Brother Klaus (Bern)
The church Bruder Klaus in Bern after the Holy Trinity Church and St. Mary's Church , the second post-Reformation, still originally preserved Roman Catholic parish churches of the city. The concrete church built by architect Hermann Baur is a cultural asset of national importance . It is considered to be groundbreaking for modern church building in Switzerland.
History and parish structure
In accordance with the decree of the Grand Council of March 8, 1939, the three parishes of Bern, Dreifaltigkeit, St. Antonius and St. Marien received the status of a state-recognized parish and became the Roman Catholic parish of the city of Bern and the cantonal area attached to it . This made it possible to found the Brother Klaus parish in 1955. Because of the strong eastward growth of the city, the need of the Catholic population for their own church grew. In April 1938 , Pastor Josef Emil Nünlist (1875–1952) had prudently acquired the undeveloped area at the intersection of Muristrasse, Ostring and Thunstrasse from the civic community at a price of 183,245 francs. In 1951, the competition jury decided in favor of the project by the Basel architect Hermann Baur. The foundation stone was laid on August 30, 1953, and the Bern architect Walter Bitter built the new church in the following two years according to Hermann Baur's plans. On October 24, 1954, the Bishop of Basel , Franziskus von Streng , consecrated the church and the parish center in honor of Niklaus von Flüe , who was canonized in 1947 .
Building description
The prominent location of the Brother Klaus Church at the busy intersection at Burgernziel in Bern required a generous design by the architect Hermann Baur. He planned the main axis of the trapezoidal church with its facade diagonally to the center of the roundabout at the intersection that had existed since 1948 . With the large wheel window, the facade is based on historical models. The skeleton construction shell was filled with small-scale concrete elements and sand-lime brick masonry. For the roof construction, pre-stressed prefabricated elements were hung on cantilevered columns made of in-situ concrete. The close cooperation between architect and engineer made the new roof construction and the elegant spiral stairs to the gallery and the bell tower possible. The church, which is actually not high, is lifted from the forecourt with only two steps and thus appears dominant between the low side buildings. The forecourt is bordered on the northwest side by the parish hall wing and the rectory on the east side. In 1986 the group of buildings was extended with a new intermediate wing to the parish hall, which was somewhat disruptive to the overall architectural appearance.
Church tower and bells
The high church tower as the most striking feature is arranged free-standing like a campanile on the east side of the forecourt. Its five-part chime, which was cast by the Rütschi Aarau company , was consecrated by Bishop Streng on the day of prayer on September 18, 1954 and raised by school children on the following Wednesday. The Trinity Bell, Mary Bell, Brother Klaus Bell, St. Vinzenz Bell and Michael Bell are tuned to the tones C sharp 'e' f sharp 'a' h '.
Fountain
On August 19, 1989, the “Source of Life” fountain, artistically designed by Karl Imfeld , was inaugurated on the forecourt as a symbol of the resurrection.
Baptistery
The Bruder Klaus church after the old tradition of having the Baptistery a separate baptistery, which is reached at a closed courtyard via a closed passageway. The corridor leads on to the office space on the edge of the area. Similar to a monastery cloister, the courtyard serves as a space for reflection. There is a representation of Brother Klaus as a full sculpture by Stephan Reich. Also in the rectory is the marble relief by the sculptor Owski Müller (Dittingen), which depicts God's mills and temporarily stood in the church's choir.
Interior and artistic equipment
The interior receives subdued light from the glass blocks on the side walls. The high choir room, on the other hand, receives its daylight from windows arranged above the visible area. The rounded arrangement of the bench seating relates to the sanctuary. The altar block and the tabernacle were originally supposed to stand closer to the people; on the intervention of the bishop, they then had to be moved closer to the wall. The bishop was not yet able to make friends with the celebration of the priest against the people, which was generally introduced ten years later with the Second Vatican Council . Baur's concept includes furnishing with various works of art. However, he could not prevail with some suggestions. The planned angel of trumpets on the tower was not implemented and an altarpiece by Ferdinand Gehr was rejected. Gehr had previously painted a mural in the church of St. Anton in Wettingen , which at the request of Bishop Franziskus von Streng had to be covered before the inauguration and later destroyed. The only works by Ferdinand Gehr are the canopy above the altar, still on the four pillars, and the glass paintings, especially in the wheel window of the main facade.
