Zytglogge

s, from left to right: Christoffelturm, Käfigturm, Zytglogge. (See full map) When it was built around 1218–1220, the Zytglogge served as the gate tower of Bern's western fortifications. These were erected after the city's first westward expansion following its de facto independence from the Empire. At that time, the Zytglogge was a squat building of only in height. When the rapid growth of the city and the further expansion of the fortifications (up to the Käfigturm) relegated the tower to second-line status at around 1270–1275, it was heightened by to overlook the surrounding houses. At this time, the Zytglogge also received its first slanted roof. In the great fire of 1405, the tower burnt out completely. It suffered severe structural damage that required thorough repairs, which were not complete until after the last restoration in 1983. The prison cells were abandoned and a clock was first installed above the gate in the early 15th century, probably including a simple astronomical clock and musical mechanism. This clock, together with the great bell cast in 1405, gave the Zytglogge its name, which in Bernese German means "time bell". The astronomical clock was extended to its current state. In 1527–30, the clockwork was completely rebuilt by Kaspar Brunner, and the gateway was overarched to provide a secure foundation for the heavy machinery. The Zytglogge's exterior was repainted by Gotthard Ringgli and Kaspar Haldenstein in 1607–1610, who introduced the large clock faces that now dominate the east and west façades of the tower. 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 20th 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 the advent season and from Easter until the end of October, it is illuminated after dusk. Name The Bernese German Zytglogge translates to Zeitglocke in Standard German and to time bell in English; 'Glocke' is German for 'bell', as in the related term 'glockenspiel'. 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 the full hour. Such a device was installed in the Wendelstein in Bern – the tower of the Leutkirche church which the Münster later replaced – in 1383 at the latest; it alerted the bell-ringer to ring the tower bells. Previously, the tower was referred to as the kebie ("cage", i.e., prison) and after its post-1405 reconstruction, the nüwer turm ("new tower"). ==Exterior==

External structure The Zytglogge has an overall height of , and a height of up to the roof-edge. Its rectangular floor plan measures . The wall strengths vary widely, ranging from in the west, where the tower formed part of the city walls, to in the east. The outward appearance of the Zytglogge is determined by the 1770 renovation. Only the late Gothic cornice below the roof and the stair tower are visible artifacts of the tower's earlier history. Below the roof, the cornice spans around the still-visible bases of the former corner towerlets. The two-story attic is covered by the sweeping, red-tiled, late Gothic spire, in which two spire lights are set to the West and East. They are crowned by ornamental urns with pinecone knobs reconstructed in 1983 from 18th-century drawings. From atop the spire, the wooden pinnacle, copper-sheathed since 1930, rises an additional into the skies, crowned with a gilded knob and a weather vane displaying a cut-out coat of arms of Bern. The great hour bell, cast by Johann Reber, has remained unchanged since the tower's reconstruction in 1405. It has a diameter of , a weight of and rings with a nominal tone of e'. The inscription on the bell reads, in Latin: "In the October month of the year 1405 I was cast by Master John called Reber of Aarau. I am vessel and wax, and to all I tell the hours of the day." The wooden bell-striker, which has been replaced several times, has been a fixture of the Zytglogge since the renewal of the astronomical clock in 1530, whose clockwork also controls the figure's motions. The original wooden Chronos might have been created by master craftsman Albrecht von Nürnberg, while the current and most recent Hans is a 1930 reconstruction of a Baroque original. The bell-striker has been gilded, just like the bells, since 1770. The eastern clock face features an outer ring of large golden Roman numerals, on which the larger hand indicates the hour, and an inner ring on which the smaller hand indicates the minutes. The golden Sun on the hour hand is pivot-mounted so that it always faces up. The western clock face has similar hands, but is an integral part of Victor Surbek's 1929 fresco "Beginning of Time". The painting depicts Chronos swooping down with cape fluttering, and, below the clockface, Adam and Eve's eviction from Paradise by an angel. Astronomical clock The dial of the Zytglogge's astronomical clock is built in the form of an astrolabe. It is backed by a stereographically projected planisphere divided into three zones: the black night sky, the deep blue zone of dawn and the light blue day sky. The skies are crisscrossed with the golden lines of the horizon, dawn, the tropics and the temporal hours, which divide the time of daylight into twelve hours whose length varies with the time of year. Around the planisphere moves the rete, a web-like metal cutout representing the zodiac, which also features a Julian calendar dial. Above the rete, a display indicates the day of the week. Because leap days are not supported by the clockwork, the calendar hand has to be reset manually each leap year on 29 February. The painted frieze above the astronomical clock shows five deities from classical antiquity, each representing both a day of the week and a planet in their order according to Ptolemaic cosmology. From left to right, they are: Saturn with sickle and club for Saturday, Jupiter with thunderbolts for Thursday, Mars with sword and shield for Tuesday, Venus with Cupid for Friday and Mercury with staff and bag for Wednesday. Ueli Bellwald notes that the planisphere uses a southern projection, as was characteristic for 15th-century astronomical clocks; all later such clocks use a northern projection. This would seem to confirm the dating of the clock to the 1405 or 1467/83 renovations. ==Interior==

The Zytglogge's internal layout has changed over time to reflect the tower's change of purpose from guard tower to city prison to clock tower. The thirteenth-century guard tower was not much more than a hollow shell of walls that was open towards the city in the east. Only in the fourteenth century was a layer of four storeys inserted. The rooms above the clockwork mechanism were used by the city administration for various purposes up until the late 20th century, including as archives, storerooms, as a firehose magazine and even as an air raid shelter. The interior was frequently remodelled in a careless, even vandalistic fashion; for instance, all but three of the original wooden beams supporting the intermediate floors were destroyed. and only accessible in the course of guided tours. of the Zytglogge after each of its principal building phases and in 1979. ==References==