| No | English text |
| 0 | Living and working The castle and town of Burgdorf date back to the Middle Ages. At the time, the river and the road were under the control of the noble lords living in the fortress. Around 1200, the Dukes of Zähringen founded the town and the fortress became a magnificent castle. In 1218, the Counts of Kyburg took over. In 1383, the Kyburg family went bankrupt and had to sell Burgdorf to Bern. Schultheissen ( bailiffs) from Bern then governed until 1798. In the 19th century, Burgdorf was the liberal heart of the Canton of Bern, becoming a magnet for the more progressively-minded. With the arrival of the train, trade and industry flourished. Today, the town is a major regional centre. The objects exhibited here are part of the Knights’ Hall collection. |
| 1 | Motions and meetings Futuristic modes of transport in Burgdorf In 1985, 73 solar-powered vehicles drove from Lake Constance to Geneva. This was the first Tour de Sol, the first competition of its kind in the world, organised by the entrepreneur Josef Jenni from Oberburg. Electric bikes have been proving that fast and car-free travel is possible since the 1990s. In Switzerland, the Burgdorf-based company BKTech developed the “Flyer” and was a pioneer in the field. In 1996, Burgdorf was the first town in Switzerland to introduce a pedestrian priority meeting zone, where cars can travel no faster than 20km/h. A few years later, Swiss road traffic regulations were changed and many cities followed Burgdorf’s example. |
| 2 | “Pedestrian zone” bollard made of sheet metal in Burgdorf’s train station district, 2002. |
| 3 | The “Flyer Classic” electric bicycle by BKTech plc, 1995. Private loan |
| 4 | Tour de Sol Challenge Cup. Female participants received a separate prize. The 1985 winner was the only female participant and came in eighth place overall. On loan from Jenni Energietechnik plc |
| 5 | On July 1, 1985, the magazine “Schweizer Illustrierte” wrote an article on the world’s first solar vehicle competition. Four teams from Burgdorf and Oberburg participated. |
| 6 | Old-fashioned? You must be joking! New wallpaper for old walls You can even spend the night in Burgdorf Castle. In 2020 a youth hostel was opened in a converted part of the palas, the hall and the granary. The rooms are papered with 18th-century inspired wallpaper featuring designs from the castle halls and objects from the exhibitions. Museum visitors sleeping in the youth hostel can continue their tour of the castle using the wallpaper! |
| 7 | Wallpaper cuttings, Burgdorf Castle Youth Hostel, 2020. Design: Groenlandbasel, visual design, Basel |
| 8 | Burgdorf police hat, in use until the end of 2009. Burgdorf had its own police force until 2009, when they were replaced by the cantonal police. Burgdorf police handcuffs, in use until end of 2009. In 2012, the regional prison was moved from the castle and relocated to Kirchbergstrasse. The governor of Burgdorf’s official seal stamp, used until the end of 2009. Until the end of 2009, the district administrative centre was headquartered at Burgdorf Castle, then moved to Langnau in the Emmental. Door plaque from the former district court room at Burgdorf Castle. The district court was abolished during the 1997 justice reform. In 2012, the regional court left the castle and moved to a new location on Kirchbergstrasse. |
| 9 | Model of the wooden sculpture “Bubele” by Bernhard Luginbühl. The artist burned the original in 2005 on the Schützenmatte. His monumental sculptures can be seen in the Bernhard Luginbühl Museum, housed in a former slaughterhouse in Burgdorf since 2004. On loan from the Bernhard Luginbühl Museum Video with excerpts from “Bernhard Luginbühl Brandfiguren” by Brutus Luginbühl, 1999 and 2007. 5 min. |
| 10 | From milk to museum The Franz Gertsch Museum The artist Franz Gertsch had a museum dedicated to him during his lifetime, courtesy of a Burgdorf patron of the arts. In 1998, the gallery owner Maxe Sommer arranged a meeting between the artist and the entrepreneur Willy Michel. Michel was so impressed by his photo-realistic paintings that he built a museum dedicated to the artist. The museum is located on the former premises of Milka Fromage SA, right in the middle of the town. In close collaboration with Franz Gertsch, the Swiss architects Hansueli Jörg and Martin Sturm designed exhibition spaces to match the works. Since 2002, the museum has displayed works by Franz Gertsch as well as other contemporary art. |
| 11 | 1:100 scale model of the Franz Gertsch Museum by the architects Hansueli Jörg and Martin Sturm, 2020. |
| 12 | ” Bravery ” lapel pin, 2001. A bar known for being a hub of right-wing extremism, a racist rock band, fights… Right-wing extremism and Burgdorf have often been regarded as synonyms. In 2001, the local council took action against right-wing extremism and launched the campaign ” Bravery: for humanity – against violence “. Private loan |
