Where history whispers and shadows reign, Bern's town hall is haunted by countless ghosts. Who are the ghosts that stay in the town hall after obscure?
In the UNESCO-protected Old Town of Bern stands the Town Hall, a 600-year-old masterpiece of medieval Gothic architecture. This historic town hall is not only the political center of the canton, where the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern meets five times a year, but is also the place of the restless dead.
The current construction was started in 1406–1407 by Heinrich von Gengenbach on the site of a tenement house belonging to the Burgistein family, and completed around 1415–1417. Beneath the grandeur of boardrooms, corridors and council chambers lies a legacy of betrayal, justice and eerie apparitions. When night falls and the crowds disperse, the Town Hall becomes the stage for some of Bern's most disturbing ghost stories.
The treasurer is in mourning
Among the earliest tales is that of the Dishonest Treasurer who embezzled state funds only to have them seized by invading French forces.
It is said that to this day his tormented spirit haunts the crypts, mourning both his crime and the gold he lost forever. Visitors sometimes report hearing subdued sobs or the clinking of coins in the middle of the night, echoing through the empty halls.
Phantom City Defender
As Bern teeters on the brink of crisis, locals tell of a gold-plated carriage drawn by two ghostly horses that silently pulled up in front of the City Hall. The servant jumps out and opens the door for the ghostly defender of the city. A well-dressed man in antiquated clothing slowly walks up the stairs, pausing with eerie deliberation. Halfway there, he is swallowed by a spiral of fog and disappears without a trace.
Many believe that it is the ghost of a long-dead defender of the city, appearing only when the fate of Bern hangs in the balance.
Councilors dressed in black
A much more chilling story is about councilors dressed in black who are said to haunt one of the City Hall chambers. And like a specter emerging from a ghostly carriage, these spirits will act.
They are said to look like a skeleton gathering of former officials who rise from the grave to argue age-old legal issues. Dressed in 17th-century costumes and clutching black briefcases, they enter the council chamber at midnight, but no one sees them leave.
A ghostly debate ensues, marked by growling voices and bony fists pounding the old wood after one of them speaks. At the stroke of twelve, they disappear as quickly as they appeared, when the silver bell on the wall clock rings.
In Hedwig Correvon's book, Ghost Stories from Ber, it is said that the ghostly encounter was once seen by a living person. A man once dared to look from behind the stove – he was blinded and his mental health was shaken.
Headless execution victim
The narrow corridor, once thought to be a place of torture instruments, remains a haunt of ghostly phenomena in the town hall. Those who passed by reported dizziness, chills and even fever that lasted for several days.
Sometimes you can see a figure sneaking silently through the halls. Some say the building is haunted by a man in torn robes carrying his own severed head under his arm. It is believed to be one of those executed centuries ago, when justice on Kirchgasse was swift and brutal.
The caretaker's wife and the furnace
Recently, strange disturbances have been heard from the room that used to be the caretaker's apartment. Screaming, crying and incomprehensible quarrels erupt from behind the enormous iron furnace. It is said that the ghost of the caretaker's wife, maddened by unruly, spectral children, still shouts commands to the imperceptible chaos that reigns within him. Her voice echoes, “Will you shut up right now!” And there is an eerie silence.
Sinful nuns
There are also those who claim that a group of nuns have been haunting this area for centuries. Towards Schipfe there is an iron door to the town hall which is said to be so rusty that no one can open it. At least that's how it was described in a 1919 collection of ghost stories from Bern.
At night, however, it was opened and a group of nuns dressed in black come out and walk towards the fountain. It is said that without a word they start throwing tiny and dead bodies of drowned children into the well.
Today, the City Hall hosts elegant receptions, formal debates, and civic ceremonies, but behind its regal façade, shadows move and whisper. Those who work behind schedule or wander the halls after obscure report an undeniable chill and an oppressive presence. Because in Bern, even the walls of power cannot silence the ghosts of the past.
-
The haunted halls of Bern's town hall (Rathaus)
Where history whispers and shadows reign, Bern's town hall is haunted by countless ghosts. Who are the ghosts that stay in the town hall after obscure?
-
The restless dead buried in the double monastery in Basel
The two adjoining cloisters of Basel Cathedral are said to be haunted by several specters buried within the building. It is said that in the darkness of the Double Cloister in Basel, you can hear the moans of a man slowly suffocating and feel the unexpected blow of a man as cruel in death as he was in life.
-
Portobello Bar: Spirits on the canal
It is said to be haunted by the lock keeper from the adjacent lock next to the Portobello Bar in Dublin. Since his mistake cost the life of someone on the crossing, he has been rumored to be in the area.
-
Hotel Val Sinestra and the ghost of Hermann haunting the Lower Engadine
It is said that in an elderly sanatorium in Switzerland, Hermann's ghost had been haunting him for centuries. But who was he in life and what was his real name before he died in a remote fortress in the mountains? Does he still haunt the elderly halls where he never recovered?
-
Glasnevin Cemetery and the faithful ghost dog are still waiting for their master
When his master died at sea, the faithful dog watched over his grave day after day. It is said that after dying of starvation and grief, a Newfoundland dog can still be seen slithering between the graves in Glasnevin Cemetery in Dublin.
-
Ghosts of sinful nuns haunting Bern
Bern was once full of nuns working and living outside the city walls. However, according to ghost stories, some of them remained even after the Reformation, which led to the closure of their monasteries. And these stories say that they are guilty of terrible things that have a terrible end.
-
The Vampire in Ohio: The Strange and Grim Superstition of the Salladay Family
In search of a novel land and a novel life, the Salladay family went to Ohio, but they brought with them a hushed killer: consumption. Falling into strange superstitions, they believed that the only way to stop the disease was to prevent the undead from rising from their graves.
-
Cell No. 11: Whispers in the attic of the Norwegian Museum of Justice in Trondheim
Is cell 11 in the former prison for the criminally insane haunted? Many people appeared in the attic of the Norwegian Museum of Justice in Trondheim, Norway, claiming this.
-
The Haunted Legends of Carl Beck's House in Ontario, Canada
The Beck House in Canada, now a place where you can rent and stay, is considered one of the more haunted places. Those who stayed overnight return with stories of strange encounters believed to be the ghost of members of the Beck family.
-
The Haunting of Burgträppe-Balzli: The Ghost of Nydegg Castle
There was once a castle on the site of today's Nydegg Church. Stories of ghosts haunting the elderly Nydegg Castle and the steps leading up to it still circulate. One of Bern's most infamous and feared ghosts is Burgträppe-Balzli.
-
The crying ghost of the elderly castle of Beaupre
The haunted ruins of Beaupre Castle in Wales are one of the places in Wales said to be haunted by the wailing spirit and deadly omen of Gwrach y Rhibyn, also known as the Witch of the Mist.
-
Iveagh's House: The Dying Servant and the Cross in the Window
It is said that there is a cross in the window of Iveagh House in Dublin, the former home of the powerful Guinness family. Legend has it that this is a haunting that occurred after a maid was refused last rites in the house.
The ghost town of Bern – SWI swissinfo.ch
https://www.maerchenstiftung.ch/maerchendatenbank/11867/suendige-nonnen
https://www.maerchenstiftung.ch/maerchendatenbank/11827/ratsherren
Image Source: Pixabay.com
