Apartment house at Muristrasse 31

About the building

Side by side on Muristrasse stand two houses built by the same architect in the same year: number 31 and the double house 33/35. Both were designed in 1907 by the Bern architect Otto Lutstorf for the client F. Hadorn. Lutstorf, who built in the Matte and on Schwanengasse among other places, later ran an office with Ludwig Mathys; he died in 1908.

Number 31 is a compact, villa-like building under a tall mansard roof. The render is applied as Besenwurf, a rough coat thrown on with a broom. The base is of rusticated Hauterive limestone, and a continuous cornice separates the ground and first floors. The side and rear facades are modest; all attention goes to the strictly symmetrical street front with its elaborate sandstone parts.

Its centre is a shallow, more finely rendered projection under a cross roof with a gable loggia, decorated timber braces and half-timbering in the gable. It carries balconies on brackets on two floors, each one designed differently. In the outer axes, decorated sandstone panels join the tall paired windows into vertical bands. The curved window hoods on the first floor show that this was the principal storey. The city inventory calls the range of forms markedly eclectic.

A garage was added in 1960 and an aerial installation in 1969. As early as 1990 the inventory recorded that the house served as an embassy. Today Muristrasse 31 is the address of the Embassy of Hungary; its consular section is at another address. The building is rated as worthy of protection.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Muristrasse 31 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Muristrasse 33, 35 · Botschaft von Ungarn in Bern: Kontakt · EDA: Vertretung Ungarns in der Schweiz (Stand Januar 2026) · Universität Bern: Muesmattstrasse 29 (Büro Lutstorf & Mathys) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Matte · Wikidata: Q127830483