Coat of arms of Bern canton, Switzerland

Bern

(Bern/Berne · ቤርን · Berna)

Canton · Administrative region

Capital: Bern

1 006 288
Population
5 938 km²
Area
10
Districts
Official languages: German French · Berne

Cities & Towns

Top 1911 places

Bern covers 5 938 km² , divided into 10 districts, with Bern as its capital city. Around 1 006 288 people live here, giving a population density of 169 per km² Click a district on the map to open its page.

Maps & Downloads

SVG and PNG, 600 px
Bern canton map with district boundaries, Switzerland

Bern canton map with district boundaries, Switzerland

Canton boundary with all district borders

Switzerland map with Bern canton highlighted

Switzerland map with Bern canton highlighted

All 26 cantons, this one highlighted

Bern canton outline map, Switzerland

Bern canton outline map, Switzerland

Clean solid-fill outline shape

Districts

10 districts

Bern is split into 10 districts. The largest is Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district at 1 259 km², and the smallest is Biel/Bienne administrative district at 98 km² Bern-Mittelland administrative district has the highest building count in OSM, with 150 676 recorded structures.

District Population Area (km²) Buildings Postcodes
Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district 47 962 1 259 40 784 34 Open
Bern-Mittelland administrative district 393 681 942 150 676 146 Open
Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district 39 132 774 30 789 32 Open
Emmental administrative district 95 788 690 52 641 68 Open
Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district 24 808 575 17 973 17 Open
Bernese Jura administrative district 45 745 522 27 521 50 Open
Seeland administrative district 71 905 339 35 242 50 Open
Oberaargau administrative district 78 428 331 42 890 57 Open
Thun administrative district 105 898 322 40 235 47 Open
Biel/Bienne administrative district 102 941 98 29 506 27 Open

Postcodes

465 postcode areas

Bern has 465 postcode areas, covering roughly 20 533 km² and 1 729 989 mapped buildings. Postcodes in Bern start with 3 / 2 / 4 / 6 / 1 (covering 3xxx, 2xxx, 4xxx, 6xxx, 1xxx), placing the canton in these Swiss postal zones. The most built-up postcode is 3800, with around 5 231 buildings. The map shades each postcode area by code number, so you can see at a glance how the Bern postal zones are laid out geographically.

465
Total postcodes
1 729 989
Buildings
20 533 km²
Total area
1 161
Avg. buildings
13.8 km²
Avg. area
6 680
Cities covered
5
Prefix zones
Colour by

Map legend

Jump to postcode

Postcodes by building count

# Code Name Buildings Population Area km²
1 n/a 5 231 16 357 55.85
2 n/a 4 903 14 578 21.13
3 n/a 4 527 8 782 15.56
4 n/a 3 945 9 451 5.28
5 n/a 3 865 3 200 171.24
6 n/a 3 484 3 982 55.05
7 n/a 3 440 2 806 39.75
8 n/a 3 425 5 705 15.77
9 n/a 3 375 7 257 6.3
10 n/a 3 297 4 916 72.19
11 n/a 3 235 15 170 10.1
12 n/a 3 216 12 917 20.48
13 n/a 3 094 17 253 14.83
14 n/a 3 082 10 446 23.26
15 n/a 2 969 3 741 122.92
16 n/a 2 920 14 485 6.22
17 n/a 2 889 4 150 87.62
18 n/a 2 810 14 284 6.41
19 n/a 2 807 5 531 16.49
20 n/a 2 627 8 029 19.61

Postal services in Bern

Bern has 8963 mapped postal facilities: 831 post offices, 7901 post boxes, 231 parcel lockers. Swiss Post runs a wide network of branches and automated MyPost 24 parcel lockers across the canton.

3400 Burgdorf 1
3402 Burgdorf Oberstadt
3415 Hasle-Rüegsau
3432 Lützelflüh-Goldbach
Aarwangen · 4912 Aarwangen
Arch
Axalp · 3855 Axalp
Biel/Bienne 1 Annahme/Dépôt · 2502 Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne 3 Neumarkt/Marché-Neuf · 2502 Biel/Bienne
Biel/Bienne 6 Bözingen
Biel/Bienne 8 Mett
DHL

Transport

60 lines, 178 routes

Click a route on the map to see its details.

By mode

bus 51 lines
aerialway 9 lines

Network overview

Lines 60
Routes 178
Total network length 1328.7 km
Operators 15
Longest line 132: 108.8 km
Most stops 230: 65 stops

Bern has 1328.7 km of public transport routes across 60 lines and 178 services, run by 15 operators.

Full transport breakdown

Population and Building Density

by municipality (Gemeinde borders)

Summary

Hover over a municipality to see its figures.

Public Holidays

18 holidays in 2026 & 2027

Bern observes 9 public holidays in 2026. Alongside the Swiss national holidays, Bern has 5 canton-specific holidays.

Date Holiday Day Scope
01.01.2026 New Year's Day Thursday National
02.01.2026 Saint Berchtold's Day Friday Canton
03.04.2026 Good Friday Friday Canton
06.04.2026 Easter Monday Monday Canton
14.05.2026 Ascension Day Thursday National
25.05.2026 Whit Monday Monday Canton
01.08.2026 National Day Saturday National
25.12.2026 Christmas Day Friday National
26.12.2026 Saint Stephen's Day Saturday Canton

Heraldry

Official heraldry, free to download

These are the official heraldic symbols of Bern. The images come from Wikimedia Commons and can be downloaded below in SVG (scales to any size) or PNG (600 x 600 px).

Questions about Bern

Quick answers
What is the capital city of Bern?

The capital of Bern is Bern, with around 128 848 residents.

How many people live in Bern?

Around 1 006 288 people call Bern home, spread across 5 938 km².

How big is Bern?

Bern takes up 5 938 km², which is roughly 2 293 square miles.

Is Bern a canton or a city?

Bern is a canton, one of 26 member states of the Swiss Confederation. Each one has its own constitution, parliament, government, and courts. Its administrative capital is Bern.

What language is spoken in Bern?

Bern is multilingual. Its official languages are German, French.

How many districts does Bern have?

Bern is divided into 10 districts (Bezirke). These include Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district, Bern-Mittelland administrative district, Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district, Emmental administrative district, Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district and 5 more , each forming a second-level administrative subdivision of the canton.

What postal codes does Bern use?

Bern uses 465 postal code areas. Swiss codes are always 4 digits long. Codes here start with 3, 2, 4, 6, 1.