From Moabit to the federal city: moving to Bern
Moving company Berlin
Arcades, Aare, Federal Palace: Berlin ↔ Bern
All the way to the Aare
Bern is Switzerland's federal city, the seat of the Federal Council and Parliament, and lies at around 540 metres on both banks of the Aare between the Gurten and the Bantiger. Anyone moving here from Berlin crosses a customs border: Switzerland is outside the EU customs union, so your household goods are declared as removal goods (Übersiedlungsgut) – form 18.44 plus an inventory list. Our team starts at Stromstraße 21 in Moabit and stays the same right up to your front door in Bern. At the survey we look at cubic metres, stairwell and access, check the list with you and record the fixed price in writing.
959 kilometres means approx. 14.5 h by lorry with breaks – well over the nine hours a day that EU Regulation 561/2006 allows one driver. That is why we drive with two drivers or spread the trip over two days, and we cross the border while the customs office is open; removal goods are usually cleared on working days. In Switzerland a night-time rest period from 10 pm to 5 am applies to lorries over 3.5 t. Liability under the German Commercial Code (HGB), § 451e: €620 per cubic metre, more cover on request – the same for the return move to Berlin.
Request a quote for Bern
Guide price from €3,610 – LSVA, customs clearance and second driver as separate items
Between Berlin and Bern we work with a guide price from €3,610. It becomes binding after the survey: the fixed price then includes cubic metres, packing work, furniture assembly, customs clearance of the removal goods, the LSVA (Swiss heavy vehicle fee) for the Swiss stage and the second driver or overnight stay. This also applies to a return move from Bern to Berlin – phone 01625978461.
Quotes are available individually depending on effort, availability of dates and the scope of services required.
PROFESSIONAL MOVING SERVICE
Professional moving solutions for Berlin and the surrounding area. Fast, safe and reliable.
Private move
Long-Distance Move
No-Parking Zone
The same people from Moabit to the Aare
Basel, Härkingen, Wankdorf – and the same way back
Our lorry starts in Berlin (Stromstraße 21) and only stops at your door in Bern – whether in the Länggasse, Kirchenfeld or Bümpliz. Beforehand we go through together what Swiss customs checks: inventory list, form 18.44, proof of your new residence and a border appointment within opening hours. We drive via the A9, A4 and A5 to Basel, then on the A2 to Härkingen and on the A1 past Kirchberg and Schönbühl to Wankdorf, with two drivers or an overnight stop. Fixed price after a survey, liability under the German Commercial Code (HGB), advice on the Berlin–Bern move on 01625978461.
Packing service
Office move
Senior move
Furniture transport
Six commitments for the move to the federal city
Specifically for Bern: a written fixed price after a survey, an inventory list that customs can work with, and a timetable that brings together driving times, the Swiss night-time driving ban and customs opening hours.
No handover along the way
A list for customs
Amounts disclosed
Timetable with border slot
Storage if delayed
Access permit
Shared load to Bern
Just a student room for Bern? Ask about a shared load (Beiladung): you only pay for the space your things take up in the lorry. At the border it remains your own customs declaration as removal goods. You will find out after your enquiry whether a suitable run towards Basel is planned.
Customer
review
Timetable
for the Bern move
For the move to Bern we first clarify: the inventory list for the removal goods, form 18.44 and documents such as an employment or tenancy contract. Then follow the parking restriction from the Berlin district office and the access and parking permit from the city of Bern, furniture assembly and, if needed, interim storage. New in Bern? Register with the residents' services (Einwohnerdienste, Predigergasse 5) within 14 days; EU citizens arriving from abroad use the web form.
Papers and deadlines
Stairwell, lift, arcades
Costs and dates
Customs, the A1, residents' services, the way back
Moving your residence to the federal city: what customs requires
A move from Berlin to Bern means moving your residence to a country that is not part of the EU customs union. Household goods that you have used yourself for at least six months and will continue to use in Bern remain duty-free – customs calls them removal goods. You need the signed form 18.44, a list of your inventory and proof that you really are moving, such as your Bern tenancy agreement. We organise the way from your Berlin flat to your new address on the Aare, with furniture assembly and unpacking.
