State archives of the canton of Berne, Memory institution in Bern, Switzerland.
The State Archives of the Canton of Bern is a memory institution that collects documents, maps, plans, and handwritten records central to Swiss administrative history and heritage. The collection spans different periods and areas of cantonal life.
The collection preserves records from the medieval period and the time when Bern was the largest state north of the Alps until 1798. This material documents the administrative and legal history of the canton.
The collection holds family records and personal donations that show how local communities developed and how people were connected to one another. Visitors can see how life in the region looked across generations.
The reading room is at Falkenplatz 1 in the Länggasse district, a short walk from Bern's main station. Consult the online finding aids before your visit to request the files you need, since material is fetched from the stacks. The 1984–1986 underground storage building by Magdalena Rausser lies beneath the same site.
The archive maintains a specialized system for preserving family coats of arms that shows centuries of heraldic tradition in the region. This collection offers a rare look at the heraldic history and identity of local families.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,722 contributors worldwide.