| 13 | From a pipe dream to reality… Whodunnit in Burgdorf In May 1993, a few friends let their imaginations run wild at the pub. They talked about a public festival dedicated entirely to their passion, detective stories. These fans of murder mysteries set to work and in 1994, the first Crime Fiction Days took place. Since then, hundreds of people visit Burgdorf every two years for a chance to meet some of the great detective story writers. |
| 14 | Novels presented at the Burgdorf Crime Fiction Days, some of which won the Burgdorf Crime Fiction Prize. |
| 15 | Home delivery service bag, 1997. In 1997, the first home delivery service in Switzerland was established in Burgdorf. Long-term unemployed people used electric bicycles to deliver shopping. Private loan |
| 16 | At war with the forces of evil! Covert army P-26 A command centre for a covert unit of the Swiss Army was located near the Emme near Oberburg during the Cold War. In the Bernese Oberland, the P-26 trained 400 men to form a resistance in the event of a communist invasion. They were trained to transmit messages, commit acts of sabotage and disseminate propaganda. When members of the P-26 were taught to make dead letter drops and how to write in invisible ink, one might have thought they were Cub Scouts. Small cells of resistance fighters were established all over Switzerland. For security reasons, the members barely knew each other and wore masks at meetings. In 1990, the existence of the P-26 came to light after a parliamentary commission investigated and the Federal Council disbanded it. |
| 17 | 1:50 scale model of the Lochbach 4 house in the army car park in Burgdorf. Here was the command centre of covert army P-26. |
| 18 | Camouflage headlight for an army vehicle in Burgdorf’s military motor vehicle park, 1990. |
| 19 | Burgdorf, city of arts Art galleries and venues With the opening of the “Galerie Bertram” Burgdorf already had a gallery at its disposal in 1957 – exceptional for a provincial town. In the 1980s, a lively gallery scene emerged with the “H”, “ist” and “Esther Münger” galleries as well as the “Kunstraum” and the ” Kunsthalle”. Each of these exhibition venues specialised in a different area of contemporary Swiss art. However, as the millennium drew to a close, the next generation was missing and one gallery after another closed down. All that remains is the “Fabrik” on Lyssachstrasse, which houses art studios since 1985. |
| 20 | Plaster casts of fruit and vegetables, gilded, by Verena Welten, 1996. She works in one of the ten art studios in the “Fabrik” on Lyssachstrasse. On loan from the town of Burgdorf |
| 21 | Object entitled “Surfaces” from the “Vessels” series by Andreas Althaus, wood and acrylic, 1988. On loan from the town of Burgdorf |
| 22 | A literary scandal in Burgdorf On January 17, 1967, five young men from Burgdorf organised a reading with the writer Guido Bachmann. They aimed to create interest in experimental literature. The main organizer was the young school student Martin Schwander. Guido Bachmann read excerpts from his novel “Gilgamesch”, a love story between two young men. In spite of the delicate subject matter for the time, the book did not make much of an impression at first. However, the reading caught the attention of the headmaster, whose reaction was “what filth!”. All students who had attended the reading were required to report to the headmaster and Schwander was forced to leave the school. The press was outraged at the Burgdorf’s prudishness. The juvenile prosecutor dropped the case and Martin Schwander was allowed to return to school. |
| 23 | The book that sparked the literary scandal of 1967. The juvenile prosecutor cut out the official complaint and used it as a bookmark. On loan from Martin Schwander Headline from February 9, 1967. Many Burgdorf residents read about the incident at the school in the “Blick”. |
| 24 | Cushion-like roofs In 1955, Heinz Isler was on the lookout for an original idea for the shape of the Hotel Kreuz’s new roof in Langenthal. His own cushion proved to be the inspiration he needed. Isler experimented with wet jute cloths, which he hung upside down and froze to make shell-like forms. From then on, Heinz Isler used concrete shells only a few centimetres thick to cover buildings. Isler’s best-known roofs are those of an industrial building in Zuchwil in 1962, the Deitingen South motorway service station in 1968 and the Dübendorf Aviation Museum in 1987. |
| 25 | Concept model by Heinz Isler for the Aviation Museum in Dübendorf, wood and plaster, ca. 1980. On loan from ETH Zurich |
| 26 | Franz Schnyder’s director chair, 1960s. Excerpt of films from Franz Schnyder. 9 min. 18 sec. |
| 27 | A director from Burgdorf Franz Schnyder (1910-1993) In the 1920s, after attending the Gymnasium in Burgdorf, Franz Schnyder studied at a drama school in Germany. He worked as an actor and director in various theatres in Nazi Germany. When World War II broke out, he took up the post of director at the Schauspielhaus Zurich. Franz Schnyder went on to become one of the most important directors in Switzerland. In 1941, he directed his first film, “Gilberte de Courgenay”. The two films he made based on stories by Jeremias Gotthelf, “Uli der Knecht” (1954) and “Uli der Pächter” (1955), were huge successes. His 1955 film “Heidi und Peter” was the first full-colour Swiss film. |
| 28 | Burgdorf can look after itself The Second World War had been raging for six months, and in May 1940 the Burgdorf Town Council took the decision to set up its own air defence system. It ordered eight 20-millimetre flak guns from the Oerlikon machine factory. The anti-aircraft guns cost the city 352,000 francs, on top of the federal government’s contribution of 568,000 francs. The Town Council called on all taxpayers to donate money to Burgdorf’s defence. The necessary money was swiftly raised and Burgdorf set up its air defence. Hans-Ueli Aebi, co-owner of the agricultural machinery factory, was appointed commander. |
| 29 | Anti-aircraft gun designs from the Oerlikon machine factory for the town of Burgdorf, 1940. Locations of the anti-aircraft guns around Burgdorf, 1940. Confirmation of donation to the local air defence by the Burgdorf Town Council, 1940. |
| 30 | Neues Bauen Modern architecture in Burgdorf The Neues Bauen movement (1910s – 1930s) sought to revitalise architecture and urban planning. The style was characterised by straight forms and materials such as glass, steel, bricks and concrete. Two testimonies to the movement stand in close proximity in Burgdorf: the swimming pool, planned by the town planner Friedrich Locher in 1929, and, parallel to the swimming pool and the river Emme, Ernst Bützberger’s 1932 market hall. The council only agreed to the concrete structure when it realised that a concrete market hall would be cheaper than a wooden one. |
| 31 | Postcard showing the open-air swimming pool in Burgdorf, 1929. |
| 32 | Cork swimming belt, 1940s. The children of Burgdorf used these belts to learn to swim in the swimming pool. Private loan |
| 33 | Postcard of the market hall in Burgdorf, 1932. |
| 34 | Postcard showing the Waldeck Bridge by Max Schnyder, 1913. A flood swept away the old iron bridge, so Max Schnyder, an engineer from Burgdorf, designed a new reinforced concrete bridge. It crosses the Emme near the swimming pool. |
| 35 | Solätte! The narrow streets of the upper town have been decked out with festive flags, the sound of marching music rings out through the alleyways and here comes the parade… On the morning of the last Monday in June, all the pupils of Burgdorf march through the town, first the cadets, then the girls dressed in white with flowers in their hair, then the boys in their elegant suits. In the town church, every first-grade student is given a Solätte-coin and the ninth grades are discharged from compulsory education. The afternoon procession begins when the bells ring. Games, sports, dance performances, food and drinks on the Schützenmatte follow. The whole of Burgdorf celebrates all night long. Pastor Johann Rudolf Gruner founded the Solätte in 1729 as a festival for the pupils of Burgdorf. It was intended to replace the final exam celebrations. Solätte comes from “Solennität”- Latin for solemnity. |
| 36 | Cadet cap and cornet, circa 1930. Both were used during the Solätte. Solätte skirt, circa 1930. Gold medal in honour of the founder of the Solätte, Johann Rudolf Gruner, 1925. To commemorate the 200th Solennität in 1930, the town of Burgdorf had a silver medal struck. It was designed by the architect Ernst Bechstein. |
| 37 | The Urania Observatory with its founder Conrad Kindlimann. In the background is the new high school. Circa 1920. The manufacturer Kindlimann commissioned an observatory for the Burgdorf secondary school. The domed building was opened in 1920. It was fitted with a Zeiss telescope and a receiver for the Paris time signal. |
| 38 | Newtonian telescope, late 19th century. Conrad Kindlimann, a manufacturer from Burgdorf, observed the comet Donati with this telescope in 1858. The huge comet fascinated the then nine-year-old boy. |
| 39 | Postcard commemorating the opening of the secondary school in Burgdorf, 1904. |
| 40 | On strike! Between the 12th and 14th November 1918, 250,000 people went on strike in Switzerland. This amounted to a quarter of all employees, especially those working in public transport and in the metal and machine industry. The Olten committee demanded that conditions be improved for the working class. Many of its demands seem self-evident to us today: women’s right to vote, the 48-hour week, a pension scheme. Fearing army intervention, the committee finally complied with orders from the Federal Council and called off the strike. Workers in Burgdorf went on strike as well. The strikebreakers also made their presence felt, writing in the Burgdorfer Tagblatt that “the decision to strike was frivolous and lacked transparency”. |
