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The picture shows the Zytglogge, a landmark of the city of Bern in Switzerland. It is a medieval tower with a large clock that still works. A large Swiss flag flies in front of the tower and a few people can be seen on the street.
The historic street leads to the Zytglogge, Bern's famous clock tower, surrounded by strolling people and architecture that radiates a lively and timeless elegance.
Three people stroll along a cobbled street in Bern. The Zytglogge tower can be seen in the background, surrounded by Swiss flags and blooming flowers.

Zytglogge (Clock Tower)

Bern’s typical streets, lanes and buildings have exciting stories to tell, and in the midst of them all in the Old Town one of the city’s best-known landmarks stands high above the rest: the Zytglogge (Clock Tower). Once a city gate, the Clock Tower now attracts spectators from all over the world.

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The photo shows a street in Bern that leads to the Zytglogge, the famous clock tower. The street is lined with traditional buildings with balconies and flags, including the Swiss flag.
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The picture shows a small group of people chatting at a fountain in a street in Bern. In the background, the Zytglogge tower towers above the scene, surrounded by Swiss and cantonal flags.
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The picture shows people in wheelchairs exploring the bustling city centre with its historic architecture and Swiss flags. The atmosphere is lively and inclusive, with a sense of community and accessibility.
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The picture shows a family walking along a street in Bern, with the Zytglogge tower in the background. They seem to be enjoying the day.
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The picture shows a street view in Bern at night, with the Zytglogge tower in the background and a row of flags hanging from the buildings along the street. It is quiet and the lighting creates a warm atmosphere.
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As the clock prepares to strike the hour, large groups gather in front of the Clock Tower in Bern’s Old Town to watch the one-of-a-kind performance that always takes place at this moment. The mechanical figures, including a parade of bears, a jester, a golden rooster and Chronos, the god of time, enthrall visitors young and old from far and near.

In the tower’s interior, however, time seems to stand still. Medieval clockwork mechanisms, thick stone walls and massive wooden beams take visitors on a journey into the past.

Those who make it up the 130 steps inside the structure are rewarded with a breathtaking view of the UNESCO World Heritage Site with its tiled roofs, terraces and narrow lanes. When the sky is clear, you can see all the way to the peaks of the Bernese Oberland.

A group of attentive tourists stand in the lively square in Bern, listening spellbound to the guide's explanations in front of the famous Zytglogge clock. The historical surroundings add to the educational atmosphere.
Tour of the Clock Tower (Zytglogge)

Prisons, City Fires and Astronomical Clocks

The picture shows the view of the Zytglogge astronomical clock that visitors get when they look through one of the windows in the tower. This is a close-up view.
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The picture shows the inside of a tower looking down through several storeys, with steel girders and ropes used for the mechanics of the tower clock.
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The picture shows a close-up of a narrow window in a thick wall through which you can see a golden aureole sculpture and ropes, probably part of the mechanism of an old clock.
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A person gazes in fascination at the complex inner workings of a historical clock. The scene, captured in a room full of old mechanics, radiates a deep interest and reverence for traditional craftsmanship.
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The picture shows the detailed dial of the astronomical clock on the Zytglogge tower in Bern, with Roman numerals, signs of the zodiac and golden accents.
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First it was a fortified guard tower, then a prison, a lookout and fire observation tower, and finally a clock tower. Over the centuries, this landmark has fulfilled different functions for the city of Bern but has always played a key role.

As Bern continued to grow and expand its city limits, the former guard tower gradually found itself closer and closer to the city center. After the devastating fire of 1405, the structure was rebuilt and given a new identity.

Now known as the Zytglogge (Clock Tower), it began telling time for the inhabitants of Bern. As the official timekeeper, its location could not be more central and from then on, the locals listened for it to strike the hours.

“For me, the Zytglogge is the Bernese landmark par excellence and the "clack-clack-clack" of the pendulum that can be heard inside the tower reflects the coziness of Bern for me.”
Patrik Bohnenblust, Berner Brotsommelier

The tower was also an authoritative building for other matters in the capital city. For example, official travel times were measured from the Clock Tower and marked on stones along the cantonal roads. The ancient length measurements of cubit and fathom – which are still marked today in the tower entrance as meter and double meter – served as the reference length and for official checks.

The unique clockwork of the Zytglogge

The picture shows the complex inner workings of the large historical clock of the Zytglogge, with cogwheels and cables, mounted on a metal structure within a stone building.
© Bern Welcome

The tower’s outstanding features are the astrolabium – an astronomical calendar clock – and the musical mechanism installed in 1530.

Right before the clock strikes the hour a crowing rooster announces the start of an entertaining spectacle. Bears dance their hourly routine, a jester jokingly signals the hour too early, the quarter-hour chimes are heard from the tower, and Chronos, the god of time, turns his hourglass over. The golden figure of Hans von Thann finally strikes the hour in time with Chronos’ swinging scepter.

The hands of the astrolabium move somewhat more slowly but just as precisely. The discs of the astronomical calendar clock are artfully arranged above the Clock Tower’s entrance. Both fixed and rotating spheres form an exact replica of the constellations with the earth in the center. Sun, moon and stars circle our planet in the orbits we recognize from the earth’s vantage point.

The complex display of the northern hemisphere always shows the current zodiac sign, the moon’s phase, the time of sunrise and sunset, and the date. Frescoes of the five planetary gods from Roman mythology adorn the space above the astrolabium.

Location

Zytglogge (Clock Tower)
Bim Zytglogge 3
3011 Bern

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