Peter Pfister (master builder)

Tape on the choir arch with Peter Pfister's name and year 1517

The foreman (Saint Sempronianus) possibly Peter Pfister's self-portrait

Peter Pfister (* before 1500; † before September 13, 1520) from Basel, was a Swiss master craftsman at the Bern Minster and was only recognized in 1909 as the builder of the choir vault.

Peter Pfister initially worked with Erhart Küng and was elected foreman on August 1, 1505 as his successor. First he probably raised the walls of the side walls and built the upper square of the tower up to the octagon. His central work is the choir vault (Heavenly Court) with its 87 keystones carved as holy figures. Until the inscription on the choir arch was discovered in 1909, it was incorrectly assumed that Niklaus Manuel was the creator of the vault. But he only painted the ornaments in the spindles and possibly painted the figures.

Pfister lived in a house on Kirchgasse in Bern and was a member of the Grand Council from 1514 to 1520 . His son Paul Pfister also became a master builder for the cathedral in 1546, with no proven work. Peter Pfister died in 1520 shortly after completing his work.

literature

• Franz-Josef Sladeczek: Pfister, Peter. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• A. Zesiger: Die Münsterbaumeister, Festschrift for the 500th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone of the Bern Minster in 1421/1921, sheets for Bernese history, art and antiquity, vol. 17 1921 PDF 6.4 MB

Web links

• Jubilee choir vault 2017, "Interactive choir vault", website of the Bern Cathedral Foundation