Zytglogge (Clock Tower)

The Zytglogge, or Clock Tower, is the landmark that closes off the western end of Bern’s medieval core, set on the line where Marktgasse turns into Kramgasse. The tower dates to the early 13th century, when it served as the city’s western gate. As Bern grew outward, the gate lost that job and was reused over the centuries as a prison and a watch post, before the clock on its face became the thing everyone came to see. Its name is simply Bernese German for "time bell".

The astronomical clock on the street side is the main draw. It does more than tell the hour: its dials show the position of the sun and moon, the zodiac and the calendar. The mechanism has been rebuilt and refined many times since the late Middle Ages, and the current astronomical dial is usually dated to the 16th century. Around it, a figure show begins a few minutes before each hour. A jester rings small bells, a rooster crows, a procession of bears circles a seated figure, and Chronos, the personification of time, turns his hourglass. An armoured figure at the very top strikes the hour on the bell. The whole performance lasts only a couple of minutes, so arriving a little early and standing in the street opposite gives you the best view.

Inside, guided visits take you behind the clock face to see the gearwork that drives the dials and figures. It is a good way to understand how much hand-built precision went into a clock of this age: heavy wheels, long rods, and counterweights working in a stone shaft. The tour is where the tower stops being a photo stop and becomes a piece of engineering. Check the current schedule and language options before planning around it, as tours are not run on a drop-in basis.

The setting adds to it. The tower stands inside the UNESCO-listed Old Town, with the sandstone arcades of the shopping streets running away on both sides, and fountains and cellar bars close at hand. Kramgasse, to the east of the tower, leads toward the Bern Cathedral and the loop of the Aare, with the peaks of the Bernese Oberland on the horizon on clear days, while Marktgasse to the west heads toward the Käfigturm and the Bundeshaus area. If you are walking the Old Town, the Zytglogge is a natural landmark to pivot from, and it pairs well with a wander through the Matte district below, or a climb up to the cathedral tower for the view back over the roofs. The skyline from the cathedral or from across the river shows how the tower and its pointed roof sit among the red-tiled houses.

It suits anyone with an interest in history, mechanical clocks or city architecture, and families usually enjoy the hourly show as a short, free spectacle in the middle of a day of sightseeing.