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Berne - The charming capital of Switzerland deutsch français Of Old Berne There are various methods of approach to works of art, be they poems, music, paintings or architecture. To grasp the spirit of a whole city, however, calls for other methods. Whether one strolls or drives through or even flies over it, each angle of approach brings into relief a different facet. Impressions crowd upon one, houses, streets, quarters, forming finally a complete picture of the human hive. Language, sounds, noise, the daily activities, day and night time, all add their quota. The façade of a house echoes the character of its interior. Walking up the nearest hill, you get that wonderful vista so beloved of, and often portrayed by the local artists of the XVIIIth century. For the leisurely stroller this sequence of impressions makes the exploration of a town an abundant, rich and varied experience. Berne is a work of art, if, indeed, it is permissible to speak of a city as such. In spite of many alterations, its original character has been much better preserved than that of either Basle or Zurich. This was due less to the wisdom of the inhabitants than to the special topographical situation of the city. A glean at one of the town plans, preferably one of the earlier ones, shows the far sightedness of the founder in choosing the loop of the river Aare for his purpose. At that time the Imperial fortress of the Nydegg already existed, along with a few houses down by the water's edge. This position on the peninsula allowed no lateral expansion but only an elongation towards the west; thus when expansion became necessary, older parts of the city were left untouched and a new bit was added. These periods of growth are still clearly visible and can be traced as on walks through Berne; as Rudolf von Tavel rightly said, you can read, so to speak, its history off its face. From 1191 to 1256 the westerly end of the town finished at the Zytglogge Tower, but by 1345 it had extended as far as the Käfig Tower, reaching to the Christoffel Tower by 1622. The site of this last-named gateway is now occupied by the tramway station on the Bubenbergplatz. The demolition of this tower and gateway was carried out in 1864 by a maj ority vote of four only ! At the time of the Thirty Years War the construction of the fortifications on the Grosse and Kleine Schanze demanded great sacrifices on the part of the population. It remained within these boundaries until the 19th century ; by that time every bit of space on the peninsula had been turned to account. The area lying between the Nydegg fortress and the Zytglogge gateway appears to be built to a regular plan which is clearly noticeable to this day; it was separated from the hinterland by a natural dyke. Hans Strahm has stressed the fact that a uniform preconceived plan which provided for a strictly limited number of houses, each measuring 100 feet in width and 6o feet in depth, must have been made as a basis for the construction of the town. This is mentioned in the Emperor Frederick II's Charter and is borne out by the regularity of the allotments to this day. This Charter constitutes an historical document of the utmost value and it is most important that these alignments should be for ever strictly adhered to. The more recent expansions of the 13th and 14th centuries known as the Savoy town as far as the Käfig Gateway and beyond to the Christoffel Gateway do not show the Same regular characteristics. It may be interesting to note that the terra Savoy town only applies to that part of the city lying between the Zytglogge and Käfig Gateway. Within the original Zähringer town however, there are two distinct periods of building and during excavations made in 1942 the base of a town wall near the Kreuzgasse was brought to light thus proving that a transversal wall had existed, connected to a tower which stood on the site of the present Council Hall. This was built much later though its west wall incorporates part of the older structure. It is therefore presumed that the beginning of the old lower quarter dates back to the middle of the 12th century - i. e. to the time of Duke Berchtold IV of Zähringen. On the other hand, the upper quarter of the town near to the Zytglogge Gateway dates from the time of Berchthold V and was completed about 1191. The transversal moat was filled in and to-day forms the Kreuzgasse which serves as a connecting street between the Council Hall and the Cathedral. The peninsula on which the city of Berne is built has been compared to a cornucopia which was gradually filled to the brim through the centuries. Each one of these additions to the original town can be clearly identified. It was not until the 19th century that the growing needs of the City forced it outside the peninsula, but the old town remained as at first planned and within its precincts, thus preserving all its original features. This is very rarely met with elsewhere. The razing of the fortifications enabled the toron to spread, and this took place shortly before Berne was selected as the capital of the Confederation. Outer gateways were also pulled down leaving the city with few mementoes of its old fortifications. The construction of the bridges took almost a century, the Nydegg bridge being opened to traffic in 1844 and the new railway bridge in 1941. It is a real artistic joy to follow the topographical situation and the growth of the city by studying the different views and plans that have come down to us through the ages: those of Johannes Stumpf (1548), Hans Rudolf Manuel, Gregorius Sickinger, Mathaeus Merian and at a later date of Johann Adam Riediger and Herport (1717), Brenner and Sinner. One of the most typical of these is the view engraved by Merian for his Helvetic Topography showing the star-like fortifications of Berne on the western side. It is based on a drawing done by Joseph Plepp, architect, surveyor, painter and town councillor, in 1636. Perhaps all these qualifications, added to the ability of an exact engraver, were necessary to produce for posterity a picture of the town in all its gothic glory. The basic lay-out is simple and clear; the function of the Aare appears self-evident. As Hans Bloesch so succinctly puts it: the river protects the features of the old town by its embrace. The streets, fanning out from the east, wander up the peninsula, following the outline of the promontory in gentle curves. These are halted at intervals by the lines of the old moats running across them and which have now been turned into busy squares. The methodical order of the smaller streets throw into relief the main artery which starts down by the river at the lower bridge and ends up at the Zytglogge. The Council Hall and the Cathedral lie north and south of the cross street, in this manner Church and State were kept separate from the market throng, though not too far apart. Their position on the edge of the northern and southern slopes of the peninsula gives them ample breathing space. The Kreuzgasse (literally Cross Street) connects the two and it was along this street in by-gone days that the solemn procession of the city magistrates betook itself on Easter Monday. The intersection of the main street and the Kreuzgasse is spiritually, if not literally, the town's centre. Here stood, until the XVIIIth century, the stone Judgment Seat from which the Chief Magistrate gave judgment of life and death whenever there was a public hearing. The people gathered here around the pillory and the whipping post to watch the carnival plays of Niklaus Manuel-heralds of the impending Reformation. The river Aare and the Stadtbach, the fountains and the bridges, the main streets, the filled-in moats, the lines of the houses with their arcades, the Cathedral and the Council Hall, the towers-landmarks of successive growth-form the city's character, like the features on a human face. We will now deal with these features in detail. The river Aare is in the midst of the town tho' unseen , and even the streets have something of its characteristics. The Stadtbach flows down the middle of the main street - for the last few years so well covered in that no covering slabs can be seen - it flows in mid street under the fountains, whose water gushes forth as if it were released by a bleeding; each one takes up the play of the preceding on and passes it on to the next. The polychrome figures surmounting the fountains are a feast of variety-fife-player, runner, archer, the Lion of the Zähringers, Samson, the ogre, allegorical women, with their retinues of animals, cupids, dolphins and carved heads on pillars and capitols seem to dance a saraband above the throngs in the streets below. All these are the work of good master artists, among them Hans Gieng, who worked about 1540 when the wooden fountains were replaced by stone ones. Many date from the XVIIIth century, such as the Moses fountain on the Cathedral Square and others in the shape of columns, obelisks and urns are to be found in the Kreuzgasse, Postgasse, Brunngasse, Herrengasse and Waisenhausplatz. There is also a particularly fine one in the quadrangle of the Burgerspital. Most of the basins have been renewed through the ages as and when necessity demanded. Berne, a city of arcades, still is most certainly also the richest in fountains. The toron, originally constructed of wood and shingles, was rebuilt in stone after the great fire of 1405. Another major renovation dates from the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries when, with the help of sound government policy, it gradually acquired a new look. Native architects adapted styles of the period which originated in France into a distinctive Bernese baroque, keeping it simple though full of variety, and unspoilt by eccentricities of detail. During this period many important state buildings as well as large private houses were built but throughout, the severe vertical structure of the Gothic was preserved. The outward appearance of the toron thus underwent an organic change from within which did not, however, detract from its character. Thus it became part and parcel of the topographical scheme. The unbroken unity of the heart of the city of Berne depends more on the relation of each house to its neighbour and to the relative proportions of street and square than to the quality of individual façades. The disappearance of any single house is not only an artistic loss in itself but it affects the whole scheme. The charm of these houses and their relation to the street lies particularly in the unevenness of the rows, sometimes projecting, sometimes receding, in the variety of the arches, comices and pillars of the arcades. The different widths of the façades, windows with and without shutters, varying outward projections of the roofs, dormer windows and chimneys of varying shape constitute a greater attraction as a whole than their individual beauty. In fact it is the perfect example of subordination of the individual to the community. To those who are in search of the architectural symbol of a living community, Berne is the answer. In spite of the baroque façades, strolling through the streets one has a definite feeling of being in a mediaeval town; this is particularly noticeable in the main street below the Zytglogge Tower, that part of the former Märitgasse (now Kramgasse), which lies between the Kreuzgasse and the beginning of the Gerechtigkeitsgasse and which slopes down to the Nydegg in a strong, graceful curve and really forms the backbone of the City. With loving care Albert Anker has painted this view, looking uphill. The breadth of thoroughfare is particularly noticeable and one cannot but admire the far-sightedness of the early town planners who did this partly as a precaution against fire and partly to provide enough space for market and traffic in peace time and to enable the assembling of men in war. The narrowness of the peninsula did not allow for the provision of proper squares and the open spaces round the Cathedral and Council Hall, as we know them to-day, were only made by pulling down houses and filling in moats. It was in these streets that the people foregathered in the past and they have continued to do so to this day. All the houses are built of sandstone, few have been painted over; their warm colour varies slightly in tones of green, yellow, brown and bluish grey according to the different quarries from which the stone was taken. These quarries are all local, -the material being drawn from the Gurten, Ostermundigen, the Stockern, Krauchtal or the Aare valley close to the town. On cloudless days the deep blue of the skies reflects the proximity of the Alps as well as giving a tang of the south; and through the old streets it seems as though one could almost hear the footsteps of those long gone who, in the distant past, helped to shape the city for their descendants in the centuries to corne. The richest façades are to be found in the Kramgasse and Gerechtigkeitsgasse though occasionally there is an exception which proves the cule in the shape of a classic triangular gable, or again an attic roof appears and the arcades are continued up a side street. Usually, however, corner houses carry a gable on the side street which is minus arcades. The one-time Kaufhaus (Kramgasse 24) was rebuilt in the classic Empire style and is the only one to have no characteristic jutting out roof, this Tather gives it the look of a face without eyebrows ! Eighteenth century styles are predominant and, when rebuilding in the present day, it is curious to note, how mang of these façades have been so loosely connected to the older internal masonry. The Tate gothic type of house, similar to those shown in Wilhelm Stettler's drawing of the Spitalgasse of about 1680, survived in isolated cases only and then mostly in unpretentious side streets. These were usually three storeys high with several windows in a row on the first floor, single windows on the second floor, a widely jutting out roof resting on open supports with dormer windows at intervals and a wheel hoist. In the lower part of the main street many of the façades are of the early baroque period such as, for instance, the Guild hall of the Distelzwang (guild of nobility). But here again, the bi-partite windows and, as on other houses arched buttresses, reveal a gothic influence. This is a transitional style of architecture which has skipped the classic Renaissance and is very typical of Berne. Other buildings display the elegant dignity of the later Louis XIV period, as for instance the work of Hans Duenz, architect of the imposing Kornhaus. The general severity is lightened by the creations of the Gentleman Architect Albrecht Stürler. Since Paul Hofer was lucky enough to discover some of his original designs in the Bernese library we know that quite a number of houses can be attributed to him as well as the plans for the reconstruction of the Erlacherhof and the Stift on the Cathedral Square. Here, in compliance with the taste of the period, the straight lintels crowned by comices give place to flattened ogives with sculptured garlands, masks and flowers together with gracefully wrought iron balustrades. Pillars, pilasters and strips are intersected by joints. Consoles and capitals carry comices, centre motifs give emphasis, vertical fines are stressed and horizontal fines broken or elegantly passed over. All this is carried out with a sense of balance and without exaggeration in accordance with both magisterial dignity and the thrift of the owners. Whoever dared to fail in complying with the established order or refused to fall into fine, payed dearly for their temerity. Some even forfeited their profession, for example Niklaus Sprüngli, the most gifted of all the XVIIIth century Bernese architects. It is not without reason that this man got into trouble with the authorities of his day over his buildings, in spite of the fact that it was these very same men who had helped to further his training abroad and created for him on his return the special post of architect in the country since at that time no other suitable post happened to be free. The ill-luck which pursued him during his life continued after his death for neither the Hôtel de Musique nor the Hauptwache and the Bibliotheksgalerie have been allowed to remain untouched. The façade of the Bibliotheksgalerie, a little gem in itself, was pulled down on its original site, then saved and re-erected as a fountain on the Thunplatz. Most of his work was rebuilt or moved and treated with a lack of reverence rarely shown by the governing body towards a man of genius- for a genius among Bernese architects Sprüngli certainly was. The only work of his which remained untouched is that of anonymously built private houses, which amply reflect the art and variety of his genius. Sprüngli's picture of the Käfigturm, showing, through the Gateway the gentle curve and perspective on both sides of the Marktgasse, with its fountains, proves that he had not only a clear notion, but a deep appreciation of the harmony of the inner city. A comparison of Wilhelm Stettler's Spitalgasse (about 1680) with Niklaus Sprüngli's Marktgasse (about 1770) shows very clearly the vast change which had taken place within a century in the outward aspect of these streets. Sprüngli also gave us the fountain at the Kreuzgasse (1778), an obelisk with delicately interlaced dolphins, rising out of a generously proportioned shell-shaped basin. This work of art has only recently been attributed to hira with certainty. One is particularly struck by the fact that most of the dwelling houses lie along the main street while public buildings are situated on the edges of the promontory, as for instance the Council Hall, the Cathedral, the Stift, the Kornhaus. The Inselspital once occupied the site of the east wing of the Bundeshaus, the old University occupied the former Friar's Monastery where now stands the Casino, the City Library, the graceful Waisenhaus (Orphans Home) now turned into the Police barracks, and the Burgerspital-to mention some of the more important. The reason for this is probably that the land had belonged to the burghers from time immemorial. As far back as 1406 the authorities had experienced difficulties in acquiring the necessary land for their building schemes. In order to have enough room to erect the Council Hall, the Council had been obliged to seize, pretexting a fine, the freehold property of one Conrad von Burgistein, upon which stood three houses which had passed to his sister Elisabeth von Schüpfen after his death. As an excuse for this seizure it was alleged that she had committed some offence in connection with mortgages raised on the property. Only a few years after this act the official chronicler Justinger dealt with the question with unmistakable candour, adding: but whether right was done to the woman, God only knows. It is most interesting to note the great variety in the different houses along the main street between the place where the Christoffelturm once stood and the Stalden. They range from the smallest possible dwellings having only the width of two windows, to large mansions, as for instance No. 17 Spitalgasse (now the shop of Rüfenacht & Heuberger) built on the site of six houses, but even the smallest of them are not lacking in some form of modest decoration on doors or windows. The houses of the various Guilds are also to be found along this thoroughfare in close proximity to the citizen and their homes. Old views of the louver part of the main street show the transition of style from the toron of the Zähringer period down to the oldest parts around the castle where nowadays the new bridge, built in 1844, leads out of the city. There is a vast difference between the gentle gradient of the upper main street and the steep descent towards the river, past the residences of the stewards to the Monasteries of Interlaken and Frienisberg, the Klapperläubli and the Nydegghöfli to the lower bridge gate. And so to the Matte. One passes from town to village, from high to low, from the urban to the simple homes of boatmen, fishermen and millers. Though in present times differences have been largely levelled out, they have not entirely disappeared. In the past whoever hailed from the Mattenenge or the Ramseyerloch was proud of his station, his particular dialect (Matten-Englisch) and did not care if the towns-folk turned up their noses at him. Even the boys from the upper and the lower town used to make punitive raids in each others territory which often proved quite exciting. The painter, Ferdinand Hodler, had been an inhabitant of the Matte (Mätteler) for some years in his school days. - The backs of the houses along the Junkerngasse overlook the Matte and from them one can hear the murmur of the Aare weir. The name Junkerngasse (which only dates from the XVIIth century) indicates that the noble families had a preference for it; the Bubenbergs, Scharnachthals, Erlachs, Frischings, Wattenwyls and Graffenrieds all formerly had dwellings in this street. They appreciated the sunny position above the bend of the Aare, the sloping banks, where once vines grew and which were later turned into terraced gardens.-Their rooms looked over the country-side, as they used to say. Here and there attractive wrought-iron balustrades may be seen in the narrow arcaded passages between the houses and in the court-yards there are many old turret staircases, known as Schneggen (= snail shells) though alas! even these are being scarified to the modern rebuilding mania. On the street side the façades of the houses are mostly sober and unpretentious and are scarcely indicative of the rich panelling and even murals with which the interiors are often adorned. The Beatrice von Wattenwyl House which is now the property of the Confederation, has a severe XVIIth century façade and XVth and XVIth century arcades on the street side though towards the gardens it boasts a rich and graceful baroque style; it was built by a chief Magistrate, one Samuel Frisching, later victor of the battle of Villmergen. Only the chief Magistrate Albrecht von Erlach dared an innovation in his palatial mansion, doing away with the premises facing the street and substituting an open courtyard (cour d'honneur), enclosed by wings on either side of the central structure. This consists of a single storey built upon arcades reminiscent of those on the street. On this site once stood the freehold property of the Bubenberg family but when it was rebuilt in its present form by the architect Albrecht Stürler only some of the inner walls were left untouched, the exterior being entirely renewed. Usually the back premises housed stables and coachhouses; here also were the servants' quarters, alive with coachmen, grooms, maid-servants and scullions where the children of the family would often come to listen and gaze wide-eyed upon this busy little world-surely their ghosts still walk and stories of those times fascinate their descendants to this day. Many of the houses still bear the names of their owners especially if, as in the case of the Erlacherhof, they somewhat differ in style from the usual run of the houses. The two houses of the v. May family also belong to this category. One of these is situated in the Kirchgasse beside the Cathedral. The façade dates from 1609; the stone carving above the gothic window shows all the characteristics of the renaissance style and is almost the only example of its kind in Berne. The other von May house, further up in the Kesslergasse, is the only one in Berne to have an oriel window several storeys high. Bartholomew May, statesman, soldier and trader, and one of the wealthiest Bernese of his day had it built in 1515 to join his two houses together. The stone bust of a jester is at the base of the structure which is also decorated with tracery. The Kesslergasse runs into the Kirchgasse, which skirts the north side of the Cathedral and continues as the Junkerngasse. On the opposite side of the peninsula the Metzgergasse and Postgasse run correspondingly downward past the Council Hall. In later days two more streets were added, one on the north side running westward from the Council Hall and the other from the Cathedral, also running westward. The former-the Brunngasse, is a street still inhabited by humble artisans ; the latter, the Herrengasse, ist mostly inhabited by the Cathedral clergy. The.last house on the Aare side was built by yet another well-known Bernese architect, Erasmus Ritter, who planned and built it for David Salomon von Wattenwyl in 1760. Until the old Grammar School was pulled down in 1906, it stood on a small lozenge-shaped square closed in on three sides into which ran the Herrengasse at its western end. Ritter also designed the fountain which stands in front of it - a carved pillar surmounted by a vase. The Wattenwyl house has a façade of pillars beneath a mansarded roof intersected by a segmented gable. It must have made quite a different impression in the days when the Grammar School with a prominent turret staircase, placed at an angle to it, closed in the square. To-day the vast Casino building standing next to it seems all out of proportion. Ritter, almost a contemporary of Sprüngli, was the most widely travelled among the Bernese architects. His genius and knowledge always seemed to carry him outside the city walls. He was a member of many foreign Academies and was also one of the pioneers to explore the ruins of Avenches - the Roman town of Aventicum. Unfortunately, even in a lesser degree than Sprüngli, little of his work remains to enable posterity to judge the eminence of his ability and artistic knowledge. We can only appreciate this from two volumes of his sketches and designs which have been preserved for us in the Town Library. In general the smaller streets of Berne are lacking in the gaiety and cheerfulness of the Kramgasse and the Gerechtigkeitsgasse. This is largely due to the fact that they are side streets of a certain class distinction. Although they are poorer, they are not totally lacking in artistry or ornamentation; some of their houses have plaster or framework façades with wooden arcades. The building which housed the one-time Crown Inn in the Postgasse, where often foreign royalty would put up, shows a very typical Bernese mixture of styles ranging from gothic to baroque. There are also picturesque irregularities such as a partial recession of frontal live which does not allow of arcades. Below the Zytglogge the streets have remained singularly intact, but above it, towards the modern railway station, both main and side streets for more than a century have paid a heavy toll to modern requirements and, indeed, still do so to-day. This is the business centre of the capital and is no longer residential. Here the individual character of the houses disappears and the styles become monotonous and less expressive. The Zeughausgasse and the Amthausgasse are obvious examples of this, though even here one haps upon isolated jewels of the architect's art, as for instance that which is to-day the seat of the Burgergemeinde in the Amthausgasse 5, once the residence of the von Fischer and Marcuard families. Again there is the former Hall of the Äussere Stand (debating club of the patrician youth), though this has been somewhat spoilt by the addition of modern shop windows. Parts of the Aarbergergasse have a particular charm but one wonders for how long all this will be allowed to remain? This street used to lead out of the town by a gateway which has long since vanished. Here town and country still meet; to be seen in its most characteristic mood it should be visited on a market day rohen vehicles are standing side by side and peasants go in and out of the smoke-filled taverns in the festive mood characteristic of a cattle market or a holiday. The Bundesgasse is entirely XIXth century. It has an avenue of trees and is flanked by a park, which gives it somewhat the aspect of the outer boulevards of other european cities. It is approached by the Christoffelgasse, Schauplatzgasse and Gurtengasse all of whose houses are large, monotonous buildings following a pattern, not born of true artistic inspiration but somehow decent products of the taste of the 1860's. The buildings further down between the Schwanengasse and the Hirschengraben to the West are of a somewhat later date. These have neither arcades nor projecting roofs and therefore are quite different from mediaeval Berne. Most of the streets run the length of the peninsula and the squares cut across them. As before mentioned, most of the squares of Berne are the result of filled-in moats, necessitated by the expansion of the town. They are pleasant intervals in the long main streets, with vistas to right and left, enabling one to get oves bearings more easily. The Kreuzgasse, which is the oldest of the cross streets and the furthest towards the river, has always been narrow. The first proper square was on the moat which was filled in beyond the Zytglogge. The Bernese show a preference for this particular gate tower with its broadly curved roof, not only on account of the famous Glock which it houses, built in 1527 by Caspar Brunner, and which has been ringing the hours for the city ever since. Crowds of visitors admire it daily. It is a mass of mechanical complications-Chronos admonishes us and turns his hour-glass, a cock crows three times during the proceedings, the Zähringer lion moves his head, a jester rings his bells and bears dance a rondo, whilst the hours are struck by the huge figure of a knight in armour standing high up in the open Glock tower. Following the great fire of 1405 the tower itself was repaired and the remains of four corner turrets which were added then can now only just be seen, hiding under the widely projecting roof. Various transformations have been attempted from time to time right up to the present day. The long square beyond the tower is in two distinct halves; the southern half is named after the theatre, formerly situated here, and the northern half after the old Kornhaus. The Theaterplatz is dominated by the Mozartesque rococco façade of the Hôtel de Musique and the stair tower of the former Hall of the Tanner's Company, which projects onto the square on the opposite side. On the southern end of the square stands the Hauptwache (Guard Room), a delicately proportioned and charming, low building with columns and a mansard roof. Unfortunately some years ago a new high building was allowed to be put up behind it which blotted out the lovely view and expanse of sky to the south and hopelessly overshadowed the gracious silhouette of the Guard House. The Kornhausplatz owes its narre and principal architectural feature to Hans Jakob Duenz's Granary which also has undergone some alterations since it was first planned. There used to be a garden on the northern end of the square at the Aarehalde but this was turned into the approach to the Kornhaus Bridge, built in 1898. Further along there are three different squares which adjoin each other-the Bundesplatz, the Bärenplatz and the Waisenhausplatz. The first of these is dominated on the south by the palatial Parliament building, with two wings housing the Federal Government offices. It is built in an architectural style reminiscent of both Florence and Munich and gives its tone to the upper town. The other three sides of the square house a bevy of Banks. It has, least of all, caught any of the spirit of Berne. Nevertheless on market days it is a hive of industry and does not lack a certain dignity when used for political or patriotic gatherings. Of its artistic merits, perhaps the less said the better. The Bärenplatz on which is the fruit market follows on running northwards, with the Käfig Tower on the north-east corner. This tower has not been touched since it was rebuilt in 1640 when Joseph Plepp redesigned it and supervised its reconstruction. At that time he was also acting for the Cathedral authorities. This particular reconstruction is typical of the fusion of baroque forms of antique pattern with those of mediaeval gothic fower architecture. The third square, the Waisenhausplatz (Square of the Orphans) occupies the northern part of the area. This square particularly stresses the close relation between town and country. Until quite recently it presented an almost bucolic picture such as one might see in the little country towns of Aarberg, Sursee and Le Landeron. Looking down the square from a position at the foot of the Käfigturm the end of the square is taken up by the former Waisenhaus (Orphans Home), framed by graceful poplars. The generous curve of the roof at its left is reminiscent of the constructions in the Aarbergergasse and strikes a definite provincial note. On the left of it stands a row of houses which were entirely rebuilt some few years ago but retained their original proportions. The east side of the square is bordered by houses separating it from the Waaghausgasse. From among these rises the Holländerturm (the Dutch Tower), the row getting gradually lover towards the one-storied Waaghaus (Weights Office) which was unfortunately recently demolished. More important artistically is the row of bouses up past the Holländerturm to the Käfigturm itself, and on cannot but appreciate the liges of upward gradation from the first of the houses, rising to the tent-like roof of the Holländerturm, finishing up with the slim turret of the Käfigturm. Even for those who do not experience this gradation the picturesque points of this group of houses, the colour and bustle of the busy market at their feet cannot fail to attract. This square also bas a particular beauty of light and shade which has again and again attracted many artists and photographers. In spite of the fact that the blocks of houses along the lover half of the square, between the Zeughausgasse and the Nägeligasse, were built in a period largely lacking in artistic feeling, they do not manage to spoil the general impression although they may detract from it. In contrast to the lower squares the top one of all, the Bubenbergplatz, has no gateway and tower. In these days everybody agrees that the removal of this gateway in the 1860's was a mistake and to be deplored, particularly as it was the only one of the three towers which had preserved its old-world gothic form. One can well imagine how very different the entry into the town must have been in old days and can but regret that such a wanton and presumptuous act should have been carried out by such a small majority of Berne's citizens for it was by a majority vote of four only that its destruction was decided. Imagine how the Christoffelturm must have enhanced the town-a noble trilogy with the Käfigturm and the Zytgloggenturm, each section beyond the gates spelling another chapter in the city's history. The removal of this interesting feature was not only a mutilation, it was an irreparable loss and a useless sacrifice in the light of later developments. It has been suggested that the proportions of the tower dwarfed the neighbouring Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Ghost) but to many this was more of an attraction than the reverse. The most interesting feature on the tower was the gigantic statue of St. Christopher, nearly thirty feet high and carved out of lime wood, which for centuries had looked down upon the toron and was still called by its original name although the Reformation had robbed it of its Child Jesus, dubbing it Goliath. The stately square, to-day's Bubenbergplatz, must indeed have looked imposing with this lofty tower at its eastern end, its importance intensified by reflection in the long rectangle of the Pferdeschwemme (Horse Pond) and enhanced by the later addition of the classic Burgerspital. The block of buildings which forms the Burgerspital is the result of one of the most important social developments of its period. It is a palatial building grouped round a large quadrangle at the back of which stands the most graceful semi-circular baroque building. It is on a grand scale and unique of its kind in Berne because within the peninsular limitation of the old town there was never space enough available. Before finding another such architectural and social treasure of an Alms House, one would have to go to Dijon, Nancy or Paris, far beyond even the frontiers of Switzerland, let alone those of the Canton of Berne. The façades are vertically subdivided by projections and horizontally by string courses. The triangular and segmental gables and the rows of arcaded windows give the building a mellow appearance. As one walks through the quadrangle and the back courtyard one cannot fail to be impressed by the rhythm of the whole construction-pillars, walls, roof, baroque fountain etc. It gives one a feeling of peace, quiet and security far from the madding crowd akin to that which one feels in Michelangelo's cloisters by the main railway station in Rome. The erection of the Burgerspital and the Heiliggeistkirche, which originally was part of the former, was agreed upon at the same time and the Paris architect Abeille commissioned to prepare the plans and construction begun by the local builders Schiltknecht and Lutz in 1734, hence the amalgamation of french elegance and native homeliness. There still remain a few squares which have not yet been mentioned, so let us return to the louver town. The square in front of the Cathedral was originally created by pulling down houses to provide room for a building yard for the construction of the church. It is, of all the squares, the most complete in itself and to which Church, State and Citizens have all contributed their architectural share. Later, the attempt to give a central focus to the square by putting an equestrian statue of Rudolf von Erlach, the victor of the battle of Laupen, right in the middle, was far from a happy inspiration, particularly in its relations to the Moses Fountain in the north-east corner. The south side is occupied by the Stift. The present façade is the work of Albrecht Stürler (1745-1748). It is topped by a classic example of a Bernese roof and decorated by flattened central and lateral projections. The sharp contrast between the square and the towering spire of the Cathedral, which dominates the whole town, is counterbalanced by the Stift and produces a most harmonious whole. Opposite the Cathedral stands the baroque von Tscharner house with its accentuated vertical lines and opposite to it, on the north side of the Cathedral Square, the von May house, already mentioned. This gives balance between the gothic and the baroque styles which appear here. There may be deeper reasons for the lack of Renaissance style in Berne. An obvious one lies in the fact that the building of the Cathedral in its out-of-date gothic took several centuries. Conrad Justinger closes his official Chronicle of Berne with the laying of the foundation stone of the Cathedral. On the 11th day of March 1421, he says, the first stone was laid in the narre of the Almighty. Another hand has added: Mary, help thou thyself to make thy church. Thus, springing from the Same soil, Chronicle and Cathedral are co-related. The plan for the construction of the Cathedral was the biggest which had been undertaken since the foundation of the town, and it is difficult to realise in this connection the extent of the sacrifices and exertions incumbent upon a population of barely five thousand souls. One can but marvel at the courage they showed in shouldering such a heavy burden for an indefinite period. It was only centuries later that the massive tower was crowned by a spire and this was perhaps not in the Best of taste. At the time it was envisaged it was apparently felt that the chief place of worship could not be left without this crowning glory in order that it might not be outdone by the newly completed Parliament building ! The motives leading to the decision to undertake the construction of a full-sized church have often been a subject of speculation. Of course the main reason was an ecclesiastical one, although politics came into it probably just as much; this is very typical of Berne. The desire of the citizens to have a church meant the self-assertion of a free township. Here, a whole century before the Reformation actually took place, the wish of the citizens carried the day against the feudal lords, ushering in what was probably its most significant century of history. After the devastating fire of 1405, the tremendous vitality of the town became apparent, pregnant with promise for times to come. The citizens showed their mettle; by rebuilding the whole city in stone instead of Wood, thus making it a better and more beautiful place to live in. The construction of a Council Hall was begun and the colossal stone pillars of its ground floor, brought to light recently by the removal of some later additions, vouch for the wish to build for lasting into a long distant future, not to say permanence. As soon as the Council had moved from the small house near the choir of the Leutchurch, to its new and more dignified abode a resolution was passed to start and complete the building of a cathedral. It seemed as though people desired to balance the temporal with the spiritual; that energies once called forth could not be put to rest again. And so minds were made up to link the Council Hall to the building of a cathedral, a work from which they could not so easily be freed. Indeed it soon became a burden which weighed heavily on both town and countryside and compulsory labour and carting was often demanded of the population. The urge to Go on must often have sounded in Bernese ears since Mathaeus Ensinger started building the last of the gothic cathedrals, but one day, at long last, they were able to carve the proud challenge Do as we have done close to the statue of the builder above the Kirchgasse. Walking northwards away from the choir of the Cathedral and turning the corner into the Kreuzgasse, the silhouette of its secular counterpart, the Council Hall, becomes visible. One sees a double flight of steps leading to the main door and a roof twice as high as the walls, which seems to decrease in height as the breadth of the frontage becomes more apparent. On the right of the Council Hall stands a large, countrified, round gabled house and the Venner fountain. Many alterations have attempted to change the appearance of the Council Hall both inside and out, like a transitory garment, changing with the times. The coats-of-arms of the bailiwicks along the main comice and the canopy over the entrance belong to the original structure. There used to be a roof above the twin flights of stairs but, perhaps unhappily, this was removed when the Council Hall was once again renovated in 1942. Many and varied are those who have stepped over the threshold through the ages: the strong and manly Bubenberg; Niklaus Manuel, the outspoken; the universal minded Haller and dignified Steiger, all of whom did not find it easy to get on with those Most Gracious Lords of Berne - to which company in fact they themselves also belonged. From within those walls the country was ruled and still is to this day; they have heard orders given which brought victory and lived through days of disaster. The continuity of the constitution was significantly represented by the longevity of the building and when the end came in 1798 it found the government constituted in the same manner as when it had taken possession of the new Rathaus in 1416 -there was the Chief Magistrate, the Little and Great Councils, or Councillors and Burghers as they were called later. The Little Council held the reins of government, settled conflicts and enacted resolutions. Nominally, however, the supreme power lay with the Great Council, which had exclusive constitutional rights to conclude treaties, make war or peace. Bailiffs and members of the Little Council were chosen from its ranks. Supplementary elections, which originally took place yearly, were later only held every fourth or fifth year and finally were deferred until the number of vacancies reached about eighty so that elections were held only every eight or ten years. Tillier says that the complicated, almost Venetian method of voting reflects the peculiar spirit of the period and the place. The elections were supervised by a body of sixteen members drawn from the Guilds together with the Executive Council. The completion of the latter depended on a particularly intricate system of votes and balloting. Albrecht von Haller never found favour in their eyes, indeed he put up nine times for election and was never successful. Like the exterior of the building, the interior of the Council Chamber suffered many alterations, and the face of the governing bodies themselves also changed. The body of burghers which held together with great solidarity had grown up out of the ranks of the nobility and the Guilds. From this an oligarchic government developed in spite of the fact that the artisans, the peasants and even the Burghers themselves occasionally hammered on the doors and the vert' foundations of the Council Hall to hamper it. Their resistance only seemed to make it stronger. As portrayed by Rudolf von Tavel,there were Frondeurs within their own ranks. The members of the Council who declared war on Charles the Bold showed a very different spirit from those who lived through the bitter days of 1798. Certain characteristics, however, continue through the ages though there are exceptions which prove the cule, such as Niklaus von Diesbach and Hieronymus von Erlach. One particular trait was the love of public show while remaining personally simple and free from pretensions. This is especially noticeable when one compares portraits of Bernese personalities with those of Basle or Zurich. In no other town is greater pomp and circumstance to be found, but nowhere else was it done less for the benefit of the person and more with the object of a higher concept. It was this touch of the Roman Republic which crowned heads such as Frederick the Great and Napoleon particularly noticed and appreciated. Much had to be suppressed to enable the state to achieve its aims and to grow strong, and in so doing a great deal that was of value was lost. Whenever Their Lordships showed any interest in the arts it was with a political reason, as in ancient Rome-hence their special interest in architecture and portraiture. The only occupation in keeping with their rank was deemed to be public service or service in the army although trading the wines from their conquered Vaudois estates was permissible. Poets or humanists fell under suspicion. A Magistrate such as Sinner, who brought the German poet Wieland to Berne as tutor to his sons and the patrician who chose Hegel to teach his sons, both belong to the last years of the old order. The education of the youth of Berne was neuer l acking in sound common sense. The Young met their elders halfway rohen they gathered in the Äussere Stand and formed a fictitious parliament of their own to help prepare themselves for their future functions. To end this tour of the town we must cross the river by the old Untertor bridge whose sandstone piers stand out diagonally to form breakwaters. The name of this bridge is reminiscent of the old town gate which once stood there. It was built on toit and formed part of the defences of this very vulnerable spot, filling up the gags left by nature. In the past the bridge itself carried battlements and turrets on the piers and no enemy was ever suffered to cross it until the French walked in 1798. Although the new Nydegg Bridge, which towers above, has deprived the old bridge of most of its fonctions, it has not succeeded in making it less venerable. The new bridge, which was built between 1841 and 1844, was the first feature to alter the primary aspect of the city and to start a continuous series of such violations. For the first time in the history of Berne, its natural topography, to which the alignment of the ancient streets and the rows of houses so admirably conformed, was disregarded. An embankment and an elevated bridge instead of streets closely following the contours of the land falsified the natural proportions and instead of remaining a dominating feature, the church built on the site of the former Nydegg Castle, sank to the level of an unimportant building. The row of houses along the Nydegg arches, built at the same time as the bridge, are sound buildings like the bridge itself but their size and uniformity spoil the picturesque variety of the old town houses. These statements are not meant to contest the necessity of the new construction, but just to emphasise the modern symptoms and their significance in relation to the preservation of the general outward aspect of the town. It is, however, certain that had a new bridge not been built, that part of the old town below the Zytglogge Gateway would most certainly have been cut off from the life of the Test of the town-a danger which is to be fought against in modern times. The City Fathers, however, need not have sold the outer bridge-gate tower to a contractor who speedily converted it into flats, to which he gave the romantic name of Felsenburg. It seems rather degrading that the memory of the proud outer bridge fortification should live on in this guise. The outer gateway was also demolished in 1864; the inner one had already disappeared in 1819. The outer gate could perfectly well have been left untouched as the new bridge was already in use at that time, but alas! things of the past were not so much appreciated in those days. One can so well imagine what the little self-contained agglomeration of the Nydegg must have looked like if one climbs up past the old Klösterli Inn (the name is reminiscent of the Lower Hospital which had once been temporarily accommodated in the building) along the ramp of the Aargauerstalden. Here may still be seen the memorial tablet which proudly states: This safe road was built between 1750 and 1758, next to the original path, and cut through sheer cliff where Nature seemed to bar the passage-a work welcomed by citizens and strangers. From here one has a really wonderful view over the town. Instead of the hitherto continuously varying details, the vistas of rows of houses and peeps through narrow or wide streets,-a concrete work of single purpose whatever the period, the very spirit of the city of Berne-we now see the whole panorama stretching before us. From here the very definite outward characteristics of the city can be fully appreciated. They are thrown into relief by the elevated position of the peninsula and especially by the fact that it is encircled by the Aare, which gives distance to the view-as did later on architects of the baroque period when building their castles by the use of artificial lakes; thus with a stretch of water in front of them, the building could only be viewed either from close by or from a reasonable distance to get the required perspective. From this point of vantage the tongue-shaped peninsula lies at our feet-the swift-flowing river curves in from the west and flows into the distance, its outer bank rising like a vast amphitheatre. The town rises gently with the Matte peeping through the wide arch of the Nydegg bridge. The point at which the former city walls joined up with the embankment can easily be discerned. The city offers a wonderful spectacle at sunset when the play of light enhances and throws into relief the Stalden, grouped round the Nydegg bridge, and curves, ridges and chimneys form a multicoloured jumble out of which rise the spires of the Nydegg church and the Cathedral. On looking closer, the steep roof of the Concil Hall, the tower of the Zytglogge and the green copper domes of the Parliament building emerge. When beholding this birds-eye view one feels that the town has been brought into being by the Almighty himself when in a happy mood: a creation, plastic, alive, feeding on earth, water, air and fire, combining the narrow with the wide open, the flat with the steep, in a medley of triangles, rectangles and circles. Of Old Berne At all times, the name of Berne bas stood for power, valour, tradition and a sense of continuity. Though today the Capital of the Swiss Confederation and Center of Diplomacy, the real appearance of this town bas too often been neglected - the most beautiful of all the Cities he had seen, Goethe said. Michael Stettler and Hermann von Fischer know and love every corner of their ancient ancestral town with its arcades, broad curving streets and fountains. Certainly, this book as published in the «Swiss Cities and Countries» series will be a discovery for all those knowing Berne as a name only. Benjamin Laederer, Editor 1957 by Éditions Générales S.A. Genève  |