Villa at Seminarstrasse 30

About the building

At the fork of Seminarstrasse, behind a wall of dressed stone blocks, stands a villa of 1906 that the building inventory counts among the finest buildings by Henry Berthold von Fischer. The client was H. R. von Graffenried. The Louis XVI house still shapes the road junction today; access is through a formal gate whose posts carry acorn-shaped finials.

The rendered building, with rich stone decoration and banded corner pilasters, sits under a mansard hipped roof. On the main front facing Seminarstrasse, two pairs of Tuscan giant pilasters form a front layer; between them the centre steps back slightly as a rendered surface. In the roof, a large segmental pediment links the inner pilasters. Horizontally, the facade is structured by three decorated round-arched openings, a broken string course, three rectangular openings and the main cornice, which breaks forward over the pilasters.

The central axis is especially emphasised: fluted half-columns frame the French window and, together with brackets, carry a curved balcony. Above come the balcony door with a keystone ornament, a horizontal oval window and, at the top, a stone vase on the pediment. The chimneys are placed symmetrically and decorated. To the south an octagonal pavilion with large round-arched windows and a triangular three-arched veranda are attached, to the west a polygonal stair tower and to the north a stone entrance porch.

Von Fischer (1861–1949) had studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was particularly interested in the French-influenced Baroque country houses. In 1998 the exterior of the villa was renovated: facades, balconies and garden gate were repaired and the roof re-covered, reusing the existing plain clay tiles. It has been protected by contract since 2000.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Seminarstrasse 30 · Wikipedia (de): Henry Berthold von Fischer · Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek: An architectural treasure chest – the work of Henry B. von Fischer · Wikidata: Q128790980