Berne
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Berne. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a Swiss canton, the most populous, and next to the Grisons, the most extensive canton of Switzerland; its area being nearly 2,657 square miles, and its pop. about 683,000. The fertile valleys of the Aar and the Emmen divide the mountainous Alpine region in the S. from the Jura Mountains in the N. The Bernese Oberland, or Highlands, comprises the peaks of the Jungfrau, Mönch, Eiger, Schreckhorn, Finsteraarhorn , etc., and the valleys of Hasli, Lauterbrunnen, etc. The Lakes of Thun, Brienz, Neuchâtel, and Bienne are in the canton, which is watered by the Aar and its several tributaries. The climate is generally healthful. thful. The plains of the Aar and the Emmen are the most fruitful, producing corn and fruits of various kinds, and affording excellent pasturage for cattle, which, with dairy produce, form the chief agricultural wealth of Bern. The vine grows in some districts. The horses of the Emmenthal are much prized. The lakes abound with salmon and trout. Iron mines are worked, and a little gold is found, and quarries of sandstone, granite, and marble are abundant. Its manufactures, which are not extensive, consist chiefly of linen, coarse woolens, leather, iron, and copper wares, articles of wood, and watches. Bern entered the Swiss Confederation, in which it now holds the second rank, in 1352. In the early part of the 19th century it received additions to its territory. The present constitution of the canton, proclaimed in 1874, but based on the laws of 1848, is one of representative democracy. BERN, the chief city of the above canton, was by the decision of the Council of the Confederation, in 1848, declared to be the political capital of the Commonwealth. It is a fine, clean, well built town, on the Aar, 23 miles S. of Basel, and possesses many fine public edifices, more notably, the Cathedral, erected 1421-1502. The most remarkable feature in the town are the arcades, running in front of the houses down both sides of the two chief streets. The town has bears for its arms; and some of these animals are maintained in a large paved pit. The principal manufactures are watches, wooden clocks, and toys, linen, woolen, and silk fabrics. Pop. about 105,000. Bern was founded by Duke Berthold V. of Zähringen, in 1191, and was made a free and imperial city by a charter from the Emperor Frederick II., dated May, 1218. BERNADOTTE, JEAN BAPTISTE JULES (ber-na-dot'), a French general, afterward raised to the Swedish throne, BERNADOTTE was the son of an advocate of Pau, born Jan. 26, 1764. He enlisted at 17, became sergeant-major in 1789, and subaltern in 1790. In 1794 he was appointed a General of Division, and distinguished himself greatly in the campaign in Germany, and on the Rhine. In 1798 he married Mademoiselle Clary, sister-in-olics alike. St. Bernard died at Clairlaw of Joseph Bonaparte. The following BERNARD, ST. year he became for a short time Minister of War, and on the establishment of the Empire was raised to the dignity of Marshal of France, and the title of Prince of Ponte-Corvo. On the death of the Prince of Holstein-Augustenburg, the heir apparency to the Swedish crown was offered to the Prince of Ponte-Corvo, who accepted with the consent of the Emperor, went to Sweden, abjured Catholicism, and took the title of Prince Charles John. In the maintenance of the interests of Sweden, a serious rupture occurred between him and Bonaparte, followed by his accession, in 1812, to the coalition of sovereigns against Napoleon. At the close of the war the Emperor of Austria and other sovereigns tried to restore the family of Gustavus IV. to the crown; but Bernadotte, retaining his position as Crown Prince, became King of Sweden on the death of Charles XIII., in 1818, under the title of Charles XIV. He died March 8, 1844, and was succeeded by his son Oscar. BERNARD, SAINT (GREAT and LITTLE). See ST. BERNARD. BERNARD, ST., Abbot of Clairvaux, was born of a noble family in Burgundy, in 1091. At the age of 23 he entered the recently founded monastery of Citeaux, accompanied by his brothers and 20 of his companions. His ability and piety led to his being chosen Abbot, an office he filled till his death. In 1128 he prepared the statutes for the Order of Knights Templar. Popes and princes desired his support, and submitted their differences to his arbitration. By his influence Innocent II. was recognized as lawful Pope; he had a public debate with Abelard on some doctrines of his philosophy, and procured his condemnation; courageously opposed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin; was founder of 160 monasteries; and was the chief promoter of the second crusade. He preached the crusade in Germany, persuaded the Emperor Conrad to join it, and refused the command which was offered him. His prediction of success was falsified. St. Bernard was the vehement adversary of Arnold of Brescia, and procured his banishment from Rome and from Zürich. He steadily refused the offers of several archbishoprics and other dignities, preferring to remain abbot only. His character and his writings have earned him the title of "Last of the Fathers." The power, tenderness, and simplicity of his sermons and other works have secured the admiration of Protestants and Cathvaux