Bern

	BERN Country : Switzerland Canton : Bern Additions : 1919 Bümpliz Loading map... {"minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"mappingservice":"leaflet","width":"250px","height":"250px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":7,"defzoom":14,"layers":["OpenStreetMap"],"image layers":[],"overlays":[],"resizable":false,"fullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":true,"cluster":false,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clustermaxradius":80,"clusterspiderfy":true,"geojson":"","clicktarget":"","imageLayers":[],"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":46.9483000000000032514435588382184505462646484375,"lon":7.4519000000000001904254531837068498134613037109375,"icon":""}],"imageoverlays":null}

Official blazon
German	In Rot ein goldener Rechtsschrägbalken, belegt mit einem schreitenden schwarzen Bären mit roten Krallen.
English	blazon wanted

Origin/meaning

The arms are canting (Bär = bear), and have been used since the 13^th century. The oldest seal of the city dates from 1224 and shows already the bear, but not in a shield and not in a bend. The bear also appears on 13^th century coins of the city (see below).

The colours are known since the 14^th century, and the arms have never changed since. The arms are also used by the district of Bern and the Canton Bern. To distinguish the arms the canton often uses a floral crown, the city uses a mural crown.

The oldest known description of the arms of Bern dates from the Guglerlied from 1375 :
Berner waffen ist so schnell
mit drin gevarwten strichen;
der ein ist rot, der mittel gel,
darin stat unverblichen
ein ber gar swarz gemalet wol,
rot sind ihn die clawen;
er ist swerzer denn ein kol,
bris er bejagen sol.
(freely translated as : the arms of Bern are so fast, with three painted stripes, the one is red, the middle yellow, in which stands a black bear, with red claws, blacker than a coal, until the hunting begins).

Image gallery

The oldest seal from 1224
The second seal (used until 1364)
The fourth seal used from the 14th-17th century
The fifth seal from 1364
The seventh seal from the late 14th century
The eights seal from 1467
The oldest coin of Bern.
The arms on a 1492 coin
The arms on a 1600 coin
The arms on a 1700 coin
The arms on a 1718 coin
The arms in a 15th century manuscript
The arms in the Armorial Jörg Rügen (1495)
The arms around 1500
The arms in a manuscript from 1576
The arms in a 16th century manuscript
The arms in the Wapen- en Vlaggenboek van Gerrit Hesman (1708)
Seal from around 1900
The arms in an album +/- 1905
The arms as used by the city during the years
The arms in the Abadie albums
The arms in a 1930s album
The arms in the Wappen-Sammlung (1900)
The arms on a collectable stamp, +/- 1920
The arms in the Kaffee Hag albums 1914-1960
The arms in the Kaffee Hag albums 1914-1960
The arms in the Kaffee Hag albums 1914-1960
The arms on a special cancellation 1951
Municipal stationery, 1960s
Cantonal tax stamps 1941

Literature : Wappenbuch des Kantons Bern, 1981. Main image by Massimo Ghirardi; Dreyer, 2001

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This page is part of the Swiss heraldry portal	Heraldry of the World
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