Bethlehemacker I Terraced Houses of 1944

About the building

On Anemonenweg and Knospenweg stand six rows of almost identical two-storey family houses under low-pitched gable roofs. Four rows have five houses each, the westernmost four and the easternmost six. Narrow footpaths lead to the entrances, which are marked by delicate canopies. Each of the three southern rows has a wash house attached on its north side.

The trigger was the housing shortage during the Second World War. In 1943 the city looked into building on its land at the Bethlehemacker, and the young architect Hans Reinhard drew up a development plan for a total of 252 family houses. These 30 houses were built in 1944 by Hans and Gret Reinhard for the housing cooperative of wood workers and carpenters. According to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, the couple ran a joint office in Bern from 1942 and later built many housing estates in west Bern, including the Tscharnergut.

Because of wartime shortages of materials, the houses were built very economically and practically. The fire and gable walls are solid, while the walls of the ground and upper floors are timber-framed and clad with fibre-cement shingles. Most houses are built in mirror-image pairs. The building inventory describes the light construction as being „of American cut“, intended for small families. Demand was high: two further stages with 46 houses on Knospenweg and Maiglöggliweg soon followed for the same cooperative, and by 1947 the Bethlehemacker had grown to 178 homes.

In 1994/95 the windows were renewed and aluminium shutters fitted, and from 2005 to 2007 the houses were given a ventilated, insulated facade and new canopies. With 134 units still standing, the estate is one of the largest single-family housing estates in Bern. Typical are the deep gardens behind the houses, originally meant for growing food, which still give the area the character of a garden city.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Anemonenweg 23, 23A, 25–35, 35A u.a. · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Strukturgruppe Bethlehemacker · Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Reinhard, Hans · Wikidata: Q114111556