| 41 | Burgdorfer Tagblatt of 14 November 1918. Lucifer: Caricature of the strike leaders from “Der Generalstreik-Prozess in Karikatur”, Olten, 1919. Private loan |
| 42 | Postcard showing the Burgdorf train station, 1899. The Olten-Bern railway line (1857) and the lines to Solothurn (1875), Langnau (1881) and Thun (1899) transformed Burgdorf into a major railway junction. The railway connections were useful for factories and helped the city to grow. |
| 43 | Model of a 1905 B 3/4 tender. In 1852, the city lobbied the Centralbahn to run the Olten-Bern line through Burgdorf. This required tunnelling through the Gyrisberg, and the city introduced special taxes to help cover the extra costs. The civic community also provided the land over which the track was laid. Model of a C4ü passenger wagon, circa 1900. These wagons were first used on the Gotthard route but from 1902, following the creation of SBB, they were used throughout the entire network. |
| 44 | Voltmeter made by the company Trüb, Täuber & Co. from the Technikum, 1924. |
| 45 | Postcard commemorating the inauguration of the technical school in Gsteig, 1892. The Canton of Bern announced plans to found a technical school, prompting competition between the cities of Bern, Biel and Burgdorf. The Grand Council chose Burgdorf. 130 years later, the Technikum, today a University of Applied Sciences, relocated to Biel and the Technical College was established in Burgdorf. A “TecLab” is being built at the Tiergarten site, which combines offers on cleantech and the promotion of young people for technical professions. |
| 46 | Hats and ribbons showing affiliation to a student association in Burgdorf. In 1892, Technikum students founded the first association, the Amicitia Burgdorf. |
| 47 | A share of the Burgdorf casino company, 1873. The Burgdorf Casino and Theatre is the oldest theatre in the Canton of Berne. Its first performance took place in 1874. In 2019, the theatre could be reopened in new splendour after a complete renovation. |
| 48 | French dragoon helmet from the Franco-German War of 1870/71. In 1871, 1200 French soldiers serving in the Bourbaki army arrived in Burgdorf. 132 men were billeted for a month in the castle. |
| 49 | Inferno The fire of 1865 On a hot summer night in July 21, 1865, a large part of the upper town of Burgdorf was burnt down – the western Schmiedengasse, the Beginengässli, the houses in the Upper Kirchbühl and the roof of the church tower. It was only once the Bernese Fire Brigade arrived by train that the fire was finally put out. 130 families lost their homes. The fire of 1865 was not the first – at a time when most houses were made of wood, when fire was used to heat homes and cooking stoves and candles provided light, it only took a moment’s inattention to start a fire. The worst fire occurred in 1715 and a third of all houses were destroyed. |
| 50 | Melted coins from a house in Kirchbühl that burnt down during the fire of 1865. Photos of the town fire in 1865. The Bernese photographer Adrian Kümmerly sold pictures of the fire in Burgdorf. The proceeds were donated to the victims. |
| 51 | Iron pike pole, 19th century. Pike poles are very long and were used to knock down parts of buildings to stop fire spreading. |
| 52 | A dubious hero He pursued happiness only for himself, never thinking of others… and ended up falling victim to ruthless adventurers. Johann August Sutter was a canvas merchant in Burgdorf who in 1834 went bankrupt and fled to the United States to escape his creditors. In California he founded a private colony. He cleared his debts with money earned from the slave trade – he specialized in the sale of Native American children. In 1848, his foreman found gold while constructing a sawmill, thus triggering the California gold rush. Gold prospectors arrived en masse and destroyed Sutter’s estate. He fought in vain to gain compensation for the land he considered to be his rightful property. In America as in Switzerland, Sutter became a legend. His story has inspired novelists and film-makers, while his crimes remain largely ignored. |
| 53 | Statuette inspired by the Sutter Monument in Sacramento. In 1987, the community of Swiss nationals living abroad erected a monument to Sutter with support from Switzerland. In 2020, the statue was removed as part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Goldkammer Collection |
| 54 | Invoice from Johann August Sutter to his client Carl Langlois, Burgdorf 1834. Unable to pay his debts, Sutter fled to America in 1834, leaving his family behind. Goldkammer Collection |
