| No | English text |
| 0 | By choice or necessity Leaving Burgdorf, arriving in Burgdorf Humans come and go – sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not. Some flee war, violence or poverty; others follow their hearts or hope to find a better life. While some travel the world to broaden their horizons, others are simply rejected by their neighbours. In the 19th century, the Bernese communes sent their poor and destitute to America. Such people were given a ticket and a small amount of money in the hope that they would never come back. At the same time, migrants from Germany started arriving in the canton. |
| 1 | Torn Antonia Pantano, governess, 1931-2014 Antonia and her husband came from modest families and had little access to education. They had few prospects in Sicily. In 1959, Carmelo Pantano found a job in Burgdorf in the JLCO shoe shop. Antonia followed her husband two years later with their five-year-old son Angelo. Six-year-old Giuseppe stayed with an uncle in Sicily. Antonia got a job as housekeeper for the family who owned JLCO. In 1965, their daughter Concetta is born. What follows is typical of many migrant Italian families: Carmelo, the father, started to miss his home country and wanted to return to Sicily; Antonia and the children wanted to stay in Burgdorf. The father got his way; Antonia and Concetta had no choice but to follow. In Sicily, the family lived a self-sufficient life. Concetta trained as a nurse and took care of her parents, who both had strokes. Carmelo died in 2000, Antonia in 2014. |
| 2 | Not many photos of Antonia exist. These photos were found in different photo albums: some from Concetta and Angelo, her children, as well as some from her employer Ruth Lüthi. |
| 3 | Using oranges to fight homesickness Oranges reminded Antonia of her homeland, Sicily. They were expensive in Burgdorf but they helped her to remember her childhood. She always carefully removed their colourful paper wrapping and put it aside. Antonia knew how to use a knife to peel oranges in such a way that the peel became two interlocking circles – it’s magic! Can all Sicilians do that? Then she would roll a small piece of paper into a cylinder and set it on fire … now it’s a rocket ! |
| 4 | A diva at heart Lisa della Casa, opera singer, 1919-2012 She is the best known native of Burgdorf – Lisa della Casa. She performed works by Mozart and Richard Strauss in famous opera houses from Milan to New York. She retired suddenly in 1973 and moved with her family to Gottlieben on Lake Constance. The 2008 documentary film “Die Liebe einer Diva” sheds new light on Lisa della Casa’s life: her father, an ophthalmologist from Burgdorf, encouraged her to act in plays as a child. Lisa followed the path her father chose for her, but in reality she hated life on stage – despite her mastery of it. Only after retiring from opera did she lead the life she truly wanted. |
| 5 | Arabella is the name of an opera by Richard Strauss. In the 1950s and 1960s, Lisa was the Arabella par excellence and was sometimes referred to as Arabellissima. |
| 6 | Album with photos and postcards. From the personal inheritance of Franz della Casa, Lisa’s brother. |
| 7 | Lisa della Casa as Arabella in Richard Strauss’ Arabella, a lyrical comedy in three acts / Act 3 – Das war sehr gut, Mandryka. 4 min. |
| 8 | Lisa Della Casa – Von der Arabella zur Arabellissima, biography from Gunna Wendt and Monika Faltermeier- Prestl, 2008. |
| 9 | Expelled Henriette Fankhauser, emigrant, born 1819 In the 19th century, many Bernese communes got rid of their destitute citizens by sending them to America. Henriette Fankhauser was one of them. Henriette was not only poor, she was also considered immoral. By the age of 28, she had had three children out of wedlock. The fathers had disappeared and paid no child support. Burgdorf gave her a one-way ticket to the United States – whether her departure was voluntary remains unknown. Two of her sons remained in an orphanage in Burgdorf. Henriette wanted to bring them to the United States but barely managed to get enough money to support herself. Her many letters show her fight to receive the support to which she was entitled. The municipality never took any action. |
| 10 | Extracts from Henriette’s letters, read by Kathrin Veith. 10 min. |
| 11 | Henriette Fankhauser’s letters to the Burgdorf Citizen’s Council. The topmost letter is from Cleveland, november 1862. |
| 12 | Burgdorfer Jahrbuch 1998: Amerikabriefe der Henriette Fankhauser an die Vormundschaftsbehörden in Burgdorf, 1855–1868. Transcription : Trudi Aeschlimann. |
