Gurten, Mountain summit near Bern, Switzerland

Gurten is a mountain summit rising to 858 meters (2,815 ft) on the southern edge of Bern, above the district of Wabern. From the top, visitors can see the old town of Bern, the Alps, and on clear days, the Jura range.

The castle site of Aegerten lies about 1 kilometre southeast of the Gurten summit, not on it. In the 13th century it was the seat of the von Ägerten family; Burkhard von Egerdon was Bern's Schultheiss. The line died out in the mid-14th century and the last heirs sold the castle to the Teutonic Order in Köniz. Parts of the residential tower stood until 1674, and today only sections of the foundations remain.

The Gurten Festival takes place each July on the mountain slopes and draws a wide crowd from across the region for open-air concerts. The stages are set into the hillside, so the music and the surrounding landscape feel closely connected.

A funicular from Wabern station carries visitors to the top quickly, but walking trails from the base offer a more gradual way up. Even in summer, the summit can be windy, so bringing an extra layer is a good idea.

The observatory on the Gurten was rebuilt from the one dismantled on Monte Generoso; the Migros Aare filed the building application in May 2021 and it opened in March 2022. The 25-metre Gurtenturm nearby, erected in 2000, was a gift from the Bern carpentry guild for its 100th anniversary.