Page 66 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Switzerland

1 '
MÜNSTER The spire rises
100 m (328 ft)
into the sky.
ST VINZENZ

EXPERIENCE Bern  C3 ⌂ Münsterplatz # Winter: noon–4pm Mon–Fri,
10am–5pm Sat, 11:30am–4pm Sun; summer: 10am–5pm
Mon–Sat, 11:30am–5pm Sun ∑ bernermuenster.ch
A splendid example of the German-influenced late-
Gothic style, Bern’s Münster is the most recent of
Switzerland’s great Gothic cathedrals. Work on the
cathedral began in 1421, however, it was not until
1893, when the spire was added, that the building
was finally completed.

Replacing a smaller church the Münster is the
country’s tall est cathedral and largest ecclesi­
as tical building, at just over 100 m (328 ft)
high. It was originally located outside the city
walls, near what is now Kreuzgasse; today the
cath edral domin ates Münsterplatz in the city’s
Old Town. The architect Matthäus Ensinger of
Ulm designed it as a three­aisle basilica with
fan vaulting, side chapels and a tower. The
main construction took place during the city’s
con version from Catholicism to Protestantism.
As a result, the choir’s religious symbols are
Catholic, while the arms on the ceiling’s key­
stones are Protestant.

Bern’s impressive late-
Gothic cathedral, which took
over 470 years to complete

A striking depiction of the Last
Judgement fills the tympanum in the
15th-century central portal.

Main
entrance

The figures on the finely
Light pouring in through carved pulpit (1470) replaced
the colourful stained- those badly damaged during
glass window in the nave the Reformation.
66

066-067_EW_Switzerland.indd 66 14/11/2018 11:00

EW Must-see template v2 – 12th July 2018
Fonts: Aptifer Sans LT Pro, Posterama Text, Soho Gothic
Pro, Soho Pro, ITC Caslon 224