House at Bim Zytglogge 1

About the building

By the Zytglogge, on the corner of Hotelgasse, an oriel projects over the street from an old-town house. It belongs to the house at Bim Zytglogge 1, a cultural property of national significance whose history goes back to the late Middle Ages.

From 1485 to 1517 Boley Gantner ran the Sun inn here. He is regarded as the richest Bernese of his time and had the house rebuilt around 1506. After two changes of ownership the inn closed around the middle of the 16th century. The house was remodelled in 1676 and again around the middle of the 18th century. From these periods come the windows of the facades, dating from 1676, as well as the mansard roof and the Régence-style portal. In 1975 the interior was completely renewed.

The most valuable decoration is the late Gothic sculpture on the oriel. The blunt, cone-shaped base and two almost fully three-dimensional heads in the dress of their time, on either side of the oriel's base, are original. The coat-of-arms relief on the front, with a hound and a shield-bearer in armour, follows an engraving by Martin Schongauer; whose arms they are has not been established. This relief and the Tribolet family arms of 1676 on the south side are copies made in 1975.

The oriel itself was also largely reconstructed in 1975. Its original pointed spire had already been replaced in 1676 by a curved cap. Inside the oriel is a shallow vaulted ceiling with ribs forming an eight-pointed star.

Walk round the house to the north facade. There you will find a mural from 1933 by the Bern painter Friedrich Traffelet, which according to Wikidata shows a scene with students and passers-by, a “Ständli”.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: KGS-Inventar (Text GSK-Kunstführer): Haus Bim Zytglogge 1, KGS 696 (Archivkopie) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Untere Altstadt, alle Adressen (nur Liste) · Wikidata: Q19362482