Not a Fountain Figure

History of the work

The Kronenbrunnen in front of Postgasse 70 lacks the usual figure on its column. Instead, a small staircase of profiled steel, round iron and chequer plate leads up to a platform that anyone can climb. The title says it: 'Keine Brunnenfigur' (No Fountain Figure). SIKART lists the work as a speaker's platform. Whoever stands on top becomes the fountain figure and can speak to the people on the benches around; this is why the place is also called Bern's Speakers' Corner.

The platform was made in 1992. According to Wikipedia, at the opening Lischetti climbed up in a suit of armour and took it off at the top, an action he called 'Abrüstung' (Disarmament). An objection to the work by the association 'Heit Sorg zu Bärn' had no effect. Since then the fountain has popularly been known as the Lischetti fountain. In November 2025 a motion in the city council asked that the fountain with its artistic addition and the wooden benches be preserved during the renovation of Postgasse planned from 2027, and that its protection as an ensemble be examined.

Carlo E. Lischetti (1946–2005) grew up in Brugg, trained as a decorator in Zurich and lived in Bern from 1966. His flat on Kramgasse became a meeting place of the alternative scene under the name 'Laboratory for Applied Environmental Design', and in 1971 he opened the 'Büro Lischetti'. On the 'Härdlütli' list he was elected to the city council, where he sat from 1973 to 1976. SIKART describes him as an action and performance artist who loved wordplay and invented characters such as 'der Gegenwart'. In 1996 the city's art commission gave him an award. Other works in Bern include the 'Blindes Fenster' (Blind Window) in the Matte district and the 'Monument to the Sewing Needle' at the Bantiger tower.

If you dare, climb up: the platform was built for exactly that.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · SIKART: Carlo E. Lischetti (Andreas Meier) · Wikipedia (de): Carlo E. Lischetti · Wikipedia (en): Carlo E. Lischetti · Stadtrat Bern: Motion 2025.SR.0371, Erhalt der Sitzbänke beim Lischetti-Brunnen · Wikimedia Commons: Kronenbrunnen (Lischetti-Brunnen)