Kindlifresserbrunnen Fountain

The Kindlifresserbrunnen is a Renaissance figure fountain from 1545–1546 on Bern’s Kornhausplatz. Attributed to Hans Gieng, it has become one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks.

• Date and maker – 1545–1546, Hans Gieng; it replaced a 15th-century wooden well.
• Original name was Platzbrunnen – the current name is documented from 1666.
• Iconography – a seated ogre devouring a child with a sack of others; the base shows a frieze of “armed bears on the march”.
• Setting – Kornhausplatz on the Marktgasse–Kornhausbrücke axis among Bern’s 16th-century fountains.
• Interpretations vary; in 2024 the city updated the info board to reflect multiple readings, including an antisemitic interpretation, without asserting a single meaning.

• The painted stone figure atop the column and the octagonal basin.
• The pedestal frieze with bears, a piper and a drummer.
• Views across Kornhausplatz and the arcaded streets toward the Zytglogge.

The fountain was installed in 1545–1546 on the site of an earlier wooden well; the ogre figure is attributed to Hans Gieng. The name Kindlifresserbrunnen appears from 1666, while earlier records call it Platzbrunnen.

During tram works in 1997 the fountain was slightly repositioned within the square and the basin revealed the date MDXXXXV. In 2015 it underwent restoration alongside other figure fountains. In 2024 a new interpretive panel acknowledged the plurality of readings of the motif.

Location: Kornhausplatz