Societies and guilds of the city of Bern

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House sign of the Society for Carpenters on Kramgasse in Bern (2015)
Society house for merchants on Kramgasse in Bern (2011)

The societies and guilds of the City of Bern are civil corporations within the meaning of the Constitution of the Canton of Bern and public corporations within the framework of the municipal legislation of the Canton of Bern. The main tasks of the Bernese societies and guilds are social assistance , financial administration and the granting of company or guild law. All Bernese societies and guilds have their own society houses in Bern's old town . As civic corporations, the societies and guilds of the civic community of Bern are legally equivalent, but the Bernese civic law is a prerequisite for membership in one of the societies and guilds.

history

middle Ages

Keystone from 1476 with the coat of arms of the Society of Middle Lions in the Gerwern Chapel in Bern Minster

A guild ban can be assumed for Bern for the year 1294, as the text of the ban from 1373 refers to a ban that is 80 years older. The guilds represented a threat to the councils occupied by the nobility and notables . Nevertheless, there are signs of corporate forms of organization among the craftsmen in Bern. The earliest artisanal statute dates from 1307 and regulates the supervision of the crafts. The tanners appear as a corporation in a legal dispute as early as 1313. The craft regulations for tanners from 1332 are the oldest sources of their kind in Bern. Even at this time, the craft regulations were issued or at least approved by the council. The handicrafts appear politically for the first time in the Geltenhals revolt in 1368. In 1373, in Bern, guilds were finally banned in the two letter guilds , and it was decreed that trades should organize themselves as rooms or societies and submit to the supervision of the council. On the other hand, the council fixed the amounts to be bought in the individual rooms. Overall, these decisions presuppose that there must have been guild riots in Bern as well. In 1384 there were unrest against the council, but this did not result in any serious changes. In 1405 and 1435 the council forbade membership in more than one room. Excluded from this prohibition were the society to be protected , which had no political significance and the aristocratic society to the thistle compulsion

A craft, a society could be divided into several rooms. This was the case with the important trades of bakers, blacksmiths, butchers and tanners. On the other hand, several trades could form a single society. The carpentry society includes the crafts of carpenters, joiners, wagons and cooper. As the guilds, guilds , gaffs , offices or Venetian Scuole had the companies Berns together with their economic and increasingly municipal tasks religious character. The societies venerated their patron saints through altars, chapels and brotherhoods . Examples of this are the Brotherhood of the Rebleuten Society with the Urban Altar in the Antonier Church or the Gerwern Chapel , consecrated to Apostle Bartholomew , in the three tannery rooms in Bern's cathedral . The societies provided their relatives with appropriate burials and seasons . Women were also members of the brotherhoods. The tradition of the society towel has been preserved in Bern to this day.

While the Society for Schützen and the Society for Rebleuten were only of minor importance, the crafts of bakers, blacksmiths, butchers and tanners increasingly gained political power, as from the 15th century the four Venners of the city from these four crafts (Venner societies) to choose were. In the elections to the Grand Council, the council and the sixteen made the nominations. The Venner societies had the right to put two sixteen. In addition to the municipal tasks, the four Venners also served as court lords in their regional courts (e.g. Sternenberg ). The coats of arms of the regional courts often appear as legitimizing, heraldic additions to the coat of arms of the Venner societies. Gradually, a hierarchy of the rooms emerged, which led to the hierarchy of the societies that is still valid today.

Early modern age

The professional admission to a company was decided by the council in 1692, but led to disputes several times, such as the refusal of the company to accept the cloth merchant Emanuel Hübner as a merchant. Title page of the printed case files (1732)
Drinking ship of the Society for Shipmen by Hans Jakob Binder II (around 1650)
Cooper dance on Easter Monday in front of the Zytglogge (around 1780)

During the Reformation , guardianship and poor relief increasingly became the tasks of society. The Niederpfistern Society raised a donation, the Mittellöwen Society was entrusted with guardianship in a will in 1524, the oldest guardianship bill dates from 1571 and is documented for the Monkey Society. Possibly as early as the 15th century, but no later than 1534, the Bern citizenship law was tied to membership of one of the societies. The societies developed into administrative units of the township, and in the early modern period they increasingly had communal tasks. In addition to the draft and the fire brigade, poor relief and guardianship for their relatives were added from 1676. As a result, wives and children were counted among the members of the rooms. Company law was tied to handicrafts, the aristocratic society for thistle compulsion and the society for medium lions had no handicraft connotations and united the city nobility, free professions or scribes. In general, the room right was hereditary, but anyone who chose a different profession than the father had to join the relevant society. Company law was in fact hereditary for all those sexes who had broken away from handicrafts and devoted themselves as patricians to politics, the military or the administration of their own property. It is true that every Bernese who came of age had to go shopping and be accepted into the room, but this was purely a matter of form. However, company law had to be upheld through an annual room rate. With the conclusion of the civil law from 1651, the societies were obliged to divide their luge (member lists) into civil and non-civil members. This led to there being inner masters and outer masters; H. civil masters and non-civil masters. In the crafts, i.e. H. In the master classes, however, the inner and outer masters sat equally.

Helvetic, mediation and restoration

Coats of arms of the 13 civil societies (1796)

In 1798, the Swiss central government forbade any division of the company's assets. By referring to their poor goods, the societies were largely able to avert the Helvetic government's insight into financial matters. The societies were legally consolidated during the mediation period. For the election of the Grand Council, the constituency of the city of Bern was divided into 13 so-called electoral guilds. These electoral guilds were headed by a guild master and bore the names of the companies without being personally identical to them. At the municipal level, the companies elected their representatives to the Grand City Council, the highest municipal authority, in mediation. The companies retained their duties in the fire brigade and in distributing the income from the city fields. The military connections, however, were finally lost, and in 1805 the manual guild compulsory, which had been in force since 1798, was abolished by decree. Membership in one of the societies thus finally became hereditary. At the same time, the citizenship law was fully reopened. From 1805 new generations were included in the Bernese civil law. Due to the poor financial situation, the activities of the societies mainly concentrated on poor relief. There were hardly any meals or representative events. With the establishment of the municipal fire corps in 1812, the companies lost their duties in the field of fire services. The rights in the elections were lost, there were tensions over the administration of the society's poor goods. The disputes can be seen in the context of the conflicts between the patrician government and the non-patrician bourgeoisie.

19th and 20th centuries

While the Bernese societies originally only knew the chamberlain as the only civil servant, over the centuries the offices of seckel master and room clerk were added, with the constitution of 1831 orphans' commissions were introduced, which in most cases were identical to the superiors ( executive ) . In all societies the legislature is the big Bott. In the middle of the 19th century, the delimiting term guild society came up for the societies , which still serves as the official name for three corporations today. With the increase in population in the city of Bern, citizenship and societies became increasingly exclusive, as the newcomers were mere residents. The burger storm of 1888 brought the abolition of the burger's utility and compulsory society. The societies and guilds knew and sometimes do know a so-called dividend , but this was abolished in most corporations in the 19th century. With the new municipal law of 1917, not only civil parishes were given the right to grant citizenship but also the resident parishes. The civic community of Bern and the companies thus got their current place in the state organization. The active corporate or guild law was tied to the place of residence in the city, the Society for Mittellöwen, for example, extended this to the canton of Bern in 1940, and in 1972 the residence clause was completely dropped. With the introduction of women's suffrage , women became full members of societies and guilds. In addition to the municipal law appointments such as the Grosse Bott, the meetings of the councils and commissions, the Bernese societies and guilds have created new events in the course of the 20th century, partly with reference to the festive meals of the Middle Ages and modern times, partly following more modern needs in the form of excursions, lectures, balls and family celebrations.

tasks

The societies lost most of the tasks known since the late Middle Ages in the first half of the 19th century. With the creation of the civic child and adult protection authority (bKESB) in 2013, the competencies in child and adult protection were transferred from the societies and guilds to them, the societies each have a seat on the supervisory commission of the civic child and adult protection authority. In addition to accepting new members, the only traditional task they have left is social assistance for their relatives. The societies and guilds maintain their social traditions, which mostly only emerged in the 20th century, and support social, scientific and cultural events and institutions as far as they can and independently of the civic community of Bern.

The official ranking of the 13 societies and guilds:

literature

  • François de Capitani: Nobility, citizens and guilds in Bern in the 15th century. Stämpfli, Bern 1982, ISBN 3-7272-0491-5 .
  • Hans Hofer: The guild system in the old republic of Bern , Bern 1971.
  • Manuel Kehrli: About the Bernese guild system . In: Centralblatt des Schweizerischen Zofingerverein , Zofingen, vol. 142, 2002, pp. 179–182.
  • Bernhard Emanuel von Rodt, Ludwig Lauterburg: The company of merchants in Bern. A contribution to the history of the town of Bern's society and guild system , in: Berner Taschenbuch on the year 1862, pp. 1–171. doi : 10.5169 / seals-120727
  • Eduard von Rodt: Berns Burgerschaft and Societies In: Festschrift for the VII secular celebration of the founding of Bern, 1191–1891, Bern 1891, pp. 1–114.
  • Daniel Schläppi: The Zunftgesellschaft zu Schmieden in Bern between tradition and modernity. Social, structural and cultural-historical aspects from Helvetic to the end of the 20th century (= archive of the Historical Association of the Canton of Bern. Vol. 81). Historical Association of the Canton of Bern, Bern 2001, ISBN 3-85731-021-9 (also: Bern, Univ., Diss., 2000).
  • Heinrich Türler : The altars and chapels of the minster in Bern before the Reformation. In: New Berner Taschenbuch on the year 1896. pp. 70–118. doi: 10.5169 / seals-126600
  • J. Harald Wäber: Citizenship and civic community of the city of Bern from the beginning until 1831 , in: Die Burgergemeinde Bern. Present and History , Bern 1986.
  • Harald Wanner: Legal historical considerations on the room statutes of the Society for Middle Lions in Bern from 1567. Polygraphische Gesellschaft, Laupen 1928.
  • René Wyss: The old parlor and shooting companies of the city of Bern. In: Berner Taschenbuch on the year 1854. online
  • Robert Ludwig Wyss: craftsmanship in gold and silver. The silver dishes of the Bern guilds, societies and civil associations , Bern 1996.
  • Markus Wyttenbach: The Bern Guild of the Middle Lions in the 19th and 20th centuries (= history of the Bern Guild of the Middle Lions. Vol. 3). Guild of Middle Lions, Bern 1986.
  • Urs Martin Zahnd : The Bernese Guild of the Middle Lions in the late Middle Ages (= history of the Bernese Guild of the Middle Lions. Vol. 1). Guild of Middle Lions, Bern 1984.
  • Alfred Zesiger: The Bernese guild system , Bern 1912.

Web links

Commons : Societies and guilds of the city of Bern  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern: Constitution of the Canton of Bern. SR 131.212. In: Systematic Legal Collection SR . Voters of the Canton of Bern, June 6, 1993, accessed on June 14, 2018 (Article 107 in Section 7 municipalities; as of March 11, 2015).
  2. ^ State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern: Municipal Law of the Canton of Bern. BSG 170.11. In: Systematic legal collection of the Canton of Bern BSG. Grand Council of the Canton of Bern , March 16, 1998, accessed on June 14, 2018 (Article 117 in Section 2.2 Civic Communities and Civil Corporations; Status on January 1, 2014).
  3. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 57.
  4. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 58.
  5. ↑ Hofer 1971, p. 17.
  6. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 58.
  7. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 59.
  8. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 59.
  9. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 62.
  10. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 63.
  11. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 64.
  12. ↑ de Capitani 1982, p. 65.
  13. ↑ See Brotherhood of Our Lady (Bern) .
  14. ↑ Hofer 1971, pp. 35-36.
  15. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 63.
  16. ↑ Hofer 1971, p. 27.
  17. ↑ Hofer 1971, p. 26.
  18. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 68.
  19. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 69.
  20. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 73.
  21. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 73.
  22. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 73.
  23. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 73.
  24. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 74.
  25. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 79.
  26. ↑ Wäber 1989, p. 79.
  27. ↑ Bott, from bidding, raising, raising.
  28. ↑ Wyttenbach 1986, p. 42.
  29. ↑ Wyttenbach 1986, p. 23.
  30. ↑ Wyttenbach 1986, p. 42.
  31. ↑ Wyttenbach 1986, p. 25.
  32. ↑ Wyttenbach 1986, p. 25.
  33. ↑ Wyttenbach 1986, p. 52.
  34. ↑ The Burgergesellschaft Bern, founded in 1910, is an association under Art. 60ff. ZGB, is formally one of the societies and guilds within the civic community of Bern.