Stadtmühle (city mill) in the Matte
The Stadtmühle, the former city mill on Mühlenplatz in Bern's Matte district, was rebuilt after a fire in 1818 to a core design by Ludwig Samuel Stürler.
- Address
- Mühlenplatz 11, Mühlenplatz 15, Wasserwerkgasse 18, Wasserwerkgasse 20
- Built
- 1818 (predecessor 1556; raised in the 1880s)
- Architect
- Ludwig Samuel Stürler; also named: Ludwig Friedrich Schnyder and Waeber
- Style
- Neoclassicism
- Today
- Converted to new uses 1992–1996
- Protection
- cultural property of regional significance (KGS B), worthy of protection (Bauinventar)
About the building
On Mühlenplatz, down by the Aare, the Stadtmühle still shapes the space of the Matte quarter. At Mühlenplatz 11 you can see the façade of the core building: massive rusticated blocks forming a two-storey row of segmental arches. On the south-west side part of a large round-arched opening survives, of the kind that once dominated both narrow ends beneath a half-hipped gable.
A mill already stood here in 1556. It burnt down in 1818 and was completely rebuilt, with the city of Bern as client. The core building is by the Neoclassical architect Ludwig Samuel Stürler; the inventory also names Ludwig Friedrich Schnyder and a certain Waeber. Old views show five symmetrical bays on each long side. In the two-storey core above the mill channel, at least six large undershot water wheels probably turned until the late 19th century.
After that the building grew piece by piece. In the 1880s the five-storey head building facing the Tych, the industrial channel, was added, and the core was also raised to five storeys. On Wasserwerkgasse there was a turbine house; the buildings there were replaced in the late 1960s and in 1978. From 1879 part of the mill was used as a chocolate factory. The name of that firm is not recorded; the inventory suspects a link with a spice mill that existed in the old building before 1818. The well-known firm of Lindt was based not here but at Wasserwerkgasse 2 from 1878.
From 1992 to 1996 the building was converted to new uses. For the heritage authorities the Stadtmühle is an important witness to Bern's industrial history, precisely because it was extended and renewed again and again over the centuries. It is a cultural property of regional importance.
A detail: at Mühlenplatz 11, look at the rough stone blocks of the lower storeys, the remains of Stürler's building of 1818.
Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Mühlenplatz 11, 15 / Wasserwerkgasse 18, 20 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Matte · Wikidata: Q29651739
Buildings nearby
Workshop building at Mühlenplatz 540 mMatte School Buildings60 mSmall workshop building at Wasserwerkgasse 2170 mJoinery workshop at Gerberngasse 21a110 mFactory building at Wasserwerkgasse 3120 mSound Bounce BounceArtwork · 70 mUntitledArtwork · 110 mLanguageArtwork · 110 mClassification and address: Bauinventar © Amt für Kultur des Kantons Bern · Object sheet (PDF, German) · Wikidata. Found a mistake? Write to hallo@uebrig.ch.