A Short History of Switzerland
The City of Bern, founded in 1191 and first mentioned in a document in 1208, grew to become the biggest aristocratic city-state north of the Alps and a major power in the Old Swiss Confederacy. The former extent of Bern included the cantons of Bern, Vaud and large parts of Aargau. Since 1848, Bern has been the Federal City (capital) of Switzerland.
In 1983 the historic old town in the centre of Bern became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bern is ranked among the world’s top ten cities for the best quality of life
Population
Bern referred to by the Swiss as their Bundesstadt,or "federal city". With a population of 141,107, Bern is the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. Bern is also the capital of the Canton of Bern, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons.
Language
The official language of Bern is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the most spoken language is a Alemannic Swiss German dialect, Bernese German.
Alemannic (German) is a group of dialects of the Upper German branch of the Germanic language family. The name derives from the ancient Germanic alliance of tribes known as the Alamanni
Swiss German (Standard German: Schweizerdeutsch, Alemannic German) refers to any of the Alemannic dialects spoken in Switzerland
Bernese German (Standard German: Berndeutsch, Alemannic German: Bärndütsch) is the dialect of High Alemannic German spoken in the Swiss plateau (Mittelland) part of the canton of Bern and in some neighbouring regions.