The Federal Palace is a building in Bern housing the Swiss Federal Assembly (legislature) and the Federal Council (executive). It is the seat of the government of Switzerland and parliament of the country. The building is a listed symmetrical complex just over 300 metres (980 ft) long. It is considered one of the most important historic buildings in the country and listed in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Assets of National Importance. It consists of three interconnected buildings in the southwest of Bern's old city. The two chambers of the Federal Assembly, the National Council and Council of States, meet in the parliament building on Bundesplatz.

The oldest part of the Federal Palace is the west wing (then called "Bundes-Rathaus", now "Bundeshaus West"), built from 1852 to 1857 under Jakob Friedrich Studer. The building united the federal administration, government and parliament under one roof. To solve pressing space problems, the east wing ("Bundeshaus Ost") was built from 1884 to 1892 under Hans Wilhelm Auer. Under Auer's direction, the parliament building in the center was erected between 1894 and 1902 to conclude the project. At the beginning of the 21st century, the first comprehensive renovation of the Federal Palace took place.

The west wing on Bundesgasse is the headquarters of two departments of the Federal Administration, and houses the Federal Chancellery and the Parliamentary Library; the Federal Council also holds its meetings here. Two other departments have their headquarters in the east wing on Kochergasse. The sobriety of the two wings corresponds to their main purpose as administrative buildings, contrasting with the more monumental parliament building constructed in neo-Renaissance style with a portico and a striking dome. The rich artistic decoration whose symbolism is based on the history, constitutional foundations and cultural diversity of Switzerland, as well as stone used from all parts of the country, underline the character of the parliament building as a national monument.

The Federal Palace is located on the south-western edge of the Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on a fortification of the slope to the Marzili district [de] known as the Federal Terrace. The building complex extends over a length of just over 300 meters and consists of three parts: the Federal Palace West on Bundesgasse [de], the Parliament Building on Bundesplatz and the Federal Palace East on Kochergasse. While the Federal Palace East is aligned from east to west, the other two parts of the building 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 Bernese sandstone [de] 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 Hotel Bernerhof [de] 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 cantonal bank building [de] 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 local Jewish history.

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 an 1821-built music hall known as the "casino" and if necessary the Bern town hall; while the Council of States met in the Äusserer Stand town hall [de]. The federal court and administration moved into various buildings in the Old City.

The Burgergemeinde Bern [de] was a public corporation representing the city's citizens and the powerful patriciates [de], 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 and government building to the municipality, which had been formed only 15 years previously. The federal government lacked the authority to construct its own buildings, but this decision accelerated the political disempowerment of the civic community by liberal forces. This process was completed in 1852 with the transfer of autonomy to the Einwohnergemeinde Bern [de] and the separation of property (division of assets).