Berna fountain

The fountain 2011

The Bernabrunnen is a fountain in Bern . It is located immediately south of Bundesgasse , in the inner courtyard of the west wing of the Federal Palace . The fountain was erected in 1858 and provided with a statue in 1863, which represents Berna , a female figure as personification of the city and canton of Bern.

history

An early photograph (1863/64) in front of the Federal City Hall, seen from the Christoffelturm

From 1852 to 1857, under the direction of the architect Jakob Friedrich Studer, the "Federal Town Hall", today's west wing of the Federal Palace, was built, which contained the premises of the parliament, government and federal administration. In 1856, the Bern municipal council decided to decorate the inner courtyard with a fountain. There was still no agreement on the design of the statue and the decision was postponed. Two years later, the Dutch sculptor Joseph Hubert Verbunt created the fountain.

Johannes Leeb was the first to suggest crowning the fountain with the figure of Berna. After a long hesitation, the local council took up this proposal and organized a design competition. The first prize went to Albert Walch , but his design was unsatisfactory. For this reason, the runner-up Raphael Christen received the order in May 1858. The plaster model was completed in 1860, but there was disagreement among experts as to whether the statue should be placed directly on the base of the fountain or on a column. A photomontage (a novel achievement at the time) created clarity and showed that the statue on a pillar kept its proportions.

The local council decided to have the statue cast in bronze . The plaster model was transported by train to the Royal Ore Foundry in Munich in October 1861 . The casting was completed in May 1863. The official unveiling took place on September 23, 1863, during which Mayor Friedrich Ludwig Effinger and Federal President Constant Fornerod gave speeches.

One of the four small fountain figures is being removed for restoration (2016).

In the course of 2016, the fountain will be restored in stages and the fountain figures will be temporarily removed.

layout

The base of the fountain, which is decorated with lion heads and the year 1858, symbolizes the Gotthard massif . The water pours from four swan necks into the basin, which has the shape of a Swiss cross. The water jets can be interpreted as the rivers Rhone , Rhine , Reuss and Ticino, which have their source in the Gotthard massif . On the base are four allegorical bronze sculptures painted white , which represent the seasons.

A column rises above the base. On its pedestal stands a bronze figure of Berna, a female personification of the city. The figure is wrapped in a cloak and wears a wall crown . She holds a lance in her right hand and a shield with Bern's coat of arms in her left hand. The facial features are those of Hermine Klein, the daughter of the former federal woman .

literature

Berchtold Weber: Historical-topographical lexicon of the city of Bern . Bernabrunnen (places \ Sch \ Schweiz (CH) \ Bern (canton) \ Bern (BE) \ B). Ed .: Burgerbibliothek Bern (= publications of the Berner Burgerbibliothek ). Bern 2016 ( archives-quickaccess.ch [accessed on February 4, 2018]).