page_title: Old City (Bern)
section_title: Zytglogge
hierarchical_section_title: Old City (Bern) / Significant buildings / Zytglogge
caption_attribution_description: Zytglogge (Clocktower), Bern, Switzerland
context_page_description: The Old City is the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. Built on a narrow hill surrounded on three sides by the river Aare, its compact layout has remained essentially unchanged since its construction during the twelfth to the fifteenth century. Despite a major fire in 1405, after which much of the city was rebuilt in sandstone, and substantial construction efforts in the eighteenth century, Bern's old city has retained its medieval character.
  The Old City is home to Switzerland's tallest minster as well as other churches, bridges and a large collection of Renaissance fountains. In addition to many historical buildings, the seats of the federal, cantonal and municipal government are also situated in the Old City. It is a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site since 1983 due to the compact and generally intact medieval core and is an excellent example of incorporating the modern world into a medieval city. Numerous buildings in the Old City have been designated as Swiss Cultural Properties of National Significance, as well as the entire Old City.
context_section_description: The Zytglogge is the landmark medieval clock tower in the Old City of Bern. It has existed since about 1218–1220 and is one of the most recognisable symbols of Bern. The name Zyglogge is Bernese German and translates as Zeitglocke in Standard German or time bell in English. A "time bell" was one of the earliest public timekeeping devices, consisting of a clockwork connected to a hammer that rang a small bell at every full hour. The Zytglogge clock is one of the three oldest clocks in Switzerland.
  Following the first expansion of Bern, the Zytglogge was the gate tower of the western fortifications. At this time, it was a squat tower of only about 16 m (52 ft) in height which was open in the back. During the second expansion, to the Käfigturm, the Zytglogge wall was removed and the tower was relegated to second-line status. Around 1270–1275 an additional 7 m (23 ft) was added to the tower to allow it to overlook the surrounding houses. After the third expansion, to the Christoffelturm, the Zytglogge was converted into a women's prison. Most commonly it was used to house Pfaddendirnen – "priests' whores", women convicted of sexual relations with clerics. At this time, the Zytglogge also received its first slanted roof.
  In the Great Fire of 1405, the tower was completely burned out. The structural damage would not be completely repaired until 1983. The prison cells were abandoned and a clock was installed above the gate. This clock, together with a bell cast in 1405, gave the tower the name of Zytglogge. In the late fifteenth century the tower was decorated with four decorative corner towerlets and heraldic symbols. The astronomical clock was extended to its current state in 1527–1530. In addition to the astronomical clock, the Zytglogge features a group of mechanical figures. At three minutes before the hour the figures which include a rooster, a fool, a knight, a piper, a lion and bears, put on a show. The animals chase each other around, the fool rings his bells and the rooster caws. During the day it is common to see small crowds gathered around the foot of the Zytglogge waiting for the show to start.
  The Zytglogge's exterior was repainted by Gotthard Ringgli and Kaspar Haldenstein in 1607–10, who introduced the large clock faces that now dominate the east and west façades of the tower. The corner towerlets were removed again sometime before 1603. In 1770–71, the Zytglogge was renovated by Niklaus Hebler and Ludwig Emanuel Zehnder, who refurbished the structure in order to suit the tastes of the late Baroque, giving the tower its contemporary outline.
  Both façades were again repainted in the Rococo style by Rudolf von Steiger in 1890. The idealising historicism of the design came to be disliked in the twentieth century, and a 1929 competition produced the façade designs visible today: on the west façade, Victor Surbek's fresco "Beginning of Time" and on the east façade, a reconstruction of the 1770 design by Kurt Indermühle. In 1981–83, the Zytglogge was thoroughly renovated again and generally restored to its 1770 appearance.
caption: The eastern face of the Zytglogge
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