Wohnstock Riedern

About the building

On the far western side of the city, in the district of Bümpliz-Oberbottigen, the small hamlet of Riedern sits on the southern slope of the Wohleiberg, a good fifty metres above the valley of the Gäbelbach. The road from Bern to Murten once ran straight through this cluster of houses. Not far from it, around 1700, a wealthy family had a country seat built, the Campagne Riedern. Its manor house, the Wohnstock at Riedernstrasse 42, became the centre of a farm group of its own. Who built it, and for whom, is not recorded.

At first sight the building stands apart from the farmhouses around it. It has two storeys and rendered walls under a large hipped roof whose slopes change angle. The windows are set evenly in four bays on every side and have transoms with 24 small panes. The ground floor is articulated in sandstone, with framed windows and pilaster strips at the corners.

The real charm lies in the upper floor: a wooden gallery runs round three sides of the house, its openings framed by boards sawn into arches. The gallery parapet carries a painting that creates an illusion of depth. Add to this window surrounds with "ears" at the corners, shutters painted with a flame pattern and an oak front door with a strongly moulded frame. The manor also has a gravelled forecourt and a walled garden with box hedges.

The large farmhouse next door at Riedernstrasse 42a stands on the site of the former tenant house where the farmers of the Campagne lived. The Wohnstock was altered in 1966 and restored in 1967/68. Since 2001 it has been protected by a decision of the cantonal government, and the Swiss inventory of cultural property lists it as an object of regional importance. If you pass by, look out for the painted gallery parapet, the most striking detail of the house.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Riedernstrasse 42 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Riedernstrasse 42a · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Riedern · ISOS Ortsbild Riedern (Bern), Nr. 1066 · Wikidata Q29651757