ViaBerna - Stage 08 Frauenkappelen - Bern

From the village of Frauenkappelen, which surprises with an old village centre, it goes towards Wohlen past Hof Breitacher and through the Chatzestygwald back to Wohlensee. Slightly off the path, on a hill, is the castle site Alt Bubenberg. A sod well and two mounds indicate a castle that once guarded the Aare valley. Soon you cross the Wohlei, a well-preserved hamlet by the lake. From there, the route leads over the Wohleibrücke. On the other bank, turn right following the course of the Aare; the path makes a curve around the settlement Kappelenring. Then you pass the Chappelenbrücke and soon the landscape opens up. Now it goes along the border of the city of Bern and further upstream you pass under the massive arch of the Halenbrücke; shortly after follows the historic Neubrücke. Over the Seftausteg, it goes right to the other side of the Aare into the Felsenau quarter. Directly under the striking motorway viaduct, you pass the Tiefenaustrasse and reach Äussere Enge back to the Aare, where the path passes the Blutturm towards Bern's old town. At Läuferplatz, the Aare is crossed again over the Untertorbrücke and over Klösterlistutz you reach the Bear Park.

"It is the most beautiful we have ever seen," wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe about the city of Bern as early as 1779. More than 200 years later, the federal city still impresses with its beauty. It also has a special charm and a great cultural diversity to offer. The heart of Bern is the UNESCO-designated old town.

Bern is embraced by the Aare. It is therefore astonishing that for 600 years there was only one single bridge on city grounds. Today Bern is a city of bridges with connections in all directions. The Untertorbrücke (1256 / 1460) is the oldest bridge in the city of Bern over the Aare and one of the oldest stone bridges in Switzerland. The Neubrücke, dating from 1535, is the oldest preserved wooden bridge in the canton of Bern.

It dates back to the Middle Ages, was part of the fortifications of the city of Bern, and is now considered a sight. This refers to the Blutturm on the Aare below Bern's old town. Many stories revolve around the historic masonry, which was restored and today also serves as a party room.

The bear is the coat of arms of the city of Bern, and with the Bear Park, the city has an attraction known far beyond the country's borders. Since 1513, bears have been kept in Bern, until 1857 in the city itself, then in the Bear Pit, and since 2009 in the Bear Park. The grounds stretch from the former Bear Pit opposite the old town down to the Aare.