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The Canton of Bern (, ; ) is the second largest of the 26 Swiss cantons by both surface area and population. Located in west-central Switzerland, it borders the Canton of Jura and the Canton of Solothurn to the north. To the west lie the Canton of Neuchâtel, the Canton of Fribourg and Vaud. To the south lies the Valais. East of the canton of Bern lie the cantons of Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Lucerne and Aargau. The canton of Bern is bilingual and has a population (as of ) of . , the population included 119,930 (or 12.45%) foreigners. The cantonal capital, also the federal capital of Switzerland, is Bern. ==History== Bern joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353 and was between 1803 and 1814 one of the six ''direcorial cantons'' of the Napoleonic Swiss Confederation. ===Early Prehistory=== The earliest traces a human presence in the area of the modern Canton is found in three caves in the Simmental region; Schnurenloch near Oberwil, Ranggiloch above Boltigen and Chilchlihöhle above Erlenbach. These caves were used at various times during the last ice age. The first open-air settlement in the area is an upper paleolithic settlement at Moosbühl in Moosseedorf. During the warmer climate of the mesolithic period, increasing forest cover restricted the movement of hunters, fishers and gatherers. Their temporary settlements were built along lake and marsh edges, which remained free of trees due to fluctuations in water level. Important mesolithic sites in the Canton are at Pieterlenmoos and Burgäschisee lake along with alpine valleys at Diemtig and Simmental. During the neolithic period, there were a number of settlements on the shores of Lake Biel, the Toteisbecken (Lobsigensee, Moossee, Burgäschisee and Inkwilersee) and along rivers (Aare, Zihl). Several of these sites are part of the Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.〔(UNESCO World Heritage Site – Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps )〕 One of the best explored neolithic sites is at Twann (now Twann-Tüscherz). In the Twannbach delta there were about 25 Cortaillod culture and Horgen culture villages that existed between 3800 and 2950 BC. One of the oldest examples of bread from Switzerland, a sourdough from 3560–3530 BC, came from one of these villages.〔 Simple copper objects were already in use in the 4th millennium BC, including a copper pin from Lattrigen from 3170 BC and a knife blade from Twann. Shortly before 2000 BC bronze production entered the area and brought about a surge in development. Settlements began to spread into the pre-Alpine and Alpine areas. The area between Lake Thun and the Niedersimmental were densely settled. Archeological finds include scattered items along mountain passes, a fortified hilltop settlements at Spiezberg, Cholis Grind by Saanen and at Pintel by Wimmis, along with cemeteries at Thun-Allmendingen, Einigen and Hilterfingen. Late Bronze Age (ca. 1000–800 BC) settlements along Lake Biel (Mörigen, Vinelz) have yielded up a wealth of items. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canton of Bern」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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