Double villa at Marienstrasse 29/31

About the building

In the Kirchenfeld, Marienstrasse follows the northern edge of the slope; like Thunstrasse, it was planned as a tree-lined avenue in the district plan. At numbers 29 and 31 stands a double villa of 1896. The long rendered building with sandstone articulation has a mansard hipped roof with rooms in it. The street side is designed as a show front with three plus three window bays.

The low ground floor is treated as a banded base. Above it lies the piano nobile, framed and divided in the middle by banded stone pilaster strips. The central bay of each half is strongly emphasised, runs up into the roof and ends in a dormer with a segmental pediment. Cast-iron balconies on scroll brackets sit on the upper floor at No. 29 and on the attic floor at No. 31. There are verandas at the sides; the one at No. 29 was raised by a storey in 1901.

Architect and client was Eduard von Rodt (1849–1926). He had bought building plots in the Kirchenfeld from the Berne Land Company, the English company that had taken on the construction of the Kirchenfeld Bridge. Von Rodt was not only an architect but also a historian: from 1881 to 1894 he directed the Historical Museum and was one of the executing architects of the new Bern Historical Museum in the Kirchenfeld.

The heritage office sees the house as an early, good example of neo-Baroque villa building. Besides classical French models it recognises influences from Bernese architecture of the 18th century. In 1976 the façade was renovated and a sandstone medallion on No. 29 was reconstructed. The double villa is rated as worthy of protection and belongs to the Kirchenfeld building group. Look at the two cast-iron balconies sitting at different heights.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Marienstrasse 29, 31 · Wikipedia (de): Eduard von Rodt · Wikipedia (de): Kirchenfeld (Bern) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Quartiergeschichte Kirchenfeld-Brunnadern · Wikidata: Q106621997