Canton of Berne /

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 (German: Kanton Bern, pronunciation (help·info); French: Canton de Berne) and has a population (as of 31 December 2009) of 969,299. As of 2007, the population included 119,930 (or 12.45%) foreigners. The cantonal capital, also the federal capital of Switzerland, is Bern. Bern joined the Swiss Confederation in 1353 and was between 1803 and 1814 one of the six direcorial cantons of the Napoleonic Swiss Confederation. The area of the canton of Bern consists of lands acquired by the city of Bern mostly between the 14th and the 16th century, both by conquest and purchase. Acquired districts include (with dates of acquisition): In 1798, with the establishment of the Helvetic Republic, Berne was divided, the canton of Oberland with Thun as its capital and