Turmwartin
The bell ringer of the Bern Cathedral: on New Year’s Eve she wears Pamir headphones
In Bern, New Year’s Eve is celebrated in a completely analogical way: a quarter of an hour before midnight, the bell ringer Marie-Therese Lauper loosens the string of the hammer and at 23:59:27 the first bell rings.
On New Year’s Eve, tower keeper Marie-Therese Lauper will ring the bell of the 3.8-ton hamburger in the bell tower of the Bern Cathedral.
The 254 steps leading up to the first gallery of Bern Cathedral are quite a challenge. If you’re scared of space or heights, you won’t get very far here. Munsterplatz gradually disappears. In the tower, through which a spiral staircase rises, the roofs of the old town can now be seen through the narrow windows.
“People are more relaxed and happy up here,” says tower keeper Marie-Therese Lauper. “You’ve made the climb, you’re greeted, and you’re amazed by the view.” Around 80,000 guests from all over the world climb the 46 meters each year.
254 steps lead up to the first gallery of the Bern Minster.
On clear days you can see the Bernese Alps with the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau to the southeast and the Jura ranges to the north. At your feet is the historic city center with the otherwise hidden roof terraces in the bend of the Aare. The Gothic Cathedral of Bern is the largest late medieval church in our country. And at 100.6 metres, the tower is the tallest in Switzerland.
Think old towers have a soul
Marie-Therese Lauper spontaneously applied in 2007 for the vacant post of tower keeper of Bern Cathedral. She was chosen from 170 contestants. «I love gothic churches with their towers. You have a soul for me», enthuses Marie-Therese. They are attracted to cathedrals and bell towers at home and abroad.
Friends told her it would wither up there. The vivacious Bernerin by choice did not believe it. And she didn’t have to live upstairs: in 2006 the apartment of the caretaker of the tower at a height of 46 meters was closed for structural reasons.
View from the tower of the Bern Cathedral to the Christmas market.
Marie-Therese Lauper grew up with four siblings in Wil SG. Becoming a teacher was her dream in the beginning. After completing the workshop she moved to Belfast as an au pair. Being a tour guide in Europe and meanwhile being a primary school deputy in Eastern Switzerland was an ideal combination. A ski trip to Grächen made one think about the future. In the midst of the snow storm, she met her husband Armin and moved to Bern in 1984 for love.
The tourist guide with the «sore throat»
“I have a sore throat, my hosts told me when I became Bern city guide,” laughs the woman from Wil.
Ensuring cleanliness and safety in the tower and in the two tunnels and working as a deputy secretary filled the days at the beginning. Over time, the administrative effort for the rental of the rooms, the guided tours and the self-managed events has increased: birthday parties, workshops, concerts, meetings and aperitifs of the full moon tower in the former apartment of the tower and in the vaulted room above .
View of the old city from the tower of the Bern cathedral.
Armin and Marie-Therese Lauper are a well-tested team when it comes to entertaining guests. Transporting potions and food to all levels with a Räf is part of it. The guardian of the tower is athletic. After an eight-kilometre morning run and cycle ride from Hinterkappelen, he climbs the 344 steps to the second gallery at 64 meters and backs down three or four times in a working day.
Bern Cathedral.
He keeps his “tower book” in his cozy tower office, decorated with all sorts of thank you cards and drawings. Visitors over the age of 70 can register here after the strenuous climb. “It was worth it. I’m 76”, is garnished with a smiley on one side. There is also a certificate from the age of 75. And a Swiss abroad from the USA celebrated his 93rd birthday here he.
Only two people can climb the tower: suicide prevention
Due to suicide prevention, only two or more people have recently been allowed to climb the tower. Not everyone understands the decision.
“I have a lot of guardian angels,” Lauper says when she thinks back to this year’s lightning strike at the top of the tower. Before his eyes, a ball of light whizzed along the lightning rod. Luckily she was unhurt. But all the electronic devices in the area didn’t work.
Tower keeper Marie-Therese Lauper in the first gallery of Bern Cathedral.
The approaching end of the year on the tower will be of particular interest to Marie-Therese Lauper. “For the last time, I’m going to hit the hamburger bell twelve times with a hammer on a pull cord.” At the end of March 2023, the Bern resident will hand over the task of tower keeper to her successor due to her age. “I shed tears when I wrote the notice,” she recalls. Now you can enjoy the beautiful sunsets even more.
The second gallery on the tower of the Bern Cathedral.
It feels particularly comfortable in the two bell halls with a ringing sound of seven centuries. The large bell from 1611, also called “Susanna Pesante”, with a diameter of 2.47 meters and a weight of about ten tons is a jewel of worldwide standing. The 1403 hamburger bell hangs by your side.
The bell is rung by hand
“On New Year’s Eve, I’m going to loosen the string on the side bell hammer here at 11:45 p.m.,” Lauper says. Her husband and her friends will then stand with her in the lower bell tower and gaze in awe at the digital display clock they have brought with them. At exactly 23:59:27 the first strike will start and at the beginning of the year the twelfth. Thousands of people will toast on Münsterplatz and nearby streets and happily welcome in the new year. He will be most devout in the tower above, until the full sound of the bells fills all the city.
Statue am Berner Münster.
“It’s a dream job for me,” says Marie-Therese. Will she fall into a hole after retirement? “No, no,” she dismisses. I will also be doing tours of the city and towers and organizing various events up here with my husband.” The 452 kilogram weights in the Zytgloggen tower also have to be lifted twice a week.