| 55 | A liberal stronghold The Schnell brothers and the Berner Volksfreund newspaper The brothers Johann Ludwig, Karl and Hans Schnell were dyed-in-the- wool liberals and unafraid to speak their minds. Why bother giving wealth and education to young men in rural towns if they couldn’t use it to take part in public decisions? The Schnells wrote articles critical of the Bernese government in the newspapers and organised popular assemblies. At the beginning of 1831, the patrician government stepped down and the Bernese accepted a liberal cantonal constitution. Bernese citizens could now live, work, publish, read and believe whatever they wanted. The Schnells start publishing their own newspaper: the “Berner Volksfreund”. |
| 56 | Wood, glass and brass inkwell, first half of the 19th century. Microscope, owned by Hans Schnell, first half of the 19th century. As well as being a professor of natural sciences in Bern, Schnell was an apothecary and a manufacturer in Burgdorf and a leader of the liberal movement in the canton of Bern. Berner Volksfreund, 27 October 1831. Carl Langlois printed the newspaper at Number 65 Alter Markt in Burgdorf. The Schnell brothers’ cousin Franz Jakob Schnell co-financed the print shop. |
| 57 | Johann Rudolf Aeschlimann’s business card, circa 1824. Aeschlimann was the “Salzfaktor”, which meant he held the lease of the monopoly on the salt trade. |
| 58 | Stamped grain sack by Johann Rudolf Aeschlimann, 1824. Aeschlimann sold salt at Schmiedengasse 9 and ran a business trading internationally. |
| 59 | Wooden stamp for printing bags with the Aeschlimann family coat of arms. It shows a man with a fishing net and grayling fish, late 18th century. |
| 60 | Social work in Burgdorf The Charitable Society A group of socially minded citizens wished to help those less fortunate than them. In 1821 they founded the Burgdorf Charitable Society. The Society opened a savings bank, provided care for the poor, helped the sick and maintained schools at a time when there was no welfare state or health insurance. The Society still exists today, although it has changed. Nowadays it provides educational grants to young people and finances social and cultural activities in Burgdorf. |
| 61 | Account books from the Savings Bank run by the Burgdorf Charitable Society, 1821. |
| 62 | Turbulent times The Helvetic Republic In 1789, the French invaded Switzerland. From the ruins of the old confederation, they built a new state, the Helvetic Republic, based on the French model of centralised organisation. Everything was new, from the constitution, to the government, to the authorities. In Burgdorf, the Bernese Schultheiss left the castle. He was replaced by aspiring teachers and pupils at Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi’s Pedagogical Institute in Burgdorf. Guests came from all over Europe to visit the pedagogue and his innovative school in Burgdorf. By 1803 the Helvetic Republic had been dissolved. The former elite seized power once again and the Pestalozzi Institute was replaced by the “Oberamtmann”, Bern’s government representative in the district of Burgdorf. |
| 63 | Plaster bust of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, circa 1850. In Burgdorf in 1799, Pestalozzi taught children to learn using their “head, heart and hands”. From 1800 to 1804, he directed a training school for teachers and ran a model school in the castle. |
| 64 | Letter dated 19 August 1799 from the governor of the Canton of Bern to the deputy district governor of Burgdorf, concerning a 14-year-old deserter from Ersigen. Helvetic Republic 4 franc coin, 1801. In 1798, Switzerland introduced a new currency. 1 franc = 10 batzen = 100 rappen. Letter concerning escaped prisoners in Utzenstorf from the French Brigadier General Ruby to Citizen Schnell, 1799. 40 batzen coin, 1798. To help money to circulate, the new coins had the same value as the old coins. This coin was therefore the equivalent of a silver neutaler. |
| 65 | Ebony and silver-gilt beadle’s staff, made in 1751 by the belt maker Johann Im Hoof. The town’s official messenger served the council during elections and legal proceedings. The official messenger also performed police duties. |
| 66 | Military drum bearing the Burgdorf coat of arms, 18th or 19th century. This drum was used by the town crier when making public announcements. |
| 67 | Baroque splendour The old town hall was in disrepair, and Burgdorf was eager to do better. In 1745, the 400-year-old building was demolished and a baroque palace was built in its place. The building material was sourced from local quarries and the town forests. The council held meetings in the town hall, opinion-makers gathered in the tavern, and travellers lodged in the elegant guest rooms. Even the library and the reading society were temporarily housed in the building. In the 19th century, the hall was home to a liberal circle centred around the Schnell brothers. It was here that they drafted the first democratic constitution of the Canton of Bern. |
| 68 | Draft plan for the new town hall, circa 1745. It was never used. The original is held by Burgergemeinde Burgdorf. |
