Bern
In 1191, the year in which the city of Bern was founded, Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen commanded nobleman Cuno von Bubenberg to build a city on a peninsula covered by an oak forest. Von Bubenberg felled the forest and used the resulting timber to erect houses. Von Bubenberg had the forest cut down and houses built from the wood. The Clock Tower formed the city gate. The bear featured on the present city coat of arms first appeared in 1224. According to legend, the city was named after the first animal killed by the Duke while hunting during the construction of the city. In the 13th century, Bern was expanded towards the west, and the Prison Tower formed the new main gate In the 14th century, the third and final expansion phase of the city took place up to the present main railway station. In 1353 Bern became the eighth member of the “Confederation” and was regarded in the late Middle Ages as the biggest and most powerful ci...