Upper May House (Oberes Mayhaus)

About the building

At Münstergasse 62 an oriel projects from the façade over three storeys, crowned by a pointed spire. It gave the Upper May House its second name: Erkerhaus, the oriel house. The building is cultural property of national importance, belongs to the Burgergemeinde Bern and lies in the Lower Old Town, part of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Its form goes back to Barthlome May, a member of the Bernese May family; the Historical-Topographical Lexicon of the City of Bern calls him Barthlome II. He had his house completely rebuilt in 1514/15. At that time the oriel had two storeys. It sits exactly over the boundary between the two old houses that make up the building.

Around 1840 the oriel lost its spire. In 1895 the cathedral workshop added a third storey to the oriel in Tudor Gothic forms, to plans by Eduard Stettler, and gave it a pointed spire again. On that occasion the figure supporting the oriel was replaced by a copy that differs noticeably from the original. In the 19th century the building was also called the Walthard House, because it belonged to the Walthard family from 1821 to 1870.

Between 1983 and 1987 the house was elaborately renovated and partly reconstructed. In many places its original appearance could be recovered; the third storey of the oriel from 1895 was nevertheless kept. If you look closely, the oriel therefore shows two periods: below, the parts from May's rebuilding, above, the addition of the late 19th century. A detail to look for: the supporting figure beneath the oriel, a copy from 1895.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Historisch-Topographisches Lexikon der Stadt Bern: May-Haus (Oberes) · Wikipedia (de): Liste der Kulturgüter in Bern/Innere Stadt (Ost) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Untere Altstadt (Listeninventar) · Wikidata: Q19362504