| 69 | Chicken soup for the heroines In 1388, a horde of bandits from Aargau attacked the city of Burgdorf in the middle of the night. A few kilometres away from the town, near Bickigen, the people of Burgdorf – including women – drove them away. Every year, the Bernese authorities thanked the brave women of Burgdorf by offering them chicken soup. As late as 1665, the bailiff of Burgdorf declared that “the women of Burgdorf should be given chickens, according to the old custom, on the day after the New Year.” In 1736, the bailiff’s wife attempted to abolish the custom, but the women of Burgdorf appealed to the Council in Bern. The Councillors agreed that the women of Burgdorf should continue to be given chickens – although it was left to them to prepare their own soup. This “old custom” persisted until 1798. Today, boiled chicken soup is served in February. |
| 70 | Pewter soup bowl with wooden handles and knob, from a wealthy Burgdorf household, circa 1750. |
| 71 | Green glazed hand washing basin by Johannes Vögeli, 1696. The master potter had a workshop in the lower town. White glazed soup bowl by Emanuel Aeschlimann, circa 1775. The master potter had a workshop in the upper town. The bowl is unusually large and richly decorated. |
| 72 | The stolen corpse Johannes Kupferschmid was the first person in Burgdorf to study medicine. When Daniel Osti, a carpenter, had a fatal accident whilst repairing the roof of Burgdorf’s town hall, Dr. Kupferschmid saw his chance. He needed a corpse to study the human body – so he discreetly made the dead man disappear. Kupferschmid dissected the dead carpenter in his garden gazebo, in front of students. Meanwhile, the unsuspecting Pastor Gruner buried a coffin full of stones. When the crime came to light, Gruner filed a complaint against the doctor. Soon, minstrels had told the whole town about the scandal. Kupferschmid was forced to pay a fine and his reputation was ruined. He fled to Solothurn in disgrace. |
| 73 | Stove tiles decorated with views of Burgdorf, circa 1750. The house next to the church was the parsonage. Pastor Gruner lived there at the time. Several small buildings can be seen in Dr. Kupferschmid’s garden in the Kreuzgraben. This is where he dissected the body. |
| 74 | A selection of objects from the cabinet of curiosities in the public library. |
| 75 | The first cabinet of curiosities in Burgdorf The public library The public library has been around for a while: in 1729, Pastor Johann Rudolf Gruner helped to found a public library in Burgdorf, one of the very first in the whole state of Bern. Educated, wealthy citizens donated books and money to the library, along with all kinds of other curiosities. Over time, a cabinet of curiosities full of fossils, minerals, antiques and coins was created. Gruner himself donated 53 books and 15 rare objects. |
| 76 | Pewter pitcher by Abraham Leu, 18th century. The Burgdorf tinsmith made this pitcher as a prize for a town shooting competition. |
| 77 | Clay graphite foundry crucible, probably 18th century. These crucibles were used to melt non-ferrous metals. Around 1800 Samuel Dür, a founder, used this crucible in his workshop at Metzergasse 6. |
| 78 | Sandstone sculpture by Michael Langhans of Bern, 1716. The sculptor made this lion after the great fire of 1715. It was intended to be the new emblem of the tanners’ guild in Metzgergasse. |
| 79 | A state within a state Burgdorf and its territories Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the city of Burgdorf bought land and rights in nineteen villages in the Oberaargau. The former lords were poor and had no choice but to sell their property. Until 1798, Burgdorf ruled over the bailiwicks of Grasswil and Lotzwil. A Burgdorf councillor presided over the lower courts there and ordered the fines to be paid into the city coffers. Bern permitted the city of Burgdorf to admit “Ausburger”from eight parishes in the Emmental as citizens. These people lived outside the town, but had the same rights as the citizens living in the town. Bern thus granted Burgdorf a special right of self-rule. |
| 80 | Stained-glass window showing fourteen members of the legal district of Oberburg, 1591. Burgdorf had the right to accept “Ausburger” in the parish of Oberburg. Stained glass window showing twelve members of the Small Council of Burgdorf and the city coat of arms, 1681. Two councillors’ coats of arms have been lost. Stained-glass window, 1656. Burgdorf councillor Heinrich Stähli gave this to a house in the Lotzwil bailiwick. Lotzwil belonged to the city of Burgdorf. |
| 81 | Standard 10-piece weights in brass, Burgdorf 1664. Standard liquid measure in bronze, Burgdorf 1663. From the 14th to the 19th century Burgdorf used its own units of measurement, which were slightly different from those used by the city of Bern. |
| 82 | The rich Jacobs Two Burgdorf merchants and their houses While the Thirty Years’ War was ravaging half of Europe, two citizens of Burgdorf were prospering: Jacob Trechsel (1578-1645) and Jacob Fankhauser (1605-1657), both cloth, iron and wine merchants. They built houses on the main square. In Trechsel’s house, there are still paintings on the ceiling and walls and in the Fankhauser house, a panelled room with a decorative sideboard can still be seen. |
