Kursaal Bern

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Kursaal Bern

The Kursaal Bern is a congress and event center at the northern end of the Kornhausbrücke bridge in Altenbergquartier opposite the old town of Bern . In addition to the conference and seminar rooms, it also houses the 4- star superior Hotel Allegro, three restaurants, a bar and the Grand Casino Bern .

history

From the Middle Ages to 1903

Today's Kursaal area was called Gandegg in the Middle Ages. Despite its proximity to the city center, the Gandegg was relatively difficult to access, it could only be reached via the Untertorbrücke or, from 1823, by ferry from the later Altenbergsteg , built in 1857 . With the opening of the Red Bridge in 1856 and in particular the Kornhaus Bridge in 1898, the route was shortened and the area became a local recreation area for the town of Bern.

The Gandegg was renamed Schänzli-Areal in the middle of the 19th century. The name was derived from a military entrenchment project, which was never carried out in this form.

In 1858 the businessman Emanuel Lanz acquired the Schänzli property and set up a summer restaurant. The wooden house was built in the fretwork style common at the time. In the following years there were various structural extensions, for example a music pavilion and a theater hall were opened. The so-called “Schänzli-Theater” was often run in summer by the directors of the Bern City Theater , who were required for the winter season .

1903 until the Second World War

Kursaal & Sommercasino Schänzli Bern - share from 1903

On February 20, 1903, some hoteliers and business people founded the "Kursaal and Summer Casino Society Schänzli". In doing so, they prevented the Schänzli area from being converted into a residential area. The Kursaal was now open all year round. With a view to the national exhibition in 1914 , the new building was built, including a concert hall, the elevator tower that still exists today, a concert hall and a game room. However, when the First World War broke out, the state exhibition was canceled and a military sanitary facility was set up in the Kursaal .

Difficult years followed for the Kursaal. The gambling hall had to be closed from 1925 to 1928 for political reasons. In order to respond to the new requirements and the aging premises, a new building was inaugurated in 1933: the theater hall was replaced by the Leuchtersaal, which was temporarily used by the Bern City Theater and the Bern Home Security Theater.

The Second World War brought more representatives of the war economy to Bern to meet in various federal offices. These guests frequented the Kursaal and brought with them a new need: meeting facilities. Accordingly, a bar was built as a new meeting point in the Kursaal during the war.

the post war period

In 1959 the new concert hall with a lifting platform was inaugurated. Large organizations and companies soon discovered that this new hall was suitable for holding large gatherings and banquets. That is why this sector was promoted: more meeting rooms were built, and there were renovations and extensions.

The Kursaal was transformed into a congress center in the 1960s and 1970s. Therefore, in 1973 the company name was changed from "Kursaal Bern AG" to "Kongress + Kursaal Bern AG". The entertainment facility became a workplace.

As part of the new operating concept, the "Allegro" hotel was opened on October 1, 1998, a city hotel in the 4-star superior category.

In 2002, the Grand Casino Bern opened its doors in the Kursaal Bern. At the same time, extensions were built. The reopening of the arena and forum in 2012 increased the capacity for large events to 1,500 people.

Today's offer

The Kursaal Bern houses the Hotel Allegro, two restaurants, a cocktail bar, 30 congress rooms and the Grand Casino Bern.

hotel

The Hotel Allegro is a 4-star superior hotel with 171 rooms.

gastronomy

The gastronomic offer consists of a classic cocktail and piano bar and two restaurants: Giardino and Yù.

Until the end of 2019, the fine dining restaurant Meridiano was part of the gastronomy offer in the Kursaal Bern. It was awarded a Michelin star and 16 Gault Millau points. It was run by head chef Fabian Raffeiner and sommelier Giovanni Ferraris.

Convention center

The congress center consists of 30 rooms in which meetings, events, congresses, exhibitions and banquets are held.

The size of the congress rooms varies between 18 and 1,700 square meters. Events for up to 1,500 people can be held.

The largest rooms are the arena and the forum. They are used for delegate assemblies, meetings, exhibitions, banquets, parties and concerts. During the renovation of Casino Bern (formerly Kultur Casino Bern), the arena will host the concerts of the Bern Symphony Orchestra and the master cycle concert series.

The Kursaal Bern is one of the Swiss Convention Centers.

Grand Casino Bern

The Grand Casino Bern is one of the 8-A casinos in Switzerland.

literature

  • Paul Marti: The Kursaal Story. Self-published, Bern 1990.
  • Franz Dietrich: From the summer inn "Schänzli" to the Allegro Grand Casino Kursaal Bern - 1903 to 2003. Vögeli printing center, Bern 2003.

Web links

Commons : Kursaal Bern  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schänzli. (PDF) In: Historical-Topographical Lexicon of the City of Bern. 1976, Retrieved March 18, 2019 .
  2. ↑ On the history of the small and large ski jump in Bern. In: Leaves for Bernese history, art and antiquity. 1918, Retrieved March 18, 2019 .
  3. ↑ From the "Schänzli" summer restaurant to the Kursaal Bern. In: Website Kursaal Bern. Retrieved March 13, 2019 .
  4. ^ Kursaal, Bern BE. In: Theater Lexikon der Schweiz. Chronos Verlag Zürich, Volume 2, pp. 1057-1058, 2005, accessed on March 15, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Prof. Dr. Hans Marti: The Kursaal story . Self-published, Bern 1990, p. 4-5 .
  6. ^ Franz Dietrich: From the summer restaurant "Schänzli" to the Allegro Grand Casino Kursaal Bern - 1903 to 2003 . Vögeli Printing Center, Bern 2003, p. 4 .
  7. ^ Franz Dietrich: From the summer restaurant "Schänzli" to the Allegro Grand Casino Kursaal Bern - 1903 to 2003 . Vögeli Printing Center, Bern 2003, p. 45-47 .
  8. ^ Kursaal, Bern BE. In: Theater Lexikon der Schweiz. Chronos Verlag Zürich, Volume 2, pp. 1057-1058, 2005, accessed on March 15, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Prof. Dr. Hans Marti: The Kursaal story . Self-published, Bern 1990, p. 16 .
  10. ↑ Does Bern need more hotels? (PDF) In: Entente Bernoise. 2001, accessed March 18, 2019 .
  11. ↑ This is what the new Kursaal looks like. In: Berner Zeitung. August 24, 2012, accessed March 18, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Congress rooms . In: Website Kursaal Bern. Retrieved March 13, 2019 .
  13. ↑ The Kursaal can also be classic. In: Berner Zeitung. March 20, 2019, accessed March 15, 2019 .
  14. ^ Swiss Convention Centers. In: Switzerland Tourism website. Retrieved March 19, 2019 .

Coordinates: 46 ° 57 '11.8 "  N , 7 ° 26' 54.9"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight  /  200243