Exkursion 4E ins Bundeshaus Bern 2018
On Thursday, 31 May, the class 4E took a trip to Berne to visit the Federal Palace (Bundeshaus).
This impressive historic building is the headquarters of the Swiss federal government and houses the Swiss Federal Assembly as well as the Federal Council.
First we had a guided tour through the Federal Palace, which consists of a central assembly building and an eastern and western wing, the latter housing the government departments.
The walls and ceiling are lavishly decorated with the coats of arms of each canton in stained glass. The most important trades and professions of the late 1800s, when the “Bundeshaus” was built, are also artistically represented.
On the north side of the hall, at the top of the main staircase stands a large 24-ton statue of the “drei Eidgenossen”, representatives of the first three cantons, Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden who, back in 1291 are said to have founded the original Swiss Confederation. The staircase is flanked by four bronze knights, each representing one of the four official languages spoken in Switzerland: German, French, Italian and Romansh. A balcony with a fake door should remind the Councillors that the people are sovereign.
We were led into the hall of the Council of States (Ständerat) where unfortunately the debate had just ended. It was, however, still a fascinating experience to see the old paintings representing a Landsgemeinde, as well as the large electric chandelier installed in 1902, one of the first of its kind in Switzerland.
The debate’s topic in the National Council (Nationalrat) was “Stop urban sprawl - for a sustainable settlement development” (Zersiedlung stoppen – für eine nachhaltige Siedlungsentwicklung) . Many of the students were surprised by the apparent lack of interest in the debate shown by the members of the Parliament. Few were present and even fewer seemed to be paying attention; some were working on computers, others talking among themselves and one was even reading the newspaper.
We had been scheduled to meet with a member of the National Council to ask questions, but unfortunately he was not available. So we spent the rest of the afternoon admiring the Aare river, learned about the nearby Bernisches Historisches Museum and the Käfigturm, once part of the city walls in the old town.
The excursion was a fascinating experience an also a lot of fun.
Alexis Darbyshire, 4E