The sculptor Albert Schilling created the reliefs of St. Stephen and St. John the Baptist on both marble ambes. Also the altar block with prayer and meditation picture of Brother Klaus, which is accompanied by stylized angel figures on the front and front sides. The foundation stone between the entrance gates with the tree of life, whose roots point to Christ as the founder, on whom the church is built, also comes from Schilling. Fonts and ornamental floor panels under the gallery and in front of the choir were created by graphic designer Armin Hofmann . A Brother Klaus head and St. Trinity. The Bernese iron sculptor Bernhard Luginbühl was able to create the relief of a musical instrument on the organ parapet as well as the font with a lid.
In 1968 the sanctuary was redesigned according to the new guidelines of the council. Another redesign took place in 1994 by the artists Alois Lichtsteiner , Murten (painter), and Hans-Peter von Ah , Lucerne (concept). The canopy was hung freely and the colored pictures were created on the side walls. In the place of the remote side altars, a 16th century statue of the Virgin Mary was placed in the niche on the left and the tabernacle on a marble block in the niche on the right.
crypt
The lower church is called the weekday chapel or crypt. Its slightly vaulted ceiling corresponds to the steps to the chancel above, acting as a connecting element. The glass concrete window and the relief of the Lamb of God were also designed by Albert Schilling. During the later reconstruction this was removed and one of the two ambes in the main church was moved down here. A statue of the Madonna by Pierino Selmoni (Mendrisio, 1927–2017) was newly erected for this purpose. Additional equipment includes a small organ built by Orgelbau Wälti, Gümligen, 1978, with mechanical action, registration and grinding mechanism, a manual and five stops.
organ
Initially, an electronic organ had to be sufficient to accompany the singing. On December 13, 1964, the new main organ was inaugurated. It was built by Manfred Mathis AG, Näfels , with a mechanical action, register and slide chests, 2 manuals and pedal, with 29 registers, according to Viktor Fund's planning . Except for the new intonation from 1996, it has remained unchanged. The second is the small organ of the crypt.
literature
- Bernhard Furrer et al .: The Brother Klaus Church in Bern . Society for Swiss Art History (GSK), Bern 1999, ISBN 3-85782-678-9 , p. 23 .
- Marie Louise Beyeler, Hans Schlegel: Brother Klaus: 40 years of the parish of Bern / Muri-Gümligen, Festschrift . Roman Catholic parish Brother Klaus Bern, Bern 1994, p. 33 .
- Fabrizio Brentini, Swiss St. Luke Society for Art and Church: Building for the Church: Catholic church building of the 20th century in Switzerland . Edition SSL, Lucerne 1994, p. 322 . Diss. Phil. I Zurich, 1993/94.
- Dieter Schnell et al .: District Guide City of Bern, Obstberg Schosshalde . Bern 1993, p. 41 f .
- Gabriela Hanke et al .: Catholic Bern from 1799 to 1999. A stopover . Total Roman Catholic parish of Bern and the surrounding area, Bern 1999.
See also
- List of cultural assets in Bern in District IV, Kirchenfeld-Schosshalde
- List of Roman Catholic churches in the canton of Bern
Web links
- Website of the parish Brother Klaus Bern
- Law on the Bernese regional churches (PDF; 185 kB)
- Brother Klaus Church in the building inventory of the city of Bern (PDF; 1.2 MB)
Individual evidence
- ^ KGS number 699. Catholic Church Brother Klaus. In: Cultural property protection inventory with objects of national importance. Federal Office for Civil Protection FOCP , accessed on March 26, 2018 .
- ^ Gabriela Hanke et al .: Catholic Bern from 1799 to 1999. A stopover . Total Roman Catholic parish of Bern and the surrounding area, Bern 1999. List of construction costs 1910–1938 in Kath. Bern, p. 35
- ^ Bells of the Brother Klaus church, Bern: Plenum on Youtube
- ^ Fabrizio Brentini, Swiss St. Luke Society for Art and Church: Building for the Church: Catholic Church Building of the 20th Century in Switzerland . Edition SSL, Lucerne 1994, p. 322 . For the liturgical floor plan, pp. 132–134
- ^ History of the frescoes in St. Anton, Wettingen ( Memento from December 5, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
Coordinates: 46 ° 56 '32.7 " N , 7 ° 27' 58.8" E ; CH1903: 602110 / 199038