Former Progymnasium on Waisenhausplatz

About the building

At the northern end of Waisenhausplatz stands a four-storey school building whose front on the square is carefully composed towards the centre; the staircase lies behind the strongly modelled central axis. The base is partly rusticated, the first and second floors are tied together by a giant order, and an attic storey sits above. Strictly speaking this is only the facade of a side wing, but because it faces the square it becomes the main front. The long, asymmetric front on Hodlerstrasse reveals the gymnasium, the assembly hall and the staircases.

The City of Bern had the building erected from 1883 to 1885 to plans by Eugen Stettler, as a grammar school and primary school for the upper Old Town, on the site of the former granary of the Burgerspital. With it Stettler reorganised the whole area north-west of the square: despite a sharply tapering plot, he created a generous complex with a courtyard open to Speichergasse. Together with the orphanage, the Neue Mädchenschule, the buildings of the Evangelische Gesellschaft and the Kunstmuseum, the school formed the centre of a quarter devoted to education and charity.

In 1926 the grammar school moved to a new building in Kirchenfeld; the primary school and the Progymnasium stayed. In the late 1990s the city planned to show the works of Paul Klee here, but dropped the idea when the Zentrum Paul Klee was built. In 2004 teaching ended and artists were given the building for temporary use. When it was to be sold to an investor, the voters decided on 17 May 2009 that it should remain a cultural centre. Since August 2009 the Progr foundation has held the building on a 30-year building lease; according to Wikipedia, more than 150 artists work there in over 70 rooms.

In the playground, the enclosure and barrier still recall the former separation of boys and girls. On Hodlerstrasse, look for the original lamp above one of the entrances. The building is a cultural property of regional importance and has been protected by a conservation agreement since 2013.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Hodlerstrasse 1, 3 / Speichergasse 4 / Waisenhausplatz 30 · Wikipedia (de): Progr · Wikipedia (de): Waisenhausplatz (Bern) · Wikidata: Q29651679