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second walkway was cut through the house north of the tower in 1886. Then, in 1902-3 a large gate was built through the ground floor cell block of the prison. The 60 to 70 prisoners that had been housed in the tower, were moved to the district prison north of the main post office building in 1897. Removing the prisoners and demolishing the cells changed the role of the tower. It became an archive tower and stored the state archives of the canton and the records of the supreme court. For a time a portion of the basement served as a warehouse of the adjacent
Garnier wine shop.
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remained open for the next 15 years. After the information center closed it was temporarily used as a commercial library and sporadically hosted exhibitions, private parties or meetings. Eventually, the federal government established the tower as a meeting place for the Polit-Forum (Political Forum of the
Confederation) an organization of people who were interested in discussing politics.
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After minor renovations in 1906 on the east facade and on the west facade in 1933, in 1976 the Grand
Council of the Canton of Bern approved a total renovation. The renovation included an expansion into an information and exhibition center. The information center finally opened on 19 April 1980 and
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The tower remained virtually unchanged over the following centuries, though the attached house was renovated and gained two additional stories between 1794 and 1805. In 1903 and 1933 the west facade of the tower was renovated. The east facade was renovated in 1906. To ease traffic congestion, a
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tower. The old tower was demolished in 1640 and on 29 May 1641, the town council approved plans to build a new tower which would stand slightly to the west of the old tower. In April 1642, one of the chief builders, Joseph Plepp, died. The other chief builder, Antoni Graber, took full control of
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through the tower is 5 m (16 ft) and the base is 2.5 m (8.2 ft) thick. The bottom of the roof is 23.2 m (76 ft) above the street, and the pennant at the top of the tower is 49 m (161 ft) high. Most of the tower is built out of sandstone. The roof features
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peninsula. In 1255, construction began on a second set of walls, which required a new gatehouse. The new tower was very similar to the original
Zytglogge. It was built as a hollow square and most of the back of the tower was open to the city. It had a small, flat platform at the top and a gate
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During the planning phase, the commission determined that the new Käfigturm would not be large enough to close the several prisons around Bern and move them all into the new tower. In
February 1641, the town council acquired the house of the recently deceased widow of Hans Gunier, which lay just
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towers. The four smaller towers are exact copies of each other and are placed at the centers of the four sides of the tower. The central tower is larger, but retains all the features of the four smaller towers. They all feature a pair of rectangular windows, a copper-plated pointed roof and a
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Following the third city expansion in 1345, the tower became a second line of defense. In 1405, a fire destroyed most of the city of Bern. After the fire, the town's prison was moved from the
Zytglogge tower west to the Käfigturm, which was then known as the
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the project. On 20 January 1643, the exterior work was complete and Graber handed the project over to master carpenter Hans Stähli to finish the roof and the interior woodwork. By the spring of 1644, most of the interior work was finished.
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The neighboring building is four stories tall above a round top portal. The current appearance of this prison building comes from 1805–06, except for the portal which was run through the old ground floor prison in 1903.
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south of the new tower. The house was rebuilt from the ground up as part of the prison by Antoni Graber. Once Graber finished the exterior work on the house, the interior was built in 1643/44 by
Niclaus Bovet.
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The first tower, which stood on the site of the present Käfigturm, was built in 1256 during the second expansion of Bern. Over the nearly seventy years since the construction of the
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321:. The original tower was built as a gate house during the second expansion of Bern in 1256. The tower was demolished in 1640 and completely rebuilt immediately thereafter.
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During the winter of 1690-91, the first modifications were made to the tower. A clock face was added on the front and back of the middle of the tower. The decorative
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was still raging in Europe. Due to the war, it was very difficult to buy metal to cast a bell. So, the town council chose to buy a bell that had been captured near
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The current clock tower bell was added to the tower in 1643. The history of the bell is a bit unusual. When the town decided to add a bell, the
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Until the end of the 17th
Century, the bell was struck by hand. The mechanism to ring the bells automatically was installed in 1691-92.
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On the east side, in the corner of the 1641 neighboring building and the tower, is a three sided stair house which was built in 1903.
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East side of the Käfigturm, before the portal was driven through the neighboring building and with the rectangular stair house.
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On 19 May 1638, a commission was appointed by the city council to replace the dilapidated
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and a window in the middle section of the tower were all removed to add the clock.
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pennant. The clock works are built into the attic floor of the tower.
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tower and the first city walls, Bern had expanded westward along the
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534:(in German). Basel: Verlag Birkhäuser. p. 129. Archived from
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around the top platform. At some point between 1470 and 1549, a
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Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Bern
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The tower is a square with 9.8 m (32 ft) sides. The
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Map of Bern's three medieval guard towers, from left to right:
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was added to the top of the tower. According to a drawing by
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East side of the Käfigturm with Anna Seiler fountain
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187:Swiss Cultural Property of National Significance
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319:Cultural Property of National Significance
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428:and was being shipped as war booty to
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358:that opened onto the bridge over the
337:(now destroyed), Käfigturm, Zytglogge
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18:Historic site in Old City of Bern
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44:West side of the Käfigturm from
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219:Location of Käfigturm in Bern
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1069:Tourist attractions in Bern
693:Béatrice-von-Wattenwyl-Haus
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250:Show map of Canton of Bern
247:Käfigturm (Canton of Bern)
163:UNESCO World Heritage Site
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608:History of the Käfigturm
278:Show map of Switzerland
275:Käfigturm (Switzerland)
106:49 m (161 ft)
983:Welttelegrafen-Denkmal
531:Band 1: Die Stadt Bern
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135:Architectural style(s)
928:Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen
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305:. It is part of the
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528:Hofer, Paul (1952).
87:46.94816°N 7.44394°E
918:Anna-Seiler-Brunnen
791:Gerechtigkeitsgasse
504:on 2 September 2016
392:Gregorius Sickinger
317:and the tower is a
311:World Heritage Site
176:world heritage site
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613:5 May 2010 at the
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376:cage or jail tower
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708:Heiliggeistkirche
643:Käfigturm website
538:on 5 January 2019
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92:46.94816; 7.44394
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988:Zähringerbrunnen
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686:Principal sights
679:Old City of Bern
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923:Bernabrunnen
897:Münsterplatz
877:Bahnhofplatz
841:Rathausgasse
816:Münstergasse
801:Junkerngasse
786:Amthausgasse
774:Main streets
723:Nydeggkirche
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540:. Retrieved
536:the original
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508:30 September
506:. Retrieved
502:the original
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1048:Switzerland
948:Münzbrunnen
887:Bundesplatz
851:Spitalgasse
806:Kochergasse
796:Herrengasse
703:Erlacherhof
618:(in German)
542:6 September
464:five early
368:nüwe kefyen
303:Switzerland
90: /
66:Coordinates
30:Native name
1063:Categories
1036:See also:
872:Bärenplatz
826:Neuengasse
821:Marktgasse
698:Bundeshaus
480:References
447:Tower site
399:Mannerkefi
380:Mannenkefi
119:Demolished
75:46°56′53″N
1014:Fountains
911:Fountains
836:Postgasse
811:Kramgasse
733:Zytglogge
713:Käfigturm
498:A-Objects
415:triglyphs
351:Zytglogge
309:Cultural
297:tower in
291:Käfigturm
78:7°26′38″E
33:Käfigturm
24:Käfigturm
1024:Timeline
1009:Churches
611:Archived
430:Freiburg
388:hip roof
149:City of
56:Location
1004:Bridges
865:Squares
728:Rathaus
718:Münster
466:baroque
411:Corbels
384:merlons
325:History
313:of the
295:Baroque
170:Part of
140:Baroque
130:1641-44
127:Rebuilt
1019:Towers
760:Nydegg
461:portal
426:Vesoul
307:UNESCO
138:Early
103:Height
997:Lists
372:kebie
293:is a
111:Built
1038:Bern
544:2011
510:2019
413:and
360:moat
355:Aare
299:Bern
289:The
151:Bern
122:1640
114:1256
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600:^
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518:^
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432:.
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301:,
671:e
664:t
657:v
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512:.
50:.
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