The return move from Bern to Berlin works in the opposite direction: the Swiss export office receives an inventory list with both addresses, and in Germany you declare the goods to customs. For this too you receive a fixed price after the survey.
959 km: via Weil am Rhein, Härkingen and Kirchberg to Bern
From Stromstraße we take the AVUS and the Berlin ring road onto the A9, which takes us to the Hermsdorfer Kreuz. The A4 leads west past Erfurt and Eisenach, via the Hattenbach interchange we reach the A5 and drive past Frankfurt, Karlsruhe and Freiburg to Weil am Rhein. In Basel the Swiss A2 begins, through the Belchen tunnel to the Härkingen junction; there we switch to the A1 heading west, past Luterbach, Kirchberg and Schönbühl, to the Wankdorf junction in Bern. Total: around 959 km, or approx. 14.5 h by lorry with breaks.
On German motorways lorries over 3.5 t may drive at 80 km/h (§ 18 para. 5 StVO); after four and a half hours at the wheel a 45-minute break follows. Two drivers take turns, or we stop overnight on this side of the border and have the goods cleared on the following working day.
Aare loop, Matte, Bümpliz: arriving in Bern
Bern is the capital of the canton of the same name and Switzerland's federal city. The Aare encloses the old town in a loop; the Zähringer town founded in 1191, with its arcades, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983, and down by the river lies the Matte quarter. The city is divided into six districts: Innere Stadt, Länggasse-Felsenau, Mattenhof-Weissenbühl, Kirchenfeld-Schosshalde, Breitenrain-Lorraine and Bümpliz-Oberbottigen, incorporated in 1919. So that the lorry may stand outside your building, we obtain the access and parking permit for moves from the city. You must register with the residents' services within 14 days.
If you later move back to Berlin, you deregister in Bern and register in Berlin at the citizens' office (Bürgeramt) within two weeks, with an ID and the landlord confirmation (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung). We apply to the district office for the parking restriction at the Berlin address.
Indicative prices Berlin ↔ Bern
For your move to Bern or from Bern back to Berlin, a fixed price with no hidden items applies in the end. These figures help with initial planning:
| Flat | Price from | Cubic metres |
|---|---|---|
| 1 room, studio | from €350 | 10–15 m³ |
| 2 rooms | from €590 | 20–25 m³ |
| 3 rooms | from €890 | 30–40 m³ |
| 4 rooms | from €1,290 | 45–60 m³ |
| House or villa | on request | more than 60 m³ |
For the roughly 959 km to the federal city a guide price from €3,610 applies, there and back. LSVA, customs clearance and a second driver are listed as separate lines in the quote; everything becomes binding after a free survey.
What the Berlin–Bern price depends on
The volume comes first. On the way to the federal city there are also the 959 km, the LSVA for around 90 Swiss kilometres, customs clearance and the question of a second driver or an overnight stay. The floor, lift and extras such as furniture assembly or a parking restriction in Berlin also count. Small volumes become cheaper with a shared load.
What we handle between Berlin and Bern
One contact person for the whole way to the federal city and back:
- Private move – clearing your flat in Berlin, setting it up in Bern
- Company move – office including IT, declared separately
- Furniture transport – heirlooms and single pieces padded
- Shared load – share space on the run via Basel
- Move with assembly – wardrobes and kitchen dismantled and reassembled
- House clearance – cellar and attic in Berlin cleared
More destinations in the canton of Bern and from Berlin
If your new address is further south on the lake, you will find the route under moving Berlin–Thun. All other routes are in the long-distance moves overview, and our regions in the locations overview.
How to get your fixed price for Bern
Whether you are moving to Bern or from Bern back to Berlin: after the survey – in person in Berlin, by video in Bern – we fill in the inventory list and form 18.44 together and fix the fixed price for the 959 kilometres in writing, guide price from €3,610. A call is all it takes: 01625978461, free of charge and with no obligation.