Corner house at Waisenhausplatz 21

About the building

The corner house between Waisenhausplatz and Zeughausgasse makes its mark through its position on the corner of the square and its finely worked façades. It was built around 1870; the architect and client are unknown. The surviving parts of the façades follow a careful historicism with a classical flavour: pilaster strips, a cornice above the second floor and a crowning cornice organise the street fronts, and the three upper floors have tall rectangular windows with fine mouldings. Towards Waaghausgasse the central bay projects slightly.

The history of the house is closely tied to a pharmacy. A pharmacy was installed in 1878, and in 1886 the pharmacist P. Andreae set up laboratories. In 1929 the architect E. Bertallo completely rebuilt the ground floor and moved the pharmacy. The building inventory counts this intervention among the few successful large shop-window openings; it says it strengthened the house's character as an urban commercial building. Many further shop alterations followed between 1962 and 1982.

Above the doorway in the middle of the west façade, Art Deco letters read ‘Zum alten Zeughaus’ (‘At the old arsenal’), flanked by two cannon muzzles. Zeughausgasse is named after the former Great Arsenal. According to the English Wikipedia it was demolished in 1876, according to the German one in 1877; in 1880 the lane was widened.

The house belongs to the Upper Old Town building group and so lies within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bern's Old Town.

It is worth looking up: the inventory highlights the remarkable window grilles, and blind decoration can be seen on the first floor.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Waisenhausplatz 21 · Wikipedia (en): Zeughausgasse · Wikipedia (de): Zeughausgasse (Bern) · Wikipedia (de): Grosses Zeughaus (Bern) · Wikidata: Q123256564