Junkerngasse

The Junkerngasse ("Junker Lane") is a street in the Old City of Berne, the medieval city center of Berne, Switzerland. It connects the tip of the Aar peninsula (the "Nydegg" neighbourhood) to the Münster.

The Junkerngasse is the Old City's best-preserved street. [Caviezel et al., 170.] The riverfront of its palatial houses with their late Baroque façades and extensive garden terraces has been described in an art history guidebook as "one of Europe's most magnificent cityscapes". [Caviezel et al., 170: "... einer der grossartigsten Stadtkörper Europas."]

Topography

The Junkerngasse connects to the generally parallel "Gerechtigkeitsgasse" and to the "Nydegggasse" in the east, and continues as the "Münstergasse" to the west. It is connected to the "Gerechtigkeitsgasse" by small alleyways leading north ("Oberes" and "Unteres Gerechtigkeitsgässchen"). The "Bubenbergrain" descends through the "Bubenbergtor", a former city gate, towards the river Aar in the south.

History

The street was called "Kilchgasse" ("Church Lane") up until the 16th century, and was renamed from "Edle Gasse" ("Noble Lane") to "Junkerngasse" in the 17th century. [Caviezel et al., 170.] The latter names reflect the street's character as a residential area almost exclusively used by Berne's leading patrician families. [Caviezel et al., 170.] Only a few houses (nos. 7–15) were originally craftsmen's houses. [Caviezel et al., 170.]

The street's current topography reflects about the state of 1470. [Hofer, 118.] The earlier records are fragmentary, but at some time between 1430 and 1468 the city's earliest town hall was demolished at the Junkerngasse's the western end. [Hofer, 117.] Since then, the general structure of the street has remained unchanged. The pavement was replaced in 1998. [Caviezel et al., 170.]

Buildings

The street's only fountain is the "Junkerngassbrunnen", a plain "Stockbrunnen" adorned with a 17th century figure of a lion bearing a lance and the Bubenberg arms. [Caviezel et al., 170.] No. 9 is the best-preserved of the Junkerngasse's Late Gothic craftsmen's houses. [Caviezel et al., 171.] No. 21, the "von Scharnachthal" house, is one of Berne's most elegant Early Baroque works by Friedrich May. [Caviezel et al., 171.] The four-story street façade of no. 31 (1700–20) links Late Renaissance elements with the structure characteristic of the Bernese Late Baroque. [Caviezel et al., 171.] The interior of No. 39 displays the skills of 18th century Bernese craftsmen in transforming medieval townhouses into comfortable residences; the courtyard is particularly noted for its Baroque elegance. [Caviezel et al., 172.] No. 43 (1784–86) is exemplary for Bernese architecture at the threshold between Late Baroque and Classicism. [Caviezel et al., 173.] No. 22 was the workshop of painter Friedrich Traffelet (1897–1954); it features a humourous façade painting of 1913. [Caviezel et al., 173.] No. 22, the "Morlot-Haus" by Albrecht Türler, is the most ambitious building in the northern part of the street. [Caviezel et al., 174.]

The "Erlacherhof" ("Erlach Court"), no. 47, is the most significant private building, in historical and architectural terms, of the Old City. [Caviezel et al., 174.] Built 1747–52 by Türler for Hieronymus von Erlach, it is the only application of Jacques-François Blondel's concept of "palace entre cour et jardin" – a palace between court and garden – in an urban setting. [Caviezel et al., 174.] As the city's greatest urban palace, the "Erlacherhof" served as General Guillaume Brune's headquarters in 1798, as the seat of the French Embassy to Switzerland until 1832, and as the first seat of the Swiss Federal Council and the federal administration from 1848 to 1857. It has since been used as the seat of the government of the city of Berne. [Caviezel et al., 174.] Part of its outer wall is the "Bubenbergtor", a 12th century city gate and the oldest building in Berne that is still standing. [Caviezel et al., 175.]

The "Zeerlederhaus", no. 51, is noted for the 1897 painting by Rudolf Münger on its late Gothic façade. [Caviezel et al., 175.] No. 59, the "Béatrice-von-Wattenwyl-Haus," has been described as a concentrate of Bernese architectural history; it has not been significantly altered since its 18th century reshaping by Joseph Abeille. [Caviezel et al., 177.] In the ownership of the Swiss Confederation since 1934, it is now used for ceremonial events by the Federal Council. [Caviezel et al., 178.]

References

Bibliography

*Citation
last1 = Caviezel
first1 = Zita
last2 = Herzog
first2 = Georges
last3 = Keller
first3 = Jürg A.
year = 2006
title = Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Solothurn
edition = 1st
volume = 3
series = Kunstführer durch die Schweiz
publication-place = Berne
publisher = Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte
pages = 170–79
isbn = 3-906131-97-1
*Citation
last = Hofer
first = Paul
year = 1959
series = Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Bern
volume = 2
title = Die Stadt Bern. Gesellschaftshäuser und Wohnbauten
publication-place = Basel
editor =
publisher = Gesellschaft für Schweizerische Kunstgeschichte / Verlag Birkhäuser
pages = 116–225
url = http://digibiblio.unibe.ch/digibern/Chopin/Engine/Systematik/viewer.asp?KatalogID=1&ImgNum=593
isbn = 3-90613-113-0

External links

*commonscat-inline|Junkerngasse