| 83 | Door knocker, circa 1630, from the Trechsel family house, Burgdorf. |
| 84 | Venetian drinking glasses set with white thread in the bases, circa 1700. From the Fankhauser household, Burgdorf. |
| 85 | Burgdorf chapter silver plated seal stamp, circa 1600. The Burgdorf chapter consisted of 25 parishes in the Emmental region. |
| 86 | Forge slag, 16th or 17th century. Iron processing creates waste by-products. Different types of forges as well as nail makers, cutlers or wheelwrights all produce waste. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern Bronze or copper sheet metal, possibly from a cauldron, age unknown. Non-ferrous metal vessels were valuable. Once they could no longer be repaired, they were melted down again. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern |
| 87 | Mace-shaped Burgdorf staff of justice, steel with velvet handle, 16th century. The staff was used as a symbol of the judge’s authority during legal trials. Town fifer’s badge by the silversmith Bernhard Tillmann of Bern, 1531. It shows the Burgdorf coat of arms surrounded by gilded silver tendrils. The town fife players performed during military exercises and for both secular and religious festivals. |
| 88 | Ceramic suction cup from the Sickhouse in Burgdorf, 16th century. A vacuum is created by placing heated suction cups on the skin and letting them cool down. This is meant to force harmful liquids out of the body. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern Ointment jar, terracotta with green lead glaze, from the Sickhouse, 16th century. The Sickhouse served as a home for lepers outside the city in the late Middle Ages. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern |
| 89 | Tannery waste from the lower town: fragments of cow skulls with horns, 15th or 16th century. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern |
| 90 | The work of a master sculptor The Burgdorf town church In 1490, the new town church was opened in Burgdorf. It was a huge building, considering that the town counted about 900 inhabitants at the time. The interior was not finished until twenty years later. The masterpiece is the rood screen, a barrier that separates the choir from the nave. It took twelve sculptors over a year to make the rood screen that now adorns the organ gallery behind the nave. The Late Gothic church was built to replace the original church constructed when the town was founded around 1200. The dukes and inhabitants attended mass in the new church, which despite everything was officially classified as a chapel. It was part of the parish of St. George in Oberburg until 1401. |
| 91 | Plaster cast of a finial in the town church rood screen. An original from the year 1471. Shards of stained glass from the first church in Burgdorf, 14th century. The stained glass windows were coloured grey. |
| 92 | Under fire and besieged Burgdorf becomes Bernese When the Kyburgers ran out of money, they attacked Solothurn and risked the vengeance of Bern. In 1383, Bern laid siege to the town and castle of Burgdorf for 45 days. Bern’s allies supplied cannons. Finally, the Counts of Kyburg were forced to sell Burgdorf to Bern. Burgdorf survived the war unscathed and succeeded in keeping all of its privileges, even though the town had remained loyal to the Kyburg family and had declared war on the much more powerful Bern. During Bern’s reign, a Small Council composed of twelve Burgdorf citizens dispensed justice in the town. The judgements of the court were final. |
| 93 | Declaration of war on Bern by the city of Burgdorf, October 1382. Original in the State Archives of Bern |
| 94 | Bern bought the city of Burgdorf in 1384. Illustration from the Bern Chronicles by Diebold Schilling, 1483. |
| 95 | A modern replica seal was made from the seal used by the abbey “Barfüsserkloster” between 1378 and 1528. It shows Abraham about to sacrifice Isaac. The Counts of Kyburg founded the Franciscan abbey. It stood near today’s Staldenbrücke until the Burgdorf Reformation in 1528 and was home to one of the first printing works in Switzerland. Kyburg penny coins. Left: Eberhard II., 1330/35. Right: Hartmann III., 1360/75. These coins were known as bracteates. They are made of thin silver plate and were minted in Burgdorf. |
| 96 | The city air will set you free! The reign of the Kyburg family Count Eberhard II of Kyburg ruled the city of Burgdorf. On December 7, 1322, he issued the city with a document: a charter, upholding old rights and granting new ones. The document also set out the city’s borders. The count was relied heavily on popular support. Under the Kyburg family, Burgdorf enjoyed considerable freedom. For example, the city had the right to judge capital crimes independently. However, it was nevertheless beholden to its rulers and supported them in their war against Bern in 1382. |
