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History of the work

The two leaves of the main entrance door of the Altenberg gymnasium carry six bronze reliefs made by Max Fueter in 1928. According to the city's building inventory they show scenes of sport and physical training. Wikidata lists the subjects individually: a hockey player, a discus thrower, a footballer, a shot putter, a gymnast and a boy.

In 1923 the city had held a competition for the hall among eight Bern architecture firms; two second prizes went to Karl Indermühle and to Klauser & Streit. Four years later, however, a reduced project by the municipal building office under city architect Fritz Hiller was carried out. The inventory describes a plain, symmetrical rendered building under a hipped roof and points out that this was the first gymnasium in Bern built as an independent building without a school. In front of the main facade lie hard and grass pitches lined with chestnut trees, with an open staircase on the central axis. The hall was converted in 1983.

Fueter, born on 6 March 1898, lived in Berlin from 1926 to 1929, where he associated with the sculptors Alexander Zschokke and Ludwig Thormaelen and the painter Erich Heckel; the reliefs were thus made during this period. Sport was already a theme before: in 1926 he made the 'Schlagballspieler' (ball player) for the hall of the Kirchenfeld grammar school, and a few years later the 'Diskuswerfer' (Discus Thrower) for the Marzili baths. From 1950 to 1954 he sat on the municipal art commission. He died in Bern on 29 September 1983.

Standing in front of the door, you can look at the six panels one by one and identify the sports that Wikidata lists.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Kultur Stadt Bern, Kunst im öffentlichen Raum (offene Daten) · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Altenbergstrasse 39 · SIKART: Max Fueter · Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz: Max Fueter · Wikipedia (de): Max Fueter · Wikidata: ohne Titel (Altenberg-Turnhalle) · Wikimedia Commons: Hauptportal Altenberg-Turnhalle