Berchtold's

Berchtold's
Berchtold's

Berchtold's
We made it to day 2 of the new year and the Swiss are already celebrating their second holiday.
Berchold’s Day,January 2,is named after Duke Berchtold V of Zahringen who founded the capital city of Switzerland in 1191.
Local legend goes that Bertchtold announced he’d name his future city after the first animal he slay on his hunting trip.He scored a bear,and thus the city is called Berne.(Good thing he didn’t kill a donkey.)
A duller theory is he named it “in memory of Dietrich of Berne (Verona),a favourite hero of Alamannic poetry.” (Names and Their Histories,Isaac Taylor,1856″)
St.Brechtold’s Day is celebrated mostly in the area around Berne.Though the confederacy of Switzerland is 700 years old,each region has maintained their own culture and identity.Switzerland’s central location in Western Europe makes it the “melting pot” of very white people:French,German,Italian,and Swiss.So I guess it’s more of an assorted cheese wheel of cultures,since it hasn’t really melted yet.