Villa at Kirchenfeldstrasse 78

About the building

In the Kirchenfeld district, a few steps west of Thunplatz, a villa at Kirchenfeldstrasse 78 can be recognised by its curved gable. The district only came into being after 1881, when the Berne-Land-Company of London built the Kirchenfeld Bridge and opened up a residential area for the well-off middle class on the other side of the Aare. The villa belongs to the Kirchenfeld building group, which is marked by villas and high-quality apartment houses.

The house was designed in 1904 by the Bern firm Bracher & Widmer, which planned several buildings in the Kirchenfeld. The client was a Dr. Hegg. The architects chose a Neo-Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements and gave the house a mansard roof. The roughly rendered façades rest on a cellar base and are divided by string courses with vertical fluting.

Towards the street a broad central section with a curved gable projects. At the top it holds a round window, a so-called oeil-de-boeuf, and below it a large window with a flat arch. Look at its keystone: it is decorated with a small bust. At the north-east corner there is a porch whose lean-to roof is carried by a squat column. On the garden side to the south an L-shaped veranda with a small flight of steps has been added. Apart from a few newly cut windows the house has largely kept its original state.

A garage was added in 1935. In 1957 the Bern architect Hans Pfister converted the interior for the legation of the Romanian People's Republic and enlarged the garage. At the end of 1962 the legation was raised to an embassy, and the house is still the seat of the Romanian embassy in Switzerland today. The city building inventory classes the villa as worthy of protection, and its garden is considered an outdoor space of heritage interest.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Kirchenfeldstrasse 78 · Wikipedia (de): Kirchenfeldstrasse 78 · Wikidata Q134593220