Bern Minster

Bern Minster
The history of Bern Minster reflects the political developments and economic conditions in Bern. The city was founded in 1191 by the Dukes of Zähringen and has been a free imperial city since the granting of charters in 1218.
At the beginning of the 15th century, Bern was still a relatively small city with only about 5,000 inhabitants. Since its foundation in 1191, it had slowly grown from the Untertorbrücke/Nydegg Castle via the Zytglogge and the Käfigturm to the Christoffelturm near today's train station. Courtyards and gardens behind the houses made up a large part of the urban area. In this sense, the city was much more "rural" than we are used to from a city today. This applies not least to the smells and noise.
In the course of the 14th century, the city had already connected large parts of today's cantonal territory in terms of power politics - albeit initially loosely and mediatized through intermediaries and not in the sense of modern-day national sovereignty. Bern was already much more than just the city in the bend of the Aare - but the outlines of the later powerful city-state were only just beginning to emerge. With the conquest of Aargau in 1415 and the granting of royal privileges by Sigismund of Luxembourg-Bohemia in the same year, the city was able to expand its independence and, immediately before the cathedral was built, had an extensive territory secured in the east by the Swiss allies.
Text / Source: Bern Minster, Münsterplatz 1, Bern
bernermuenster.ch/bauwerk/geschichte

“Completion” of the Minster in the late 19th century
The 19th century was a time of accelerated change under the sign of industrialization, especially since Bern was connected to the railway network in the 1850s. In the second half of the century alone, the city's population doubled. On the other hand, this acceleration of change gave rise to the desire to historically assure one's own identity. In the later 19th century, this was done, among other things, through historical commemorations in the name of patriotism. But architecturally, in the spirit of historicism, memory politics were also set in Bern: for example, in 1892-94 with the “medieval” castle building of the Historical Museum, the construction of the casino at the beginning of the 20th century in the style of late Baroque classicism, or with the completion of the Minster tower in 1891-93 in the neo-Gothic style. It was no coincidence that it was also the time when the homeland protection movement experienced its first heyday.
The completion of the cathedral tower in the neo-Gothic style between 1891 and 1893, initiated by the cathedral building association through a patriotic appeal to the people of Bern, recalled the era of Matthäus Ensinger, the first master builder of the cathedral. After a break of over 300 years, the aim was to redeem “Bern’s debt of honour to its old, glorious past” in the spirit of historical reflection and historicism.Text / Source: Bern Cathedral, Münsterplatz 1, Bernbernermuenster.ch/bauwerk/geschichte

The tower of the Bern Minster is - in addition to its significance as part of a late Gothic church building - a unique vantage point. If you climb the 254 steps of the spiral staircase of the southern stair tower to the first gallery, a wonderful view slowly opens up. Once at the top, you can see the roofs of the old town and the clock tower. On clear days, the magnificent panorama of the Bernese Alps with the striking peaks of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau can be seen to the southeast, and a small section of the Freiburg Alps to the southwest. The Jura ranges are visible to the northeast and northwest.