The Zytglogge, The Mechanical Heart Of The City Of Bern

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A ticking sound has been heard in the middle of Bern's Old Town for almost 500 years non-stop. It comes from the Zytglogge, a tower boasting one of the very few astronomical clocks in Europe that still works and is fully mechanical. This content was published on July 5, 2025 - 11:00 6 minutes

A member of the Swiss Abroad editorial team, I mainly write about Switzerland's most peculiar features and stories. After completing my master's degree in Asian Studies in Geneva (with a detour at Tokyo University and Kyoto University), I worked on the newsdesk at RSI, occasionally collaborating with Presence Switzerland during the Expo in South Korea and Milan. I have been working for SWI swissinfo since 2016.

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As a photo editor I am responsible for the editorial use of photography at SWI swissinfo and our collaborations with photographers. When the opportunity arises, I take a camera and accompany one of our journalists. I trained as a photographer in Zürich and began working as a photojournalist in 1989. I was a founder of the Swiss photographers' agency Lookat Photos in 1990. A two-time World Press Award winner, I have also been awarded several Swiss national scholarships. My work has been widely exhibited and it is represented in various collections.

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• Deutsch de Zytglogge, das mechanische Herz der Stadt Bern Read more: Zytglogge, das mechanische Herz der Stadt Ber
• Français fr Zytglogge, le cœur mécanique de la ville de Berne Read more: Zytglogge, le cœur mécanique de la ville de Bern
• Italiano it Zytglogge, il cuore meccanico della città di Berna Original Read more: Zytglogge, il cuore meccanico della città di Bern

“Feel the pulsations of the Zytglogge,” says Domenico Bernabei, inviting us to grasp one of the metal bars connected to the gigantic mechanical heart composed of gears, ropes and counterweights. With each tick, you can feel the bar shake.

The Zytglogge, pronounced“tseet-glocker”, is a tower in the centre of the old city of Bern, at the mouth of Kramgasse, the first street around which the Swiss capital grew.

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