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Art in Bern

Ryfflibrunnen: the marksman with the little bear

A warrior with a feathered hat on a red column, next to him a little bear with a gun. The Ryfflibrunnen on Aarbergergasse is one of the ten figure fountains from the 16th century.

By Richard Červenka · 2 min read · updated 26 October 2026

The Ryfflibrunnen on Aarbergergasse: on a red column with a golden capital a brightly painted warrior with a red feathered hat, below a fountain spout with a mask above the stone trough, behind it arcades and a light house façade.
Photo: AnBuKu, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source
Artist
Workshop of Hans Gieng
Year
1545
Place
Aarbergergasse, corner of Ryffligässchen
Access
free, around the clock

The Ryfflibrunnen (Ryffli Fountain) stands on Aarbergergasse, at the corner of the Ryffligässchen lane, only a few minutes from the station. It was built in 1545 and replaced a fountain from the 14th century. It is one of the figure fountains of the Old Town that were made in the 1540s.

Who the figure shows

On top of the column stands a captain of the crossbowmen in colourful clothes. He was made by the journeymen of the sculptor Hans Gieng, who created several fountain figures in Bern. Next to the warrior stands a little bear, and it is armed: it holds a flintlock gun. Originally the figure looked towards the house of the crossbowmen, which stood at the top of the Ryffligässchen.

Where the name comes from

For a long time the fountain was simply called the Golatenmattgassbrunnen. Only in the 19th century did Karl Howald from Bern link the figure to the marksman Ryffli. Howald also gave the Anna-Seiler-Brunnen its present name.

Ryffli is known from the Bern chronicle of Konrad Justinger, which he wrote around 1420 on behalf of the council. After the Battle of Laupen (1339) the Bernese besieged the castle of the knight Jordan von Burgistein. When the knight carelessly showed himself at a window, Ryffli is said to have killed him with a well-aimed shot. According to another view, the model for the figure was not Ryffli but the captain Anton Güder.

What has changed

  • At first the fountain stood in the middle of the street, exactly in line with the Ryffligässchen.
  • Since the turn of the 18th century it has stood in front of the corner house.
  • The present octagonal basins were built by Joseph Menth in 1848.
  • In September 2015 the fountain was repaired.

Good to know

The fountain stands on the street and is freely accessible. The nearest stop is “Bern, Waisenhausplatz” (bus), about 120 metres away; the station is about 300 metres as the crow flies. Drinking water from Energie Wasser Bern flows from the fountain, more on this in the article Fountain water in Bern. Nearby are the Kindlifresser-Brunnen on Kornhausplatz and the Meret-Oppenheim-Brunnen on Waisenhausplatz.

Location in Bern
On the map

Aarbergergasse, level with house no. 35

Open map

Nearby

Bear with Coat of Arms10 mFruit Harvest140 mMeret Oppenheim Fountain150 mFisherman and Family150 m

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More sights in Bern

The figure fountains of the Old TownFountains and monumentsGerechtigkeitsbrunnen: Justitia with her eyes coveredFountains and monumentsKindlifresser FountainFountains and monumentsZähringerbrunnen: the bear in armourFountains and monumentsMoses Fountain on MünsterplatzFountains and monumentsAnna-Seiler-Brunnen in front of the KäfigturmFountains and monuments

All sights in Bern on one page

Also worth reading

The figure fountains of the Old TownArtAnna-Seiler-Brunnen in front of the KäfigturmArtKindlifresser-BrunnenArtKunst in Bern: the mapMap

Data: Kultur Stadt Bern (open data “Kunst im öffentlichen Raum”), © OpenStreetMap contributors. Text: Richard Červenka, Bärn Kit. Found a mistake? Write to hallo@uebrig.ch.