Apartment house at Habsburgstrasse 10

About the building

Among the rendered houses of Kirchenfeld, Habsburgstrasse 10 stands out at once: the 1904 apartment building is made of bright red exposed brick on a limestone base. Window surrounds and other elements are of carefully cut stone. It was designed by the Bern architect G. Schneider for the notary R. Segessemann.

Its forms are Gothic in spirit. The plan is slightly L-shaped and the roof is a mansard. The street front runs flush into a strong projecting wing on the south-west side, which ends in a steep gable without overhang, decorated with blind arches. In the northern part of the street front the staircase is built into the house and finishes in a stepped gable of the kind known from late medieval buildings.

The projecting wing has a stepped triple window with segmental arches, with a pair of round-arched windows in the gable above and a balcony on curved brackets in front. A fine detail sits in the angle between the wing and the south-west facade: a terrace with veranda, built as a loggia of two arches on Gothic Revival columns. Its balustrade shows fish-bladder tracery, a typical late Gothic ornament.

The building is largely preserved in its original state. Only the dormers were enlarged in 1980. The original fence around the plot also survives. The house is rated as worthy of protection and belongs to the Kirchenfeld building group, the first Bern district built from 1881 to a detailed plan. The city also rates the open space around the house as being of heritage interest.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Habsburgstrasse 10 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Kirchenfeld · Wikidata: Q138809067