ViaBerna - stage 08 Frauenkappelen - Bern

From the village of Frauenkappelen with its surprising old centre, it heads in the direction of Wohlen, past Hof Breitacher, through Chatzestygwald and back to Lake Wohlen. Slightly off the trail, on a hill, are the ruins of Alt Bubenberg castle. A well and two mounds point to a castle that once watched over the Aare Valley. Soon you will pass through Wohlei, a well-maintained hamlet on the lake. From there, the route leads over the Wohleibrücke bridge. Once on the other side, the trail heads right following the course of the Aare and skirts around the settlement of Kappelenring. The countryside soon opens out once you pass the Chappelenbrücke bridge. The route now goes along the boundary of the city of Bern and, further upstream, you cross the magnificent arches of the Halenbrücke bridge, followed by the historic Neubrücke covered bridge a short while later. Once over the Seftausteg bridge, you head right on the other side of the Aare into the Felsenau district. You pass Tiefenaustrasse directly beneath the striking motorway viaduct and return to the Aare at Äussere Enge, where the route heads in the direction of Bern’s Old City, past the Blutturm. At Läuferplatz you cross the Aare again over the Untertorbrücke bridge and reach Bear Park via Klösterlistutz.

“It’s the most beautiful we’ve ever seen”, wrote Johann Wolfgang von Goethe back in 1779 about the city of Bern. More than 200 years later, people are still impressed by the beauty of the federal capital. It is also a culturally diverse city with its own special charm. At the heart of Bern is its Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Bern is encircled by the Aare. It is therefore astounding that, for 600 years, there was only one bridge in the urban area. Today, Bern is a city of bridges with links in all directions. Untertorbrücke bridge (1256 / 1460) is the oldest bridge over the Aare in the city of Bern and one of the oldest stone bridges in Switzerland. Built in 1535, Neubrücke is the oldest preserved wooden bridge in the canton of Bern.

Dating back to the Middle Ages, it was part of the fortifications of the city of Bern and one of the sights of the city today. The Blutturm on the Aare below the Old City of Bern is the subject of much discussion. Many stories have been woven around the historic ruin that has been restored and is used as a party room today.

A bear features as an emblem on the coat of arms of the city of Bern and, with the Bear Park, it boasts an attraction that is known far beyond the country’s borders. Bears have been kept in Bern since 1513. They were kept in the city itself until 1857, then in the bear pit and, since 2009, in the Bear Park. The park extends from the former bear pit opposite the Old City right down to the Aare.