Zeerleder House

About the building

On Junkerngasse, number 51 catches the eye at once: the façade and the roof overhang are painted from top to bottom with painted architecture, coats of arms and names. The painting was made in 1897 in the Gothic Revival style and is unique in the old town. It shows the sequence of the owners of the house from 1335 to 1806. The federal inventory of cultural property names Rudolf Münger as the painter, while the City of Bern information panel names Rudolf and Hans Münger. Façade and painting were conserved and restored in 2002.

Behind this façade lies a long building history. Between 1500 and 1516 Kaspar von Mülinen bought up three older houses, among them the former town house of the Cistercian convent of Fraubrunnen. At the start of the 17th century Franz Ludwig von Erlach had the complex largely rebuilt. According to the city panel, the present street façade was built after 1612, keeping the arcade arches of two originally separate houses. The paired windows still follow Gothic tradition, but their strict alignment in vertical bays already points to the Renaissance.

Behind it lies a courtyard; at its far side a new rear house with a gabled garden façade was built around 1760 to 1770, and it lost its gable when a storey was added in 1851/52. The courtyard façade is centred on a round stair tower, and a balcony with an elaborate Régence-style railing gives the courtyard a festive touch. The flats were carefully refurbished floor by floor from 2003 to 2005.

One of the best-known residents was the physician, naturalist and poet Albrecht von Haller, who lived here from 1766 to 1772; Wikidata bases this on the inscription at the front door. Haller's daughter Sophie Charlotte married the banker Ludwig Zeerleder, and their sons played an important part in Bern. In 1806 the house passed to the Zeerleder family, after whom it is named today. The Zeerleder House is a cultural property of national importance. When you visit, look at the painted roof overhang and the inscription at the door as well.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: KGS-Inventar (BABS/GSK): Zeerlederhaus, KGS 9111 (Wayback-Kopie) · Stadt Bern: Altstadtbeschriftung, Texte dreisprachig (Junkerngasse 51) · Wikidata Q19362524 (Bewohner Albrecht von Haller 1766–1772) · HLS: Ludwig Zeerleder · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Untere Altstadt, alle Adressen (nur Liste)