Old City (Bern): Difference between revisions

The Old Town of Berne is a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site in Switzerland. The Old Town was founded on a narrow hill surrounded on three sides by the Aare River in 1191. Following a major fire in 1405 the city was rebuilt in sandstone, which gave the city a homogenous appearance. Despite reconstruction in the 18th Century, the original character of the medival town has remained. In addition to many historical buildings, the Old Town is also home to many of the Confederation government buildings.

History of the Old Town

See also: Early history of Switzerland , History of Berne

The earliest settlements in the Aare Valley date back to the Neolithic period. During the 2^nd century BCE the valley was settled by the Helvetii. Following the Roman conquest of Helvetia a small Roman settlement was established near the Old Town. This settlement was abandoned during the 2^nd century AD. From that time until the founding of Berne the area remained sparsely settled.

Founding of Berne

The history of the city of Berne proper begins with its founding by Duke Berchtold V of Zähringen in 1191. Local legend has it that the duke vowed to name the city after the first animal he met on the hunt, which turned out to be a bear. Both the name of the city (Bern can stand for Bär(e)n, bears) and its heraldic beast, come from this legend. At that time, much of today's Switzerland (then considered part of southern Burgundy) was under the authority of the house of Zähringen. The Zähringer leaders, although with no actual duchy of their own, were styled dukes by decree of the German king and exercised imperial power south of the Rhine. To establish their position there, they founded or expanded numerous settlements, including Fribourg (in 1157), Berne, Burgdorf and Morat.^[1]

The area chosen by Berchtold V was a hilly peninsula surrounded by the Aare river on three sides. This location made the city easy to defend and influenced the later development of the city. The long, narrow shape of the peninsula made the city develop as several long, parallel rows of houses. The only major cross streets (going north and south) developed along the city walls, which were moved to allow the city to expand. Therefore, the cross streets mark the stages of development in the Old City of Berne.

On the eastern end of the peninsula a small fort, called Castle Nydegg, was founded by Berchtold IV in the second half of the 12^th Century. Either when the fort was built or in 1191, the town of Berne was founded around the eastern end of the peninsula.^[2]

First Expansion - 1191

The first expansion of Berne occurred as the city was founded. Most likely the first city started at Nydegg Castle and reached to the Zytglogge (Swiss German: clock tower). The city was divided by three longitudinal streets, which stretched from the Castle to the city wall. Both the position of the town church and the shape of the eaves were typical for a Zähringer city.^[1]

During the first half of the 13^th Century two additional streets (Brunngasse and Herrengasse)were added. Brunngasse was a semi-circular street on the north edge of the city, while Herrengasse was on the south side of the city. A wood bridge was built over the Aare River which allowed increased trade and limited settlements on the east bank of the river.

Second Expansion - 1255 to 1260

During the second half of the 13^th Century the river side foundation of Nydegg Castle was strengthened and connected to a new west city wall. This wall was added to protect the four streets, known as the New City or Savoy City, that had sprung up outside the Zytglogge. The new west wall included a gate known as the Käfigturm (German: Prision Tower).

Around 1268 Nydegg Castle was destroyed, and the city expanded into the area formerly occupied by the castle.^[2] In the south east part of the peninsula below the main hill that the rest of the Old City occupied, a section known as Matte grew up.

Third Expansion - 1344 to 1346

For almost a century the Käfigturm remained the western boundary of Berne. However, as the city grew, people began settling outside the city walls. In 1344 the city started to build a third wall to protect the growing population. By 1346 the project was finished and six new streets were protected by a wall and the Christoffelturm (German: St. Christopher Tower). The Christoffelturm remained the western border of Berne until the 19^th Century. From 1622 to 1634 a series of defensive walls and strong points were added outside the Christoffelturm. However, the population remained inside the Christoffelturm walls.

Great Fire of 1405

Berne was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Sites because of "an exceptionally coherent planning concept" and because "the medieval town...has retained its original character"^[3]. Berne owes its coherent planning concept and its famous arcades to a disaster. In 1405 a fire broke out in Berne, which was mostly wooden buildings at the time. The fire raced through the city and destroyed most of the buildings in town. In the wake of this disaster, the city was rebuilt with all stone houses in similar medieval styles. The arcades were added throughout the 15^th Century as houses expanded in the upper stories out into the street. Throughout the next three centuries houses were modified, but the essential elements (stone construction, arcades) remained.

In the 16^th Century, as Berne became a powerful and rich city-state, public fountains were added to Berne. A number of fountains were topped with large allegorical statues, eleven of which are still visible in the city. The fountains served to show the power and wealth of the city, as well as providing fresh water for the citizens of the city. Overall, the city remained nearly unchanged for the next two centuries.

