Untitled

History of the work

In the pedestrian zone on Bümplizstrasse, elements of a work by Véronique Zussau are spread across the whole area. The City of Bern lists the work as untitled, dates it to 1993 and 1994 and describes the elements as tinted a light pale green. The work includes a fountain, which Wikimedia Commons calls the meeting fountain (Treffbrunnen) of the pedestrian zone and says is popularly known as the star fountain (Sternenbrunnen). A description written for a geocache reports light-coloured stone elements whose scale matches that of a pedestrian crossing.

The work was made for a pedestrian zone with a long history. The development plan for the centre of Bümpliz of 29 January 1982 already provided for Bümplizstrasse between Brünnenstrasse and Bernstrasse to become a pedestrian area. According to a report by the city government to the city parliament it then took more than fourteen years: the zone opened on 24 June 1994, as part of the celebrations for '75 years of district VI'. The work's date of 1993 and 1994 thus coincides with the opening.

The zone remained controversial. A year after the opening, the city parliament asked for a review, mainly to stop illegal parking and to limit deliveries. In 1996 the canton approved the signs for a pedestrian zone with delivery times and permission for cyclists, and in 2005 the city government asked for funds for fixed and retractable bollards.

Véronique Zussau was born in Paris on 9 July 1962 and lives in Bern. The artists' lexicon SIKART names installation, object art, video and photography as her fields. Walk through the zone, count the pale green elements and start at the fountain.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Véronique Zussau · Stadt Bern, Vortrag des Gemeinderats an den Stadtrat (2005): Bauliche Massnahmen zur Sicherung der Fussgängerzone Bümplizstrasse · Wikimedia Commons: Treffbrunnen Fussgängerzone (Véronique Zussau 1994) / Sternenbrunnen · Geocaching.com: Cache-Beschreibung GCARD01 (Bümpliz)