Volkshaus Bern

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Hotel Bern

logo
legal form AG
founding 1914 as Volkshaus Bern
Seat Zeughausgasse 9, 3011 Bern Switzerland
SwitzerlandSwitzerland 
management Daniel Siegenthaler
Number of employees 70
Branch Hotel industry
Website www.hotelbern.ch

Neoclassical facade of the Hotel Bern

The organized workforce of the city of Bern has been gathering in the Volkshaus Bern on Zeughausgasse since 1893 . The corporation of the same name was founded in 1905 with the purpose of operating the Volkshaus. In 1914 the new reinforced concrete building , built according to plans by the architect Otto Ingold , was opened. Since the renaming to Hotel Bern in 1981 and the total renovation until March 1983, the house with the well-preserved facade in the style of neoclassicism has been run as a business and seminar hotel.

history

Share over 50 francs in AG Volkshaus Bern from February 1, 1916

Before the new Volkshaus, today's Hotel Bern, was opened in Bern's Zeughausgasse in 1914, there was already another Volkshaus at this point . It was the oldest in Switzerland, planned for many years and implemented in 1893.

The stately new building at Zeughausgasse 9, which replaced the old Volkshaus and several neighboring properties, opened its doors at the end of October 1914 with a press visit and the SP Switzerland party convention .

At the general assembly of the Volkshaus Bern AG on November 28, 1914, the shareholders increased the share capital and revised the company's articles of association. The company was changed to Volkshaus AG Bern , but the purpose was retained: "The company is the owner of the Volkshaus of the organized workforce in Bern, and its purpose is to run this Volkshaus."

The 50th anniversary of the building was celebrated with a festive occasion: On October 24, 1964, a ceremony was held in the Volkshauskino Forum under the presidency of Rudolf Messer. The year 1970 brought various structural changes, in particular the redesign of the ground floor restaurant and the kitchen. The renovation of the old restaurant took place under the direction of architect Robert Künzli. In 1973 the new “7 Stuben” became an exhibition object when the architect Künzli presented them to a wider public at the IGEHO in Basel at the invitation of the exhibition management and attracted attention.

In 1974 Volkshaus AG took over the neighboring Hotel Continental on a ten-year lease . This enabled the AG to offer rooms with bathrooms and showers that were missing in the Volkshaus. At an extraordinary general meeting in 1978, the shareholders unanimously approved the demolition of the property up to the first floor and the new construction of the hotel according to plans by Hans and Gret Reinhard and Stephan Jaggi. At the end of January 1980 the building application was deposited with the building inspectorate and in October the hotel and restaurant were closed and the adaptation and preparatory work began. The early demolition, underpass and renovation permit was available at the end of January 1981, and on April 29, the building permit was also received . On April 3, 1981, the general assembly of Volkshaus AG decided to rename the building "Hotel Bern" and to raise the business to the 4-star standard . The “7 Stuben” restaurant with its kitchen and cellar was opened on February 14, 1983, and the hotel and hall a month later. After 433 working days the work was completed and the 40,000 m³ building with 99 rooms with a total of 150 beds was put into operation.

32 years after the Volkshaus was renamed Hotel Bern and in time for the 100th anniversary, the hotel's own restaurant and bar was reopened on 23 August 2013 under the name Volkshaus 1914 . The interior, which was converted in just 53 days, has since been architecturally based on the striking facade. Inside, the mural The Speaker draws attention. Eduard Boss created it in 1913/1914 for what was then the Union Hall. According to contemporary witnesses, the central figure in the picture represents the well-known "weaver pastor" Howard Eugster .

At the Annual General Meeting on June 19, 2018, Werner Bernet, the resigning Chairman of the Board of Directors of Volkshaus AG Bern, announced that the Board of Directors had approved a construction loan of CHF 32 million for the comprehensive modernization of the Hotel Bern. The building will be renewed inside and outside by spring 2020, which means that it will also be barrier-free. Six additional rooms and two long-stay apartments will be created, plus a roof terrace.

Is in the hotel business also integrates that of the monuments worth protecting classified courtyard house Marktgasse 18a, which stood empty since of 2005. Volkshaus AG Bern has acquired the building under construction law and will set up nine additional hotel rooms in it.

literature

  • Erwin Haari, Kurt Schweizer: The Berner Volkshaus and the new Hotel Bern, 1914–1989. Wefo-Verlag AG, Bern 1989.
  • Fabian Christl: The lotter booth in the best location. In: Der Bund , Volume 170, No. 37 from February 14, 2019, page 19.

See also

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt , Volume 23, No. 285 of July 10, 1905, p. 1137.
  2. ↑ Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt , Volume 34, No. 9 of January 12, 1916, p. 47.
  3. ↑ Erwin Haari; Kurt Schweizer: The Berner Volkshaus and the new Hotel Bern, 1914–1989. Wefo-Verlag AG, Bern 1989, pp. 5-26.
  4. ^ The new Volkhaus in Bern. 1914, Die Berner Woche in words and pictures, accessed on June 27, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Hotel Bern starts into the future . In: htr hotel revue , June 20, 2018
  6. ↑ Fabian Christl: The Lotterbude in the best location. In: Der Bund , Volume 170, No. 37 from February 14, 2019, page 19.

Coordinates: 46 ° 56 '55.3 "  N , 7 ° 26' 46.7"  E ; CH1903:  600585  /  199736