are each angled slightly to the south-west. Despite its size and dominant position, the Federal Palace blends into the cityscape due to the use of for the facades. The other buildings in the old town are also made of this building material, which has a greenish-grey colour. The Federal Palace is flanked by the former in the west and the Hotel Bellevue Palace in the east, which is also the official residence for state guests. In addition to the Federal Palace, the and the building of the Swiss National Bank border the federal square. The mountain station of the Marzili Funicular, which leads down to the Marzili district, is located on the Bundesterrasse between Federal Palace West and the Bernerhof . The old University Hospital of Bern, built between 1718 and 1724 according to plans by the baroque master Franz Beer, stood on the site of today's Federal Palace East. When the hospital was demolished in 1888, the remains of the walls of the medieval monastery St. Michael zur Insel also revealed a Jewish tombstone, and another in 1901 when the Bundesplatz was created. These tombstones belonged to a cemetery (Judenkilchhof) that had been expropriated and sold in 1294 after the Jews had been expelled. An information board was installed at this location in September 2009 to commemorate Jewish prehistory. Planning and construction history Initial position The modern Swiss federal state came into being when the federal constitution became effective on September 12, 1848, but the location of the nation's capital remained unresolved. On 28 November, the Federal Assembly voted in favor of Bern as the federal city and the seat of the federal authorities (however, to this day, Switzerland has no de jure capital). Provisional solutions were necessary as there was no suitable central building to accommodate the government, parliament and federal administration. The Federal Council convened in the Erlacherhof; the National Council operated at a 1821-built music hall known as the "casino" and if necessary the Bern town hall; while the Council of States met in the . The federal court and administration moved into various buildings in the Old City. The was a public corporation representing the city's citizens and the powerful , and thus the superior municipality during the period. With a narrow majority, their assembly accepted the election of Bern as the federal city. However, it also transferred responsibility for the construction of the parliament