The city of
Bern or
Berne (, ; ; ; ;
Bernese German:
Bärn ) is the de facto capital of
Switzerland, referred to by the Swiss as their (e.g. in German)
Bundesstadt, or "
federal city". With a population of 140,634 (November 2015), Bern is the fifth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 36 municipalities, had a population of 406,900 in 2014. The
metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000. Bern is also the capital of the
Canton of Bern, the second most populous of Switzerland's cantons.
