Former public toilet at Grosser Muristalden 3

About the building

At the bottom of the Grosser Muristalden, close to the bear pit and the Nydegg bridge, stands a small timber building that is easy to overlook. It is a post-and-beam structure under a curved hipped roof with decorative covering. The walls bear stencil painting, and the boards along the eaves and verges are decorated with fretwork patterns typical of the period; at the corners they end in the shape of lilies.

The little building was put up in 1894 as a public toilet. It was built by the Bern firm Anselmier & Gautschi; the building inventory names Passavant-Iselin of Basel as client. The firm had been founded in Bern in 1866 by the engineer Gaston Anselmier (1840–1909); it planned many roads, railways and river works, including Bern's first tramway from the bear pit to the Bremgarten cemetery in 1890.

In 1980 the toilet and kiosk were converted into an open shop for magazines and souvenirs for Kiosk AG in Bern. The inventory describes the long-overlooked little building as a picturesque part of the street furniture around the lower entrance to the city and rates it as worth protecting. It belongs to the Stalden building group, which covers the Aargauerstalden and the Grosser Muristalden with their tree-lined avenues. In this very place, where visitors to the bear pit and the Old Town arrive, such small buildings carry weight.

Standing here, you can see two more buildings of the period: the small waiting shelter of the former tram line at Grosser Muristalden 1A and, a little further up, the old tram depot. On the toilet building, look for the lilies at the corners of the boards.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Grosser Muristalden 3 · Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Anselmier · Wikidata: Q129707424