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defeat. The French seized upon the treasury at Bern, 

 where they found above thirty millions of francs in gold and 

 silver, and they emptied the arsenal, which was well stocked 

 with arms and ammunition of every sort. These, as well as 

 the money, were the principal inducements to the aggres- 

 sion. 



After several years of civil and foreign war, attended by 

 dreadful calamities, the act of mediation by Buonaparte in 

 1803 organized Switzerland into nineteen cantons, of which 

 Bern was one, Aargau and Vaud being definitively sepa- 

 rated from it. In 1815 a new federal pact was framed, 

 and was guaranteed by the allied powers. The territories 

 of the former bishop of Basel which had been annexed to 

 France were given to the canton of Bern, which thus be- 

 came again the largest and by far the most populous canton 

 of all Switzerland. The constitution of the canton at the 

 same time was again made more aristocratical ; 200 of the 

 members of the sovereign council were chosen from among 

 the burghers of Bern by a commission of the council itself, 

 the remaining ninety-nine being chosen from the rest of 

 the canton by the electoral colleges of the various districts. 

 The old patrician families resumed their influence over the 

 elections, and the office of councillor was again for life. In 

 December 1830, when other cantons of Switzerland changed 

 their constitutions, the country districts of Bern demanded 

 a more equal share of the representation and a popular sys- 

 tem of election. The sovereign council yielded to the de- 

 mand, and appointed a committee to frame a new constitu- 

 tion, which was completed in the summer of 1831, while the 

 old authorities still remained in office, and the administration 

 proceeded with the usual regularity. The election of the 

 members in town and country was given to the respective 

 constituencies, the number of members returned by each 

 district being in proportion to its population ; the superiority 

 of the burghers of Bern over the country was effaced, all 

 privileges of persons and families were abolished, the cen- 

 sorship was suppressed, a municipal organization was given 

 to the communes, the debates of the sovereign council were 

 made public, and other regulations of a popular nature were 

 enacted. Born has thus become a democratic, republic. 

 The new constitution has now (1835) been in force for 

 more than three years ; notwithstanding some hcart-burn- 

 iu^s and party ebullitions, things appear to be settling into 

 a regular system, and no act of open violence or blood- 

 has accompanied the change. The greatest dillicul- 

 ti i are those existing between Bern and the other con- 

 federates concerning federal regulations, for in the diet 

 Bern takes the lead of the movement party in Switzerland, 

 and flnds itself in opposition to the majority of the cantons, 

 which although equally democratic in their internal consti- 

 tutions, are opposed to fundamental changes in the federal 

 pact, and are jealous of the power of Bern, which having 

 almost one-fourth of the population of Switzerland, would, 

 if the members to the diet were to be returned in any thing 

 like numerical proportion, exercise an irresistible influence 

 over the deliberations of that body, while the votes of the 

 smaller cantons would be completely swamped by those of 

 a few large ones. For a detailed account of these dissen- 

 sions, see an article on Swiss politics in Cochrane's Foreign 

 (Jiiartei'lij Review, March, 1 835. 



The population of the canton of Bern is chiefly Protestant, 

 of the Helvetic confession of faith, which was drawn up by 

 Zwingli and Bullinger, the two Swiss reformers of the six- 

 teenth century. The number of Catholics is reckoned at 

 42,000 ; they are chiefly in the territory of the former bishop 

 of Basi-1. 



The department of public instruction has been improved 

 since the beginning of the present century, and there 

 are now elementary schools all over the canton, but the 

 remuneration of the masters is very scanty, being only 

 from 50 to 100 Swiss livres (3l. to 6l. per sterling) a year. 

 The secondary instruction is given in gymnasia, of which 

 that of Bern is the principal, and is supplied with very good 

 professors. In 1826 a school for artizans was established 

 at Bern by several benevolent citizens, in which artizans 

 are taught gratis. In general, however, instruction is not 

 so generally diffused at Bern as in Zurich. [For the 

 establishment of M. de Fellenberg, see HOFWYL.] For 

 scientific instruction Bern has a university, with about 

 twenty professors of theology, jurisprudence, medicine, ma- 

 thematics, philosophy, mineralogy, natural history, and the 

 art of drawing, a public library with 30,000 volumes, a bo- 

 tanical garden, museum, &c. A federal military school 



for the artillery and engineers is established at Thun. 