| 97 | Handfeste dated 7 December 1322 (reproduction). Latin text on parchment. Eberhard II of Kyburg’s seal is missing. Original in the Burgerarchiv Burgdorf |
| 98 | Plaster cast of the second seal of the city of Burgdorf. Inscription: S CIVIUM DE BVRCHTORF (Seal of the city of Burgdorf). Proven use from 1276 to 1343. |
| 99 | A town needs artisans Discovering the workshops of Burgdorf Specialist workshops have supplied the town and its surroundings with goods since the Middle Ages. Commercial waste such as bones, horn and antlers have been found in Burgdorf. Combs, dice and rosaries have also been discovered. Pottery finds suggest that there were several potters’ workshops. The commercial district of Holzbrunnen has been located in the wetlands bordering the Emme, to the west of the castle rock, since the 12th century. |
| 100 | Shards of grey earthenware pots, circa 1200. These pieces of pottery are the oldest found in the upper town of Burgdorf. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the canton of Bern Ceramic spindle whorls, 13th to 15th century, found in the lower town. Spindle whorls were used as weights when using a spindle. They were attached to a wooden stick. The lighter spindle whorls were used for spinning wool, the heavier ones for spinning linen. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the canton of Bern Edge of a three-legged pot, 13th century, found in the castle moat. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the canton of Bern Shards of cooking pots and small pitchers, first half of the 13th century. This pottery is the oldest found in the lower town of Burgdorf. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the canton of Bern |
| 101 | Gold ring, 13th or 14th century, found in the lower town. This type of ring was mostly worn by bishops and abbots. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern Bone ring from a rosary, 13th or 14th century. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern Piece of bone dating from the Middle Ages. Leftover waste from the production of rosaries or buttons in the lower town. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern Antlers, circa 1200. The workshop in the upper town probably made combs. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern |
| 102 | In the 12th century there was a commercial district known as Holzbrunnen (wooden well) not far from the castle. A water duct was found there. It is made of a spruce tree felled in 1150. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the canton of Bern |
| 103 | The Earliest Burgdorf The first settlement of the castle rock In the place of the current entrance hall, people have lived and worked for thousands of years. In 2018, the Archaoelogical Service of the Canton of Bern discovered two pits filled with remains. The oldest find dates from the Neolithic Period and is 5,600 years old. Much later, during the Bronze Age at about 900 B.C.,there was a log house with a cellar there. It was destroyed by a fire and the basement filled with debris. Some domestic items were well preserved : ceramic vessels, loom weights for weaving and a crescent moon made of sandstone. What was this used for ? We too would love to know. |
| 104 | Crescent moon made of sandstone, Burgdorf castle mound, Late Bronze Age (9th-8th century BC) Around 700 crescent moons have been excavated in Switzerland to date. Most are made of fired clay, only a dozen of sandstone. All are decorated with patterns, lines or circles. Bronze Age finds, Burgdorf castle mound, around 900 BC. Some drinking vessels have decorations partially highlighted using white lime. Spinning whorls and loom weights bear witness to the settlement of the castle mound 3000 years ago. On loan from Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern |
| 105 | Roman traces in the Emmental A gift to the gods? There are few traces of Roman times in the region. In 2017, 70 Roman coins were found near Luterbach. They were deposited there between 50 and 180 AD. The mostly very small coin values suggest that the coins were offered to the gods in thanks. |
| 106 | Turning one into two Nobody today would think of cutting a coin in half and using it to pay in a shop. This was a common method used by the Romans to adjust the value of coins over time. A coin was probably split on the spot so that two people could pay homage to the gods. |
| 107 | Roman coins, found at Grosshus near Luterbach As halved, Tiberius, ca. 22/23-30 AD As, Claudius, 41-54 AD As, Nero, 62-68 AD Ace, Titus, 80-81 AD Ace, Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 AD The ace is the smallest Roman coin used in the region. The specimens on display at the front are particularly well preserved. They depict the reigning Roman emperors. On loan from the Archaeological Service of the Canton of Bern |