Villa at Kirchenfeldstrasse 88

About the building

On Kirchenfeldstrasse, a few steps from Thunplatz, stands a villa of 1911 in Rococo forms. It was designed by Max Zeerleder of the Bern practice Zeerleder & Bösiger; the client was Dr G. Zeerleder. The practice worked on several projects in Bern; its best-known building is the BKW headquarters on Viktoriaplatz. The villa is documented in the Schweizerische Bauzeitung of 1921.

The roughly rendered facades, framed by pilaster strips, stand on a base of limestone slabs, and the tall windows have sandstone surrounds. Towards the street, a three-bay projection with a segmental pediment dominates. In the pediment sits a horizontal oval window with a drapery, topped by an urn. In the middle of the ground floor is the segmental-arched entrance, flanked by upright oval windows. Above it a balcony with a bulging centre rests on four massive brackets; the door leading out to it has a basket arch and a cartouche at its crown.

Dormers with triangular pediments open in the roof, and vases mark the ends of the ridge. The garden side has four bays; in the outer bays, French windows lead onto a terrace. A single-storey veranda is attached on the east side. In the heritage office's view, the exterior has kept its original state remarkably well. Of the original gateway on the street, the pyramid-shaped posts with balls still stand.

In 1933 the garage, no. 88A, was added, designed by A. Zeerleder for Dr G. Zeerleder. The villa belongs to the Thunplatz villa ensemble, which is listed as a cultural property of national importance. Today, according to the Canadian government, it houses the Embassy of Canada to Switzerland.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Kirchenfeldstrasse 88, 88A · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Wagnerstrasse 11 (Zeerleder & Bösiger, BKW-Hauptsitz) · Government of Canada: Embassy of Canada to Switzerland, Bern · Wikipedia (de): Liste der Kulturgüter in Bern/Kirchenfeld-Schosshalde (Süd) – Villenensemble Thunplatz, KGS-Nr. 738 · Wikidata: Q139500255