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Federal Palace Of Switzerland
The Federal Palace is a building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Federal Council (executive). It is the seat of the government of Switzerland and parliament of the country. The building is a listed symmetrical complex just over long. It is considered one of the most important historic buildings in the country and listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Assets of National Importance. It consists of three interconnected buildings in the southwest of Bern's old city. The two chambers of the Federal Assembly, the National Council and Council of States, meet in the parliament building on Bundesplatz. The oldest part of the Federal Palace is the west wing (then called "Bundes-Rathaus", now "Bundeshaus West"), built from 1852 to 1857 under Jakob Friedrich Studer. The building united the federal administration, government and parliament under one roof. To solve pressing space problems, the east wing ("Bundeshaus Ost") was built from 1884 to 189 ...
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Bundesplatz (Bern)
The Bundesplatz (literally: the "Federal Square") is the Government Plaza in Bern, ''de facto'' the capital city of Switzerland. It is situated in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern. It is part of the Innere Neustadt which was built during the second expansion in 1255 to 1260, though the plaza was not built until much later. It is located in front of the '' Bundeshaus'', the Swiss Parliament Building, and it is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site that encompasses the Old City. History The western third of the modern Bundeshausplatz was originally part of the ditch around the second city wall. In 1765, a plaza was built in the area between the ''Ballenhaus'' and the ''Holzwerkhof''. ''Ballenhaus'' was demolished in 1820 to make way for the Casino and was located on the site of the modern east wing of the Parliament at Bundesplatz 15. The ''Holzwerkhof'' was demolished to make way for the Bundeshaus West and was located at Bundesgasse 1.
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Swiss National Bank
The Swiss National Bank (SNB; german: Schweizerische Nationalbank; french: Banque nationale suisse; it, Banca nazionale svizzera; rm, Banca naziunala svizra) is the central bank of Switzerland, responsible for the nation's monetary policy and the sole issuer of Swiss franc banknotes. The primary goal of its mandate is to ensure price stability, while taking economic developments into consideration. The SNB is an ''Aktiengesellschaft'' under special regulations and has two head offices, one in Bern and the other in Zurich. History The bank formed as a result of the need for a reduction in the number of commercial banks issuing banknotes, which numbered 53 sometime after 1826. In the 1874 revision of the Federal Constitution it was given the task to oversee laws concerning the issuing of banknotes. In 1891, the Federal Constitution was revised again to entrust the Confederation with sole rights to issue banknotes. The Swiss National Bank was founded under the law of 6 Octob ...
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Aare River
The Aare () or Aar () is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to its junction with the Rhine comprises about , during which distance it descends , draining an area of , almost entirely within Switzerland, and accounting for close to half the area of the country, including all of Central Switzerland. There are more than 40 hydroelectric plants along the course of the Aare. The river's name dates to at least the La Tène period, and it is attested as ''Nantaror'' "Aare valley" in the Berne zinc tablet. The name was Latinized as ''Arula''/''Arola''/''Araris''. Course The Aare rises in the great Aargletschers (Aare Glaciers) of the Bernese Alps, in the canton of Bern and west of the Grimsel Pass. The Finsteraargletscher and Lauteraargletscher come together to form the Unteraargletscher (Lower Aar Glacier), which is the main source of water for the Grimselsee (Lake of Grim ...
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Chancellor Of Switzerland
The Federal Chancellor is the head of the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland, the oldest Swiss federal institution, established at the initiative of Napoleon in 1803. The officeholder acts as the general staff of the seven-member Federal Council. The Chancellor is not a member of the government and the office is not at all comparable to that of the Chancellor of Germany or the Chancellor of Austria. The current Chancellor, Walter Thurnherr, a member of The Centre from Aargau, was elected on 9 December 2015. He began his term on 1 January 2016. Thurnherr was reelected on 11 December 2019. Election The Federal Chancellor is elected for a four-year term by both chambers of the Federal Assembly, assembled together, at the same time (and by the same process) as it elects the Federal Council. The election is conducted by secret ballot using an exhaustive ballot in which each member of the Assembly can vote for any eligible person in the first two rounds, but only remaining cand ...
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Town Hall Of Bern
The Bern Town Hall (german: Rathaus Bern) is the building in Bern, Switzerland that houses the Grand Council of Bern (german: Grosser Rat, french: Grand conseil), the Executive Council of Bern (german: Regierungsrat, french: Conseil-éxecutif) and the Grand Council of the City of Bern. The building is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Old City of Berne and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Function The Grand Council of the Canton of Bern meets in the town hall five times per year for about two weeks per session. While the Grand Council is in session, the cantonal flag flies above the town hall. The Executive Council of the Canton of Bern meets in the town hall generally weekly. The Grand Council of the City of Bern meets in the town hall every other Thursday. The town hall has regular guided tours of the building. Many of the rooms may also be rented by the public when not in use by the cantonal and city government. History The first town hall of ...
