on the Kochergasse.

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

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Federal Palace of Switzerland (Bundeshaus)

1. Bern Minster (Berner Münster) – Bern Old Town loop from Altenberg

2. View of the Bernese Alps – Elfenau Ferry loop from Bern DMB

3. Elfenau Ferry – Elfenau Nature Reserve loop from Bern DMB

Other Popular Places to Check Out

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