| 13 | Touched by the revolution Ernst Siegenthaler, cheese maker and beekeeper, 1894-1992 In the 19th century, many inhabitants of the Canton of Berne chose to emigrate to the Russian Empire. Cheesemakers were particularly successful there. Ernst Siegenthaler was born in 1894 in the North Caucasus where his parents had emigrated from Trub. The family earned their livelihood producing cheese and honey. In 1909, they bought a huge property in what is now known as Azerbaijan. In 1917, the revolution broke out, followed by civil war. The communists dispossessed the landowners and sent many of them to labour camps. In 1932, Ernst’s father returned to Switzerland. Ernst followed three years later. Eventually the Russian government deported the remaining members of the family as well. In Burgdorf, Ernst found work and a second wife. |
| 14 | Extracts from the memoires of Ernst Siegenthaler, read by Tomas Flachs. 9 min. 27 sec. |
| 15 | Smoker, circa 1900. Smoke keeps bees away, and helps beekeepers as they work. Collection of the Knights’ Hall Association. |
| 16 | Burgdorfer Jahrbuch 1986 mit dem Lebensbericht sowie Fotos von Ernst Siegenthaler. |
| 17 | A southern touch CRA Roller, municipal planner, 1805-1858 Buildings such as the Butchers’ Guild House and the market arcades give this small Emmental town an Italian flair. The man behind the buildings was, however, a native of Swabia: C.R.A. Roller, Christoph Robert August Roller to give his full name. After completing his studies in architecture, C.R.A. Roller worked for the Italian-born royal court architect in Stuttgart and then spent a year travelling in Italy. He moved to Burgdorf and became a building inspector, just in time for a boom in the local economy. Parallel to his work as an inspector, C.R.A. Roller also worked as an architect. He designed many Italian-influenced buildings, such as a cheese shop – today’s House of Cheese K3 – or an orphanage that has since become the music school. C.R.A. Roller left his mark on Burgdorf – and would have liked to have done so even more. |
| 18 | Finding freedom in Italy “In Stuttgart, a future artist cannot learn how to live! “, asserted the young C.R.A. Roller. “My grateful benefactor locks me up in here as thoroughly as if I were in an iron cage. The king gives all artists that did well in their exams, like me, a little money to go travelling. But to travel one needs the right connections. Nevertheless – I want to go to Italy; I want to develop my art there! I don’t want to hear the court architect, that irascible Neapolitan, swearing in his workshop anymore. That’s the way a tyrannical officer behaves, not an artist!” Fate freed C.R.A. Roller from his prison: he came into an inheritance and from April 1829 to August 1830, he travelled freely throughout Italy. Inspired by the arches in the courtyard of the Santa Maria Novella monastery in Florence, C.R.A. Roller built the market arcades in Burgdorf. |
| 19 | Sketch by C.R.A. Roller of the courtyard of the Santa Maria Novella monastery in Florence (reproduction). |
| 20 | The path of destiny It was tuberculosis that led to C.R.A. Roller’s move to Burgdorf. The disease, which was very common at the time, forced him to abandon his travels in Italy. He came back for treatment in Gais, where he met Johanna Appenzeller and fell in love. She was also ill and subsequently died, but C.R.A. Roller survived and went on to marry Johanna’s sister, Luise Wilhelmine. His father-in-law brought his attention to the vacant building inspector position in Burgdorf. The applicants were required to design a suburban house. C.R.A. Roller’s draft impressed the authorities and he was offered the job on May 7, 1831. |
| 21 | Architectural drawings by C.R.A. Roller (reproduction). Original in the Burgerarchiv Burgdorf |
| 22 | Becoming a modern city The town planner C.R.A. Roller had lofty plans for Burgdorf: town planning regulations paved the way for the development of the city from 1840 onwards. C.R.A. Roller wanted to make Burgdorf more beautiful and improve the roads for vehicles. But the architect’s plans proved to be too radical for the city council, which declared that there were not enough building tasks to justify employing a town planner. C.R.A. Roller was forced to work as an independent architect. He didn’t witness the great fire of 1865; he died in 1858. His son implemented some of his ideas when rebuilding the town: he corrected facades, widened alleyways, and built the Kirchbühl school. Although many of his father’s other ideas were never implemented- there are still stairways in odd places in Kirchbühl, the “Grosshaus” still towers over Hohengasse and the granary could be improved – both father and son succeeded in making Burgdorf more open, straighter and denser. |
| 23 | Hand coloured map of the town of Burgdorf (reproductions). C.R.A. Roller drew his drafts in pencil. Originals: city of Burgdorf |
| 24 | Portrait of Robert Roller, pencil drawing by H. Guyer (reproduction). Original: Collection of the Knights’ Hall Association. |