Kramgasse

The Kramgasse forms part of the major axis in the old town of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. It was the center of urban life in Bern up to the 19th century. Today, the long and slightly curved alley is a popular shopping street and shapes with baroque facades the Bernerstrasse image.

The Kramgasse and its buildings are considered heritage of national importance and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Location

The Kramgasse is around 330 meters long and is located in the center of the old town. It is the western half of the central axis of the oldest part of the city, the Zähringerstadt, and was built after the founding of the city in 1191. In the west, the alley is limited by the Clock Tower, and to the east separates the cross street the other half of the old main road, justice alley from. Several narrow streets and passageways connect the Kramgasse with the parallel Hall Lane to the north and Münstergasse in the south.

In Kramgasse there is a ban on all motor vehicles without special permission; freely available, it is only for pedestrians and cyclists. In addition, it is traversed by the bus line 12 Bernmobil. Both sides of the street are covered with bowers of stone arcades.

History

The Kramgasse was called to the 15th century and was Märitgasse Front Street during the 16th century called. The known changes in the name show the different functions of the alley: In the Middle Ages it served the city as a marketplace, but after the Reformation, the market stalls were replaced by shops in the lower floors of the building. The street remained until the middle of the 19th century, the commercial center of the city, which developed from the 1840s.

Over the centuries, the alley was gentrifitiert slowly. During the 19th century, residents complained about the waste, odor and noise, which was caused by the open hall of the butchers Schaal. The butcher's shop was demolished in 1938 and built a conservatory on the site, but that interrupts the medieval street scene.

In the second half of the 19th century, the economic importance of Kramgasse waned as many shops in the newer, western part of the city are drawn and the authorities could infer many taverns in the cellars of the alley. From the turn of the 20th century, the Kramgasse became a tourist attraction. From the 1920s through buses and trams the alley, and from the 1970s was gradually the passage of motor vehicles prohibited throughout the lower old town. The number of homes on Kramgasse are steadily shrunk since these were replaced by shops and offices. In 2005 the lane was completely renovated and replaced the cobblestones. The local stream, which flowed in the middle of the street in the Middle Ages, since then by a metal grid visible again.

Building

Apart from a few cellars testify only fragments of buildings on Kramgasse the period before 1500. Many of the private town houses still contain components from the late Gothic period. There are very few preserved facades dating from the 17th century. Between 1705 and 1745 the facades and parts of the interior of some of the architect Albrecht Stürler or his students were designed in the Baroque style in 72 out of 85 buildings on the alley.

Three fountains in the alley. On the eastern crossing is the cross gas wells, which was the model for all other obelisk fountain in Bern. It was built in 1778 /79 by Christian Reist and Johann Conrad Wiser. In the middle is the built in 1527 Simsonbrunnen, which was in 1543 decorated with a figure of Hans Gieng. The Zähringerbrunnen at the western end of the alley is the first built figures Fountain in Bern. The fountain was built by Hans Hiltprand 1535 and shows an armored bear, which is the heraldic animal of Bern, and holding in his hand the coat of arms Zähringerplatz house.

In the house no. 2, at the eastern end of the street, since 1527 is the oldest pharmacy, which contains the earliest evidence of the Gothic Revival in Bern inside. The cellar of house no. 4 dates from the 13th century. The house no. 7 is completely preserved in its state from 1559 and is one of the most impressive ensemble of the late Gothic period in Bern. His interior is kept at the Historical Museum Bern. House no. 19, together with house no. 21 built from 1735 to 1740 and represents the Bernese Regency style. It was used until the 1970s as a town house for families. House no. 29, the guild house to merchants, is the most important late baroque Bernese townhouse was built in 1718-1720 by Niklaus Schilt servant and has a guild hall, which is equipped with a paneling and furniture from the Baroque period. The houses no. 17 to 21 form the headquarters of the Bern cantonal police. When setting up in the 1950s, the historic interior was largely destroyed. House no. 41 has one of the few humanistic house mottos, which survived the construction boom in the 18th century.

The house no. 45, Guild Hall, to butchers, in 1769, designed by Rudolf Augst, a student of Niklaus Sprüngli. House no. 61 shows first features of the giant order of a private building in Bern. No. 54 is one of the most beautiful pieces by renowned Bernese townhouse architect Albrecht Stürler. House no. 81 is characterized as a low-key masterpiece, designed by Niklaus Sprüngli and significant curious because of its elegant, barely decorated façade.

Famous people

House no. 49, the Einstein house, was the residence of Albert and Mileva Einstein 1903-1905. Einstein's apartment was on the first floor, above the restaurant to untern Juker. In this apartment Einstein wrote his work in " Annus Mirabilis " 1905. The building is now a small museum and a memorial.

Albrecht von Haller, the Berne naturalist, resided in the house no. 25 during the 1750s. The Federal Max Petit Pierre lived during his tenure in the house no. 61 during his tenure. Other notable Berner, who have lived in the Kramgasse were two Schult Hot, Niklaus Friedrich von Steiger and Karl Friedrich von Tscharner ( in No. 61 and 74), illustrator Albert Lindegger ( in No. 82 and 17) and art historian Wilhelm Stein ( in No. 43).