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Erlacherhof
The Erlacherhof is a town mansion on the Junkerngasse No. 47 in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland, only a few steps away from the Béatrice-von-Wattenwyl-Haus. The Erlacherhof is the most representative patrician town mansion in Bern. It is the only Bernese town mansion in the Old City of Bern that has a courtyard. It is not open to the public. History The Erlacherhof was built between 1745 and 1752 after the plans of the Bernese architect Albrecht Stürler for the Bernese patrician Hieronymus von Erlach in place of two older houses of which one was the old town house of the von Erlach family. The other house belonged once to the family of Adrian von Bubenberg. In 1748, both the owner and the architect died before the mansion was completed. It was the son of Hieronymus von Erlach, Albrecht Friedrich von Erlach, who gave order to complete the mansion, most probably with the help of the sculptor Johann August Nahl. In honour of his father, Albrecht Friedrich von Erlach dec ...
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Federal Administration Of Switzerland
The federal administration of Switzerland (german: Bundesverwaltung, french: Administration fédérale, it, Amministrazione federale, rm, Administraziun federala) is the ensemble of agencies that constitute, together with the Swiss Federal Council, the executive branch of the Swiss federal authorities. The administration is charged with executing federal law and preparing draft laws and policy for the Federal Council and the Federal Assembly. The administration consists of seven federal departments and the Federal Chancellery. The departments are roughly equivalent to the ministries of other states, but their scope is generally broader. Each department consists of several federal offices, which are headed by a director, and of other agencies. The much smaller Federal Chancellery, headed by the Federal Chancellor, operates as an eighth department in most respects. Federal Council The administration in its entirety is directed by the Swiss Federal Council, and the Fede ...
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Swiss Federal Constitution
The Federal Constitution of the Swiss Confederation (SR 10; german: Bundesverfassung der Schweizerischen Eidgenossenschaft (BV); french: Constitution fédérale de la Confédération suisse (Cst.); it, Costituzione federale della Confederazione Svizzera (Cost.); rm, ) of 18 April 1999 (SR 101) is the third and current federal constitution of Switzerland. It establishes the ''Swiss Confederation'' as a federal republic of 26 cantons (states). The document contains a catalogue of individual and popular rights (including the right to call for popular referendums on federal laws and constitutional amendments), delineates the responsibilities of the cantons and the Confederation and establishes the federal authorities of government. The Constitution was adopted by a referendum on 18 April 1999, in which a majority of the people and the Cantons voted in favour. It replaced the prior federal constitution of 1874, which it was intended to bring up to date without changing its ...
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Federation
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision, neither by the component states nor the federal political body. Alternatively, a federation is a form of government in which sovereign power is formally divided between a central authority and a number of constituent regions so that each region retains some degree of control over its internal affairs. It is often argued that federal states where the central government has overriding powers are not truly federal states. For example, such overriding powers may include: the constitutional authority to suspend a constituent state's government by in ...
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Erlacherhof Hauptfront Bern
The Erlacherhof is a town mansion on the Junkerngasse No. 47 in the Old City of Bern, Switzerland, only a few steps away from the Béatrice-von-Wattenwyl-Haus. The Erlacherhof is the most representative patrician town mansion in Bern. It is the only Bernese town mansion in the Old City of Bern that has a courtyard. It is not open to the public. History The Erlacherhof was built between 1745 and 1752 after the plans of the Bernese architect Albrecht Stürler for the Bernese patrician Hieronymus von Erlach in place of two older houses of which one was the old town house of the von Erlach family. The other house belonged once to the family of Adrian von Bubenberg. In 1748, both the owner and the architect died before the mansion was completed. It was the son of Hieronymus von Erlach, Albrecht Friedrich von Erlach, who gave order to complete the mansion, most probably with the help of the sculptor Johann August Nahl. In honour of his father, Albrecht Friedrich von Erlach dec ...
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History Of The Jews In Bern
The history of the Jews in Bern dates back to at least the Middle Ages. Following the expulsion and persecution of Jews during and after the Black Death epidemic, few Jews were able to live or work in the canton until the 19th century. The Jewish community of Bern (Jüdische Gemeinde Bern) was founded in 1948 and is active to this day. The Middle Ages The first mention of Jews in Bern was in 1259. The presence of a synagogue, cemetery and Jewish quarter testifies to a thriving Jewish community. The Judengasse (Jewish quarter) was located next to the Inselkloster in today's Kochergasse. The synagogue and Judentor stood on the grounds of the Bundeshaus and in front of its main entrance, respectively. The cemetery was sold around 1323; two medieval gravestones have survived. The Jewish quarter was covered by new buildings in 1901, and partially excavated in 2003. Predominantly poor, the medieval Jews of Bern engaged in money-lending, pawnbroking, cattle trading and used-goods tradi ...
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