Tollhaus (now Althaus) at the Waldau

About the building

Set apart on a rise at the edge of the Schärmenwald forest stands a two-storey, horseshoe-shaped building with a hipped roof, opening to the south onto a terraced park. The rendered façades rest on a sandstone base and are articulated by corner strips, a string course and a cornice. The ground-floor windows have segmental arches, those above straight lintels. Its horseshoe plan and elevated position give the house an almost castle-like look.

The Bernese authorities had the Tollhaus („madhouse“) built from 1745 to 1749 above the leper and smallpox hospital, to accommodate the mentally ill outside the city. The plans are by Samuel Lutz, and the master builder Abraham Wild carried out the work. According to the federal ISOS inventory it was the first institution of its kind in Switzerland; when it opened in 1749 it had only twelve cells. In 1765 the leper, smallpox and mad houses were combined as the Ausserkrankenhaus, the city's third hospital alongside the Burgerspital and the Inselspital.

The building grew with demand. It was originally single-storey; that part survives in today's central wing. Two side wings at right angles were added from 1768 to 1770 and lengthened in 1784/85; according to ISOS, each of the two extensions brought twelve more cells. In 1855 the large Waldau asylum opened close by, and the old house was later incorporated into it. It took on its present appearance during the remodelling and raising of 1899 to 1901.

From 1983 to 1985 the Althaus was restored and its interior completely redesigned. The terrace with its double flight of steps on the south side dates from then, and two steel spiral fire escapes add deliberately modern accents. The house is now part of the Waldau psychiatric clinic site; next to it stands a small annex from the 1820s.

A detail: note the two steel fire escapes hugging the Baroque building.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Bolligenstrasse 141 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Waldau · ISOS, Bundesinventar der schützenswerten Ortsbilder: Waldau (Bern), Nr. 1271 · Wikidata: Q138992998