Villa at Steinerstrasse 34

About the building

In 1916, in the middle of the First World War, two villas by the same architect went up side by side on Steinerstrasse in Kirchenfeld. Number 34 was built by the Bernese architect Emil Schmid for A. Stauffer, a hat manufacturer from Bern. The city's building inventory calls it a grand, prestigious building of high quality.

The elongated rectangular rendered building with sandstone details has a hipped roof, with roof vases standing on the ridge. The corners are framed by broad banded pilaster strips onto which banded Ionic pilasters are laid. On every floor the windows have segmental arches. Towards the street an entrance block under a lean-to roof is attached, from which a polygonal stair tower with a curved cap rises. The north-west corner is occupied by a corner tower under a mansard spire, free-standing on two and a half sides.

On the garden side, a deep conservatory with a segmental-arched end is attached on the central axis. Double corner pilasters and a pair of free-standing Ionic columns carry the terrace above. All extensions are rendered and framed by toothed corner strips.

The original fence survives and is worth a close look. The garden gate is Baroque in style: its posts carry panels and pine cones and are flanked by scrolls. The other posts of the fence are banded and topped with balls. In 2014 the attic was converted into living rooms and bedrooms. Schmid designed the neighbouring house, number 36, in the same year in the Bernese country-house style for the merchant Alexander Gugger. Both houses belong to the Kirchenfeld building group and are rated worthy of protection.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Steinerstrasse 34 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Steinerstrasse 36 · Wikidata: Q138829145