in 1153, and was canonized in 1174. Copyright Ewing Galloway A SELF-REVISING REFERENCE WORK WITH LOOSE-LEAF FEATURES IN TEN BOUND VOLUMES WITH 515 ILLUSTRATIONS AND NINETY-SIX MAPS, SUPPLEMENTED BY A LOOSE-LEAF VOLUME VOLUME TWO P. F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY NEW YORK Copyright, 1921 By P. F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY DR. WILLIAM A. NEILSON, CHAIRMAN PRESIDENT SMITH COLLEGE, NORTHAMPTON, MASS. FORMER PRESIDENT OF NAVAL WAR COLLEGE, NEWPORT, R. I. DR. JOSEPH H. ODELL DIRECTOR, SERVICE CITIZENS OF DELAWARE, WILMINGTON, DEL. DR. KENNETH C. M. SILLS PRESIDENT BOWDOIN COLLEGE, BRUNSWICK, ME. DR. HENRY S. CANBY EDITOR LITERARY REVIEW, NEW YORK, N. Y. DR. W. T. COUNCILMAN DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL, BOSTON, MASS. DR. CHARLES F. THWING PRESIDENT WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY, CLEVELAND, OHIO DR. EDWIN GREENLAW UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, CHAPEL HILL, N. C. DR. J. H. KIRKLAND
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
the capital of Canton Berne and of the Swiss Confederacy. Elevation, 1,710 feet above the sea. The city is built on a peninsula of sandstone rock occupying a loop of the river Aar. The chief streets run east and west. The bear, the heraldic emblem of Canton Berne, is in evidence everywhere. Stone bears guard the gate by which one enters the town. Bruin in stone and bruin in wood is the everywhere recurring ornament of the public buildings and fountains. A long, narrow street leads eastward through the town, lined on either side with a continuous wall of shops and houses. The second stories project into the streets until they almost meet, forming a covered arcade on either side through which foot passengers take their way. At its eastern extremity, the street crosses the Aar on a stone bridge which brings one to the bear garden, where an assemblage of captive brown bears of all sizes and ages tumble about contentedly, walk erect, make their manners, and climb for the edification of spectators. A whole troop of wooden bears perform at the clock tower. As the time for striking the hour approaches, a wooden cock flaps its wings and crows; and wooden bears march gracefully around a seated figure of a bearded old man. The old man turns an hour glass in his hand and counts off the hour by raising his scepter and opening his mouth. The leader of the bears counts off the hour with nods of his head, while a stone figure in the tower above strikes on a bell with a hammer. The wooden cock concludes the performance by crowing. No child of Berne can be expected to proceed on an errand if it be near the time for the clock to strike. A fine old Gothic cathedral contains a number of pieces of sculpture, stained windows, and carved work. The historical museum contains large cabinets of antiquities from the lake dwellings and the tombs of Switzerland, showing in detail the weapons and implements used by primitive man in the stone, in the bronze, and in the iron age. There are large collections of armor, spears, and other weapons, with the field altar taken by the Swiss from Charles the Bold of Burgundy, the time they trounced him at Grandson. A natural history museum possesses immense collections of minerals, including magnificent Swiss crystals and specimens of the smoky topaz, fossils, birds, eggs, mounted chamois and other Swiss animals, fishes, and insects. When one has seen the curiosities of the museum and the bear garden, the streets themselves and the people are a never-ending source of interest. The stone paving of the old arcades is worn into deep furrows by the travel of centuries. Flights of steps rising into quaint old shops have been worn until they present mere polished slopes. The citizens of Berne are proud of their new government buildings and pleasure resorts and drives, but the visitor delights most in the old part of the town with its arcades, old-fashioned inns, and curio shops, where he is tempted to invest in crystals, gems, inlaid work, carved platters, canes, wooden bears, and carved chamois, not to mention ribbons and a thousand knick-knacks offered as souvenirs. On a clear day the terraces of the city command a magnificent view of the Bernese overland. Even in midsummer the snow clad peaks, thirty or more, present a glorious spectacle. At eventide, after the lengthening shadows have extended across the valleys and the last rays of the lingering sun have faded from the peaks, these far-away mountains sometimes begin to brighten from their bases upward, as though illuminated by a rosy light from inside, presenting the wonderful alpine glow of which travelers speak so rapturously. The modern city has quite outgrown the old walls; manufactories of woolens, cottons, silks, machinery, and chocolate have become established, and a considerable trade is carried on with the surrounding cantons. The present population is about 75,000. See Switzerland 2026 Editor's Note: Bern's bears are no longer confined to a pit: the city's heraldic animals now live in a riverside BärenPark opened in 2009, and the medieval old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city has one more claim — in 1905, working as a patent clerk here, Albert Einstein published the papers that upended physics, including E = mc². (Ed: BR 2026-06-06)