Thun is a city in the canton of Bern in Switzerland with about 42,136 inhabitants.It is located where the River Aar flows out of Lake Thun (Thunersee), 30 km south of Bern. Besides tourism, machine and apparatus engineering, the largest garrison of the country, the food industry and publishing are of economic importance to Thun.
PLACE TO VISIT
The Castle - Schloss Schadau is a castle on the south side of the Aar near Lake Thun in the city of Thun, Canton Berne, Switzerland. It is situated in the Schaudaupark, and was built between 1846 and 1854 according to the plans of Pierre-Charles Dusillon in the Gothic Revival style, for the banker Abraham Denis Alfred de Rougemont Since 1925 the castle has belonged to the city of Thun and contains a restaurant and the Swiss Gastronomy Museum. Between 1972 and 1992 the façade of the castle was renovated by the city's own quarrymen.
Lake Thun - and the view of the Bernese Alps, including the Niederhorn, Niesen, Stockhorn and Jungfrau peaks.
The Wocher Panorama - the oldest remaining panorama drawing in the world.
Kunstmuseum Thun - The Kunstmuseum Thun in the former Grand Hotel Thunerhof housed the collection of the city of Thun since 1949. In five to six large exhibitions per year important international and national trends of contemporary art are shown. Solo exhibition by famous artists like Christian Marclay or Mark Grotjahn, the first large-scale retrospective exhibition of works by the artist sisters Claudia & Julia Müller ort he daring project “Cadeaux diplomatiques” of Gianni Motti and Christoph Büchel made the Kunstmuseum Thun an important place.
Museum shop and Café Thunerhof - The Kunstmuseum shop stocks the catalogues accompanying the exhibitions, as well as a wide range of books, posters, art postcards and multiples. This shop, the best art book store in the region, also has a large selection of highly original art books for children. The Café Thunerhof serves warm and cold snacks in a pleasant atmosphere. Before or after a visit to the museum, the terrace of the former Grand Hotel is a great attraction where one can enjoy coffee and cake against the impressive backdrop of the Bernese Oberland.
The Wocher–Panorama - in Schadaupark is a part of the Kunstmuseum Thun. This depiction of a small town around 1810 was painted by the artist Marquard Wocher on a roof in the centre of the old town of Thun. The unusual perspective still allows the viewer an intimate view into living-rooms, classrooms and narrow streets. The Thun Panorama is not only the first of its kind in Switzerland and the oldest preserved large-scale panorama in the world, it is also a valuable example of an early nineteenth century mass medium which enjoyed considerable popularity
HOW TO REACH
By Train - Thun is very easily reachable from every bigger city via Berne (from the north) or through the alps via Visp through the new basis-tunnel "Löschtberg" (from the south). Your reach Thun from both cities in a half hour. From Zurich it takes 1.5, from Zermatt 2 or from Geneva also 2 hours.
By Car - Thun is easily reachable with the national motorway A6 from Berne or Spiez and has two exits (Thun South, Thun North).
