Bears and Gargoyles in Bern, Switzerland!

Posted by Michele September 02, 2024

Bears and Gargoyles in Bern, Switzerland!

After spending the past few days in Lucerne and Interlake, it was time to move on. Today we are headed to Bern, The capital of Switzerland. Bern’s well-preserved medieval old town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and wandering its cobbled streets feels like stepping back in time. The Zytglogge clock tower, the Federal Palace, and the iconic Bear Park are just a few of the historical gems we visited.

I enjoyed Bern more than Zurich, and I was glad we could stop and meander the streets along our way to our next destination: Ecuvillens.

We arrived just before the 13:00 hour excited to see the Zyglogge clock tower “perform”, but it disappointed us all by chiming one single “dong”! This medieval tower was built in the early 13th century and has served the city as a guard tower, prison, clock tower, and center of urban life.

Pretty much everywhere you look, you will find a bear; live bears, statues of bears and, fountains with bears, you will even see a bear in the church. Legend has it that the founder of the city, Duke Berchtold V, first animal killed here was the bear.

We did see some large bears in an enclosure, right in the city. They appeared to be very well-fed bears.

After walking the cobbled streets and viewing the bears, we decided to hike up a huge hill, to a restaurant and rose garden to eat lunch. It was hot, and I was feeling cranky by the time I reached the top of the hill, but in the end, it was absolutely worth it.

I chose the sea bass lunch, it was amazing and the views were stunning; it does not get much better than this, except maybe with air-conditioning.

On the way back to the car we visited the Cathedral of Bern. The construction of this Gothic-style church began in 1421 and is the tallest cathedral in Switzerland. The most exciting thing in this church for me was the gargoyles!!! I love gargoyles and have seen very few while traveling through Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.

The pipe organ was ornate, and the ceiling had “people” staring down at the congregation.

Over the main portal is one of the most complete Late Gothic sculpture collections in Europe. This collection represents the Christian belief in a Last Judgment where the wicked will be separated from the righteous. This sculpture shows the wicked naked on the right, while the righteous stand clothed in white on the left. In the center is Justice, with Saints and the wise and foolish virgins around her. In the center stands Michael the Archangel with a raised sword.

It was crazy!

Feeling satisfied with our “tour” of Bern, we headed to our next Airbnb. It is an artist’s loft in Ecuvillens, and I believe we are all ready to enjoy the country, after spending the past three days in the city.

Our hosts gave us the warmest welcome and we are quite happy to be on the French side of Switzerland. After dinner we took a long walk in hopes of seeing the sunset.