Erlach Monument: the victor of Laupen on horseback

Between Kornhausplatz and the Aare, on the Grabenpromenade, there is a small, quiet square with trees. In its middle a knight in armour rides a horse, a banner in his hand. This is Rudolf von Erlach, the Bernese military leader of the 14th century. The equestrian statue was designed by the painter and sculptor Joseph Simon Volmar.

Who was Rudolf von Erlach?

Rudolf von Erlach was a Bernese knight. He is known for the Battle of Laupen on 21 June 1339. Bern and its allies from Solothurn, the Oberland and the Waldstätte (the original cantons of central Switzerland) fought against the city of Fribourg and a large part of the nobility of western Switzerland. According to the Bernese chronicler Konrad Justinger, Erlach led the army of Bern and its allies. Bern won the battle, and the besieged garrison of Laupen was freed. Erlach died in 1360.

How many fighters really took part is uncertain. Many details of the battle are known only from chronicles written decades later.

What the base says

Read the panels on the base. On the front it says: “Rudolf von Erlach, Sieger bei Laupen, den 21. Brachmonat 1339” (Rudolf von Erlach, victor at Laupen, 21 June 1339). “Brachmonat” is an old German word for June. The sides carry longer texts about the battle. One thanks the allies from the Waldstätte and from Solothurn.

From Münsterplatz to the Grabenpromenade

The monument was unveiled on 12 May 1849, right in the middle of the Münsterplatz. The bronze rider was cast by Jakob Rüetschi in Aarau. The base was designed by the Bernese architect Gottlieb Hebler and built by the master stonemason Urs Bargetzi from Solothurn. It stood on the Münsterplatz for more than a hundred years. In 1961 it was taken down there. Since July 1969 it has stood in its present place on the Grabenpromenade, opposite the Stadttheater.

At the end of 2021 two members of the city parliament asked the city to look into moving the monument, to free up the small park. In spring 2022 the city government recommended rejecting the proposal: the present site suits the monument, a new site in the Old Town would be hard to find, and a move could damage the recently restored work.

Who was Joseph Simon Volmar?

Joseph Simon Volmar (1796–1865) was a painter, sculptor, lithographer and art teacher. From 1814 he trained in Paris, among others with the painter Horace Vernet. In 1836 he became a teacher at the art school in Bern. For the Erlach Monument the University of Bern gave him an honorary doctorate.

Good to know

The monument is freely accessible, day and night. From the Zytglogge it is a few minutes' walk: across Kornhausplatz, past the Kindlifresser Fountain, towards the Aare. A second hero of Bernese history stands on the Hirschengraben: the Bubenberg Monument to the defender of Murten. You will find more places among the sights in Bern and on the map Kunst in Bern.