The Bern Town Hall () is the building in

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 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

that houses the

Grand Council of Bern The Grand Council (, ) is the parliament of the Swiss canton of Bern. It consists of 160 members (as of 2006) elected by proportional representation for a four-year term of office. The French-speaking part of the canton, the Bernese Jura (distric ...

(, ), the

Executive Council of Bern The Executive Council (, ) is the executive of the Swiss canton of Bern. This seven-member collegial body is elected by the people for a period of four years. The cantonal constitution reserves one seat in the Executive Council for a French-spea ...

(, ) and the Grand Council of the City of Bern. The building is part of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

of the

Old City of Berne The Old City () is the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. Built on a narrow hill bordered on three sides by the river Aare, its compact layout has remained essentially unchanged since its construction during the twelfth to the fifteenth ...

and is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

Function

The Grand Council of the Canton of Bern meets in the town hall five times per year for about two weeks per session. While the Grand Council is in session, the cantonal flag flies above the town hall. The Executive Council of the Canton of Bern meets in the town hall generally weekly. The Grand Council of the City of Bern meets in the town hall every other Thursday. The town hall has regular guided tours of the building. Many of the rooms may also be rented by the public when not in use by the cantonal and city government.

History

The first town hall of the city of Bern was built at Nydeggstalden. Known as the ''Burger Hus'' and the ''domus dicta die helle'' it was probably replaced by the new town hall around 1355. Between 1402 and its destruction in the great fire of 1405 it was privately owned. The second town hall was built on

Junkerngasse The Junkerngasse ("Nobility Lane") is a street in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. It connects the tip of the Aar peninsula (the '' Nydegg'' neighbourhood) to the Münster. The Junkerngasse is the Old City ...

near the

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

of the

Bern Minster Bern Minster () is a Swiss Reformed cathedral (or minster) in the old city of Bern, Switzerland. Built in the Gothic style, its construction started in 1421. Its tower, with a height of , was only completed in 1893. It is the tallest cathedr ...

. City and cantonal governments moved out in 1414 and it was used as a school until 1468, when it was demolished to expand the Bern Minster. Following a fire in 1405 which destroyed much of the city, including the first town hall, plans were developed for a new, larger one in the area cleared by the fire. This new town hall was intended to match the growing power of the city and be large and impressive enough to receive foreign visitors. The current building was begun in 1406–07 by Heinrich von Gengenbach on the site of a townhouse owned by the Burgistein family. Von Gengenbach died shortly after construction began. The name of his replacement was not recorded. It was completed around 1415 to 1417. Between 1430 and 1450 the grand external staircase was built and two chambers for the great and small councils were added to the upper story. Between 1526 and 1540 the cantonal council building was added near the hall. Beginning in the 16th century other government entities moved into the building including the cantonal archives, the treasury, the mint and the cantonal printing office. A

staircase tower A staircase tower or stair tower (, also ''Stiegenturm'' or ''Wendelstein'') is a tower-like wing of a building with a circular or polygonal plan that contains a stairwell, usually a helical staircase. History Only a few examples of staircase ...

and gallery wing were added on the east side in 1664–66 by Abraham and David Edelstein. A plan in 1788 to replace the medieval building by a grand new building designed by the Parisian architect Jacques-Denis Antoine was eventually cancelled due to cost. Instead the building was partially renovated several times during the 18th and 19th centuries. The building was totally renovated in 1865–68 by Friedrich Salvisberg, repairing and modernizing it. The entire facade was redone in the

Neo Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style, with a much more ornate grand staircase. In 1940–42 the building was totally renovated again under Martin Risch. The archives were moved to their current home on Falkenplatz. Many of the Neo Gothic elements were removed and the exterior of the building was returned to its earlier appearance. The large hall in the ground floor was restored to the original design. The council rooms in the upper floor were rebuilt in a modern style. Today the building remains in use by the cantonal and city governments, though several rooms including the Grand Council room are available for rent.

Building exterior

The main building is a square, three story

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

structure. The south facade is symmetric around the large open air staircase and main entrance

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

into the upper story. The upper story has four sets of windows on each side of the main entrance. The 20th century renovation removed much of the roof over the staircase, leaving only the center section with its double

pointed arch A pointed arch, ogival arch, or Gothic arch is an arch with a pointed crown meet at an angle at the top of the arch. Also known as a two-centred arch, its form is derived from the intersection of two circles. This architectural element was partic ...

vault which was restored to its medieval appearance. The statues which adorn the clock pavilion are copies of the original

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery, or sculpture in multiple colors. When looking at artworks and ...

statues by Master Hariman of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. The

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

with the Bern

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was originally an

imperial eagle The eagle is used in heraldry as a charge, as a supporter, and as a crest. Heraldic eagles can be found throughout world history like in the Achaemenid Empire or in the present Republic of Indonesia. The European post-classical symbolism of ...

. The iron gates in the portals below the stairs are original treasure chamber doors by Michel Müller. Flanking the main entrance under the roof are the 26 shields of the 26 former

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(, ) of the canton. These districts lost their administrative and political significance in 2010. The unadorned west facade also comes from the 1940–42 renovation. A line visible on the west facade has traditionally been believed to have come from an earlier fortification. The 1940–42 renovation of the north facade demolished most of the later additions to the building. The only element retained was nine large,

cross-window A cross-window is a window whose lights are defined by a mullion and a transom, forming a cross.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'', 2nd ed., OUP, Oxford and New York, p. 214. . The Late ...

s of which eight were from the original 1417/50 construction. The 20th century renovation added an additional nine cross-windows above the earlier windows.Hofer, pg. 79 The slender north-east tower, a symbol of the city since the 15th century, the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

oriel window An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, bracket (architecture), brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window generally projects from an ...

s and the octagonal bell tower were all removed. The east side of the building has a square,

Louis XIII style The Louis XIII style or ''Louis Treize'' was a fashion in French art and French architecture, architecture, especially affecting the visual arts, visual and decorative arts. Its distinctness as a period in the history of French art has much to do ...

staircase tower. East of the old town hall building is the ''Staatskanzlei'' or cantonal administration building. The wing connecting the Staatskanzlei building and the town hall was built in 1664–66 by David and Abraham Edelstein. During the 1940–42 renovation a hall was added on the Postgasse side connecting the Rathaus and the ''Staatskanzlei''. In the courtyard between the two buildings is a fountain topped with a sculpture of

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

made in 1953 by Max Fueter.

Building Interior

The ground floor of the town hall is a single, large room, measuring about and high. Originally built as a market hall and a court room the hall was a center of Bernese city life. The 1940–42 renovation returned it to the original medieval appearance. The room is dominated by 9 free standing

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s (three rows of three) and six columns attached to the walls. Each column is built from seven sandstone cylinders, each about in diameter. The columns are topped with large sandstone

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

which in turn support a total of 29 oak beams forming the foundation of the council chambers above.

Gallery

File:Grosser Rat, Bern, 1735.jpg, The great council in 1735 File:Niklaus Sprüngli Neubauprojekt Rathaus Bern.jpg, Proposed replacement building design in 1788 File:CH-NB - Bern, Rathaus (die Grossräte verlassen das Rathaus) - Collection Gugelmann - GS-GUGE-SCHMID-F-C-10.tif, The Neo Gothic facade in 1824 File:The town hall, Berne, Switzerland-LCCN2001701108.jpg, The town hall around 1890-1900 File:Rathaus Bern - Session des Grossen Rates.jpg, Session of the Grand Council in 2006.

References

External links

Lists of Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance for Every Canton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Town hall of Bern Town hall of Bern Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern