Kreuzgassbrunnen

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Today's Kreuzgassbrunnen at the east end of Kramgasse in Bern . In the background the crossing Kreuzgasse .

The Kreuzgassbrunnen stands in front of the house at Kramgasse 5 at its lower end, immediately before the crossing Kreuzgasse in the old town of Bern . It belongs to the non-figurative Bernese fountains of the 18th and 19th centuries. Century.

history

For well over 200 years, more precisely since 1778/79, the current, fourth Kreuzgassbrunnen in the version known today has stood in the same place in front of the Zunfthaus zum Affen in Kramgasse.

The first Kreuzgassbrunnen before 1433 was mentioned in the city accounts as a well, probably made of wood, in the Kreuzgasse . Based on later city views, such as by Hans Rudolf Manuel from 1549 and from Gregorius Sickinger from 1603-1607, the situation can be assumed to be at the top of today's Gerechtigkeitsgasse , between the judgment seat and the stake at that time.

The second Kreuzgassbrunnen from 1520 replaced the former at the same location. From a note in the Anshelmsehen city ​​chronicle from 1520 it can be interpreted that the council issued instructions at the end of May 1519 that pieces of stone that had already been cut should be brought from Aigle and that a new, most likely a fountain should be built from them. It can be assumed from a well with a hexagonal stone basin and a prismatic stick with two tubes in the middle . On the stick stood an armed bear with a Bern city ​​panner . The design of the fountain was not conveyed until more than 100 years later, in 1635, through the cathedral picture by Anton Schmalz.

After maintenance by the stone carver David Edelstein in the summer of 1643, the fountain was removed from its place in 1646. Abraham Dünz I renovated it again in 1663-67, whereupon it was rebuilt and freshly painted in front of the Aarbergertor on the former Schützenmatte. Nothing is known about the reasons for the removal and relocation. - It is said to have existed in the basement of the old rifle house until 1862 .

The third Kreuzgassbrunnen dates from 1657–1659 and was, as payments show beginning in June 1657, executed by the Freiburg stone carver Dominicus Gall. The lower end of Kramgasse, directly above the street cross, was determined as the location. The building material again came from Aigle. The long, two-year construction period is proven by payments. However, the well did not seem to live up to expectations. In 1662 and 1666 further orders for improvements were awarded. A white ball is said to have crowned the Corinthian column with four tubes in an octagonal basin. In 1778 the well was demolished

The fourth Kreuzgassbrunnen known today was built in 1778. It is considered the archetype of the Bern obelisk fountain. At the same location as the third, the plant was built from Solothurn limestone . The art historian Paul Hofer describes the work as follows:

“Twin shell made of two semicircular, strongly bulged mussel basins deeply grooved under the edge; the continuous separating piece is flanked by good lion masks, from each of which a volute is developed; On each of the segmental projections of the pedestal cornice two entwined bronze dolphins, whose mouths hold the two radially extending pairs of tubes. On the other two fronts templates with rams' heads and leaf hangings. The three-part, slim obelisk, like the whole fountain, is carved from Solothurn shell limestone ; at fassonierten shaft two annularly winding laurel branch - appliques ; above the usual scarf tone. To top it off, there is a gracefully silhouetted, draped urn with a ball point. The effective restriction to the parbel elements white (limestone), patina (dolphins, tubes) and gold (laurel branches, urn tips) probably corresponds to the original condition. "

The design can be attributed to Niklaus Sprüngli , who had been a foreman in Bern since 1770 at the time of construction and whose formal language is sure to match the works that have been assigned to him. A catalog note from 1804 mentions Sprüngli's personal execution of the model of the Kreuzgassbrunnen. In addition, the invoices did not have a designer name, which also suggests the foreman as the designer. The executives such as sculptors and gilders Meister Reist and JC Wieser are not considered as designers, nor are Erasmus Ritter , who was abroad in the project year.

Drinking water

The drinking water network of Energie Wasser Bern ewb supplies the well with drinking water , the quality of which is regularly checked.

literature

  • Paul Hofer : The art monuments of the canton of Bern. The city of Bern - cityscape · fortifications · city gates · installations · monuments · bridges · city fountains · hospitals · orphanages. Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History (=  Die Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz . Volume 28 ). tape 1 . Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1952, The city fountains II. Figure fountains of the 16th century 10. The Kreuzgass fountains before 1778 - and - III. Non-figurative fountains from the 18th / 19th centuries Century 15. Kreuzgasse, S. 302-304; Pp. 337–340 (467 pp., Biblio.unibe.ch [PDF; 68.9 MB ; accessed on February 20, 2018]).
  • Berchtold Weber: Historical-topographical lexicon of the city of Bern. Kreuzgassbrunnen (Places \ Sch \ Schweiz (CH) \ Bern (Canton) \ Bern (BE) \ K) . Ed .: Burgerbibliothek Bern (=  publications of the Berner Burgerbibliothek ). Bern 2016 ( archives-quickaccess.ch [accessed on February 20, 2018]).

See also

Web links

Commons : Kreuzgassbrunnen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Frank Hieronymus: Hans Rudolf Manuel. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . October 27, 2009 , accessed February 20, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Frank Hieronymus: Gregor Sickinger. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . April 11, 2011 , accessed February 20, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Bern: Kreuzgasse; Cathedral platform; Town hall; Old town (lower). In: katalog.burgerbib.ch. Retrieved February 20, 2018 (photograph of a drawing based on a drawing by Anton Schmalz from 1635).
  4. ^ Paul Hofer : The art monuments of the canton of Bern. The city of Bern - cityscape · fortifications · city gates · installations · monuments · bridges · city fountains · hospitals · orphanages. Ed .: Society for Swiss Art History (=  Die Kunstdenkmäler der Schweiz . Volume 28 ). tape 1 . Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 1952, Die Stadtbrunnen III. Non-figurative fountains from the 18th / 19th centuries Century 15. Kreuzgasse, S. 338 (467 pp., Biblio.unibe.ch [PDF; 68.9 MB ; accessed on February 20, 2018]).
  5. ↑ Drinking water quality. The quality of drinking water in the city of Bern is checked regularly. In: bern.ch. Information service of the City of Bern, November 17, 2015, accessed on February 20, 2018 .

Coordinates: 46 ° 56 '52.8 "  N , 7 ° 27' 7.4"  E ; CH1903:  601021  /  199,658