 Both the name of the city ("Bern" can stand for "Bär(e) n", bears) and its heraldic beast, come from this legend.At that time, much of today's Switzerland (then considered part of southern Burgundy) was under the authority of the house of Zähringen.The Zähringer leaders, although with no actual duchy of their own, were styled dukes by decree of the German king and exercised imperial power south of the Rhine.