Double house at Marienstrasse 22/24

About the building

Even from a distance, the colour of Marienstrasse 22 and 24 catches the eye: the double house of 1887 is rendered in sienna red, and according to the heritage office this shade is still the original one. The building has a strongly emphasised central section and stair bays set diagonally at the corners, all under shallow hipped roofs.

The central section is raised by a low intermediate storey, a mezzanine. There, windows alternate with panels of Renaissance sgraffito, a technique in which patterns are scratched into layers of render of different colours. The render is patterned elsewhere too, with panels and bands. The bays are irregularly spaced yet arranged symmetrically; on the upper floor medallions alternate with round windows or niches. On the narrow sides, flush with the garden front, there are polygonal oriel rooms with verandas above.

Eugen Stettler (1840–1913) had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was Bern’s city building inspector from 1867 to 1876. From 1887 he belonged to the Kirchenfeld building company, and the heritage office’s district history calls him its chief architect: most of the villas on the south side of Marienstrasse go back to him. He also built this house for the company, and a year later, in 1888, the wood and garden house No. 22B.

The house grew with its residents: an extension to No. 22 in 1891, a veranda at No. 24 in 1893, dormer windows in 1917, garages in 1936 and 1945 and another extension to No. 24 in 2010. It has nonetheless kept the character of its time. It is rated as worthy of protection and belongs to the Kirchenfeld building group. A few houses further on, Nos. 30/32 are a variant by the same architect. Look at the sgraffito panels on the central section.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Marienstrasse 22, 24, 22B · Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Eugen Stettler · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Quartiergeschichte Kirchenfeld-Brunnadern · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Marienstrasse 30, 32 · Wikidata: Q106611970