 There is besides a cantonal military school, for the instruc- 

 tion of the officers of the militia. The number of men from 

 twenty to fifty years of age liable to be called under arms 

 in case of invasion is about 50,000 in the whole canton. 

 Bern is bound to furnish a contingent of 5824 men to the 

 federal army whenever required by the diet, and to have 

 au equal number ready as a reserve in case of need. 



The language of the people of the canton of Bern is the 

 Swiss-German, but various dialects prevail in the different 

 districts or valleys. The dialect of the Ober Hash is pecu- 

 liar, and is said to contain many Swedish words or roots. 

 Almost all the educated people of the towns, and especially 

 of Bern, understand and speak French. In some of the 

 valleys of the former bishoprick of Basle French is spoken 

 by the people in general. 



The character of the Bernese peasantry is steady, serious, 

 and slow, but they are subject to fits of violent passion when 

 excited. The educated people of the towns are refined and 

 polite, and hospitable to strangers. A mixture of the Ger- 

 man and French characters is observable in them. Much 

 licentiousness used to prevail in the town of Bern among 

 the young men, but things appear to have improved in this 

 respect of late years. (See Bonstetten, Lettres, 1831.) The 

 general tone of manners and habits throughout the canton, 

 however, is orderly, domestic, and religious. The Bernese 

 peasantry in general are healthy and robust ; the women in 

 some of the valleys are remarkably handsome. Their pecu- 

 liar costume and head-dress may be s^en in the collection 

 of prints of Swiss costumes. 



BERN, the capital of the canton of Bern and one of the 

 three Vororls of Switzerland, was founded in 1191 by Ber- 

 thold V. Duke of Ziihringen, for the purpose of keeping in 

 check his refractory nobility. In 1218 Bern was made an 

 imperial city by the emperor Frederick II. A great fire 

 destroyed the whole town in 1405, after which it was rebuilt 

 on its present regular plan. 



Bern is situated in 46 56' 54" N. lat, and about 7 25' 

 E. long., on a somewhat long and elevated peninsula, 

 formed by the river Aar, which runs on three sides of it . 

 the fourth is open to the west, and fortified. There is a 

 stone bridge over the Aar, about 260 feet long. The town, 

 which contains 1128 houses and 13,900 inhabitants, may 

 justly be reckoned among the most elegant cities in Europe. 

 Its style of building is very regular, without appearing mo- 

 notonous ; the streets are broad, and run parallel from east 

 to west ; they have, for the most part, arcades on both 

 sides with good shops, and communicate by cross streets. 

 There is a great number of fountains in the city, many of 

 them ornamented with statues, some of which refer to his- 

 torical events. 



Of all the buildings the Miinster, or cathedral, is the 

 most remarkable. It is built in the Gothic style, and is 

 160 feet long and 80 broad; the steeple is left unfinished. 

 The chief entrance is adorned with curious sculpture. In 

 the windows there are also fine glass-paintings. The church 

 of the Holy Spirit is distinguished for its simple modern 

 architecture. Among other large and elegant buildings are 

 the Biirgerspital and Inselspital fcitizen and island hospital), 

 which latter alone forms a whole street. The town-hall is 

 an old and heavy building, which presents nothing remark- 

 able. The corn-magazine, a large and splendid building, 

 rests on thirty-four pillars. The New Schallerhaus, a 

 prison and house of correction, built of freestone, is the 

 largest edifice of the kind in Switzerland. The armoury, 

 the^orphan-house, the hotel de musique or theatre, the casino, 

 the library, and the museum, are also fine buildings. The 

 barrieres of Aarberg and Murten are very handsome : near 

 the former is the barengraben (bear-ditch), in which, for 

 several centuries, a family of bears has been kept at the 

 expense of the state *. 



Of the walks near the town the Plateforme and the Enge 

 are the best. The former, along a terrace 108 feet abov-3 

 the Aar, with noble chestnut-trees, is one of the finest walks 

 in Switzerland. The latter, which in its arrangement pre- 

 sents a rural appearance, is made for ever memorable by 

 Studer's View of the Alps, taken from it, the finest pano 

 rama which has appeared in Switzerland, and in which no 

 error has yet been discovered. The very extensive burying- 

 yard, Monbijou, in summer resembles a rich garden. 



Bern is not properly a manufacturing place : as a trading 

 town it is not inconsiderable. The chief trade is with the 



There il bear in the ttrraJ of Uern. 



No. 243. 



[THE PENNY CYCLOPAEDIA.] 



VOL. IV. 2 R 



