Answer:
Switzerland trictly speaking and in official terms, Switzerland has no capital. The city of Bern is officially not considered as the capital of Switzerland but but as what the Swiss call “federal city”, meaning that it it hosts the Swiss parliament and the Federal government. Of course, one could argue that this is exactly what a capital is in general, to which I agree.
The reluctance of the Swiss to call their capital “capital” has historic origins. Bern was chosen to host the Swiss parliament because at the time when the Swiss Confederation became an actual country (in 1848), most provinces (cantons) didn’t want the then comparably powerful Geneva, Zürich or Basel to become the capital of Switzerland, by fear of these already very powerful cities to become even more powerful. Instead, the Swiss cantons chose the relatively unimportant Bern to be the host of the parliament and Federal government. Still afraid that Bern would become too powerful, they decided not to call Bern the capital but instead came up with the term “federal city”.
So in summary, I’d say that de facto, Bern is the capital of Switzerland, but that the Swiss happen to not call it as such. Instead, they call it “federal city” in order not to give it too much importance and power.
Explanation:
