The Christoffelturm was a

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

built between the years 1344 and 1346, which featured a prominently displayed statue of

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximin ...

. It was located in the old part of the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city of

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, in the upper section of Spitalgasse, near Holy Spirit Church. After a political decision on December 15, 1864, the Christoffelturm was removed by Gottlieb Ott, a Swiss building contractor. Ott began the destruction of the tower in spring of the following year. The decision to remove the tower, which had become a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

of sorts, was not met without opposition, and the motion of removal succeeded only by a 415 to 411 vote. During an extended period of time, other statues existed near or actually on the site where the tower used to stand. These included a statue of

King David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Damas ...

, both as a boy holding a

slingshot A slingshot or catapult is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two tubes or strips made from either a natural rubber or synthetic elastic material. These are attached to the upper two ends ...

, and as a man. An early 20th century plan to erect a figure of the Bernese

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

Rudolf von Erlach was never realised.

Other towers in Bern

Bern's other medieval guard towers are the

Zytglogge The Zytglogge (Bernese German: ; ) is a landmark medieval tower in Bern, Switzerland. Built in the early 13th century, it has served the city as a guard tower, prison, clock tower, centre of urban life and civic memorial. Despite the many red ...

and the Käfigturm. These towers still stand today.

Zytglogge

In the

(Clock Tower), a figure of the Greek god Kronos or

Chronos Chronos (; ; , Modern Greek: ), also spelled Chronus, is a personification of time in Greek mythology, who is also discussed in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified ...

strikes the

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

atop the tower each hour. The tower was originally of wood, when it was built sometime between 1218 and 1220. It survived until sometime in the very early 15th century, when it was burned down in the fire that struck the city in 1405. However, it was rebuilt with a new

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

design, and has stood ever since. It was when it was rebuilt that it was fitted with a clock. The clock too, however, soon broke, and was left unserviced and broken for 122 years before 1530, when Caspar Brunner installed a new well-functioning

mechanism Mechanism may refer to: *Mechanism (economics), a set of rules for a game designed to achieve a certain outcome **Mechanism design, the study of such mechanisms *Mechanism (engineering), rigid bodies connected by joints in order to accomplish a ...

Käfigturm

The Käfigturm (Cage Tower), built 1256, ceased to be a prison in 1897.

Notes

External links

Information on Christoffelturm
{{Coord, 46.948, N, 7.44, E, region:CH-BE_type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures completed in 1346 Towers completed in the 14th century Towers in Switzerland Old City (Bern)