Editing Bern (section)

=== Old Swiss Confederacy ===
In 1353, Bern joined the [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Swiss Confederacy]], becoming the eighth canton of the formative period of 1353 to 1481.

Bern invaded and conquered [[Aargau]] in 1415 and [[Vaud]] in 1536, as well as other smaller territories, thereby becoming the largest [[city-state]] north of the [[Alps]]. By the 18th century, it comprised most of what is today the [[canton of Bern]] and the [[canton of Vaud]].

[[File:MerianBern.jpg|thumb|left|Bern in 1638]]
The city grew out towards the west of the boundaries of the peninsula formed by the river [[Aare]]. The ''[[Zytglogge]]'' tower marked the western boundary of the city from 1191 until 1256, when the ''Käfigturm'' took over this role until 1345. It was succeeded by the ''[[Christoffelturm]]'' (formerly located closer to the site of the modern-day railway station) until 1622. During the [[Thirty Years' War]], two new fortifications – the so-called big and small ''[[Schanze]]'' (entrenchments) – were built to protect the whole area of the peninsula.

After a major blaze in 1405, the city's original wooden buildings were gradually replaced by [[half-timbered]] houses, and subsequently the [[sandstone]] buildings which came to be characteristic for the Old Town. Despite waves of [[Bubonic plague|pestilence]] that hit Europe in the 14th century, the city continued to grow, mainly due to [[immigration]] from the surrounding countryside.<ref>{{HDS|209|Bern: Development of the settlement and the population}}</ref>

During the 18th century, the city of Bern was at one point the largest shareholder in the [[South Sea Company]], a British [[joint-stock company]] which was involved in the [[Atlantic slave trade]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Illien |first=Noele |date=2020-11-19 |title=Banking and slavery: Switzerland examines its colonial conscience |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/19/banking-slavery-switzerland-examines-its-colonial-conscience |access-date=2023-11-15 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> From 1689 to 3 March 1798 in the town was printed, in [[French language|French]], the biweekly newspaper ''[[Gazette de Berne]]'', which reflected the opinions of Bern,<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bertholet |first1=Auguste |url=https://www.sgeaj.ch/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/bertholet-kapossy-la-physiocratie-et-la-suisse-2023.pdf |title=La Physiocratie et la Suisse |last2=Kapossy |first2=Béla |publisher=Slatkine |year=2023 |isbn=9782051029391 |location=Geneva |language=fr}}</ref> usually hostile to the politics of [[Pre-revolutionary France]].<ref>{{HDS|043041|author=Ernst Bollinger|Gazette de Bern}}</ref>