Expansion and Destruction of the Christoffelturm

By the early 19^th Century Berne had expanded as far as it could within the old city walls. An increasing number of people were living outside the city walls in neighboring communities. Throughout the 19^th Century, this ring of modern cities grew up around the Old City without forcing it to demolish the medival city core. However, the growth around the Old City did lead to several projects.

Within the Old City of Berne, many of the old stone buildings were renovated without changing the outer appearance. The bell tower was finally finished on the Münster (German: Minister or Cathedral), making it the tallest church in Switzerland. A new bridge was built across the Aare at Nydegg in 1842 to 1844. The new bridge was larger than the, still standing, old bridge which had been built in 1461 to 1487.

One of the biggest projects was the proposed destruction of the Christoffelturm to open up the west end of the city. Following a very close vote the decision to remove the Christoffelturm and city wall was made on December 15, 1864. In the spring of the following year Gottlieb Ott led the team that removed the tower. Currently, the former location of the Christoffelturm is a large road interchange, a major bus station and the central train station.

Federal Capital in the 20^th Century

Following the Sonderbundskrieg in 1847, Switzerland established a federal constitution and Berne was chosen as the capital of the new Federal State. The vote to make Berne the federal city was met with little enthusiasm (419 vs 313 votes) in Berne^[4] due to concerns over the cost. The first Bundesrathaus or Parliament House was built in 1852-1857 by the city of Berne in a New-Renaissance style. The mirror image Bundeshaus Ost (East Federal Building) was built in 1884-1892. Then, in 1894-1902 the domed Parlamentsgebäudes or Parliament Building was built between the other two buildings.^[5] The three parliament buildings represent the majority of the new, federal construction in the Old City. Most of the other buildings that come with a national capital were placed outside the Old City or where incorporated into existing buildings.

For centuries the famous Bärengraben (German: Bear Pits) were located in the Old City. According to the Bernese historian Valerius Anshelm the first bears were kept on Bärenplatz (German: Bears' Plaza) in 1513^[6]. The bears remained in the Old City until the expansion of the new capital forced them out. The Bears and the Bärengraben were moved from the Old City across the Aare River on May 27 1857.

In the 20^th Century, Berne has had to deal with incorporating the modern world into a medieval city. The plaza where the Christoffelturm used to be, has become the central bus stop for the city. The main train station was built under the plaza, and actually includes some of the foundations from the Christoffelturm and wall in the train station. However, one of the biggest challenges has been integrating automobile traffic into the Old City. Due to the number of important buildings in the Old City and the central location of the Old City, it was impossible to completely close off this area to vehicles. While some streets have remained pedestrian zones, most major streets carry city buses, trams or personal vehicles.

Significant Buildings in Berne's Old City

While the entire Old City of Berne is a UNESCO World Heritage Site there are a number of buildings and fountains within the city that merit special mention.

Münster (Cathedral)

The Münster of Berne (German: Berner Münster) is a Protestant Gothic cathedral (or minster) located on the south side of the peninsula. Construction on the Münster began in 1421 and finished with the bell tower in 1893. The bell tower is 100m (328 ft) and is the tallest in Switzerland. The largest bell in the bell tower is also the largest bell in Switzerland. This enormous bell was cast in 1611 and is still rung every day. It is possible to stand next to the bell when it is rung, but one has to cover their ears to avoid hearing damage.

Above the main portal of the cathedral is a rare complete collection of Gothic sculpture. The collection represents the Christian belief in the Last Judgment where the wicked will be seperated from the righteous. The large 47 free-standing statues are replicas (the originals are in the Berne History Museum) and the 170 smaller statues are all original.

The interior of the cathedral is large, open and fairly empty. Nearly all the art and altars in the cathedral were removed in 1528 during the iconoclasm of the Protestant Reformation. The paintings and statues were dumped in what became the Cathedral Terrace, making the terrace a rich archeological site. The only major pieces of art that survived the iconoclasm inside the cathedral are the stained glass windows and the choir stalls.

The stained glass windows date from 1441-1450 and are considered the most valuable in Switzerland. The windows include a number of heraldic symbols and religious images as well as an entire "Dance of Death" window. This window shows death, as a skeleton, claiming people from all professions and social classes. A "Dance of Death" was intended as a reminder that death would come to everyone regardless of wealth or status, and may have been a comfort in a world filled with plagues and wars.

The choir, in the eastern side of the Cathedral between the nave and the sanctuary, houses the first Renaissance choir stalls in Switzerland^[7]. The stalls are carved with life-like animals and images of daily life.

Zytglogge

Parliament Buildings

Untertorbrücke

Fountains

See Also

List of World Heritage Sites in Europe

References

External Links

• [3] - Offical UNESCO listing for Old City of Berne
• [4] - UNESCO Evaluation of the Old City of Bern (.pdf only)
• [5] - Tourist Office of the city of Bern