Houses at Marienstrasse 19–23

About the building

Kirchenfeld was the first district of Bern to be built up according to a plan. The Burgergemeinde sold the land in 1881 to the English Berne Land Company, which undertook to follow the district plan; its author is considered to be the architect Horace Edouard Davinet. Among the houses of the first phase is the row at Marienstrasse 19–23 of 1890. Architect and client was Eduard von Rodt (1849–1926), who had bought building land in Kirchenfeld and directed the Historical Museum from 1881 to 1894.

The three houses form a long block with its eaves facing the street, under a hipped roof. It is a rendered building with cut-stone surrounds. Corner quoins applied in sgraffito technique once articulated the façade; they survive only on house no. 23. An acanthus frieze in the same technique was removed from house no. 19. Towards the Aare a scrolled gable above the middle house dominates the façade.

Originally the architecture’s emphasis lay on the roof, which was picturesquely set with turrets and oriel-like dormers. Of these only the middle dormer, in simplified form, and the north-western corner turret under a spire remain; the other turrets were removed in 1935, or in 1935/36 according to the text of the inventory sheet. This harmed the house, but it remains an important witness of the first building phase in Kirchenfeld. The original entrance doors and the original boundary of the plot survive.

In 1990 the façades were repaired, including stonework and the restoration of the sgraffiti. House no. 23 has been under contractual protection since 1988, house no. 19 since 1998; the row is worthy of protection and belongs to the Kirchenfeld building group. Looking closely, you can still find the sgraffito corner quoins on no. 23.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Marienstrasse 19–23 · Wikidata: Q106615092 · Wikipedia (de): Eduard von Rodt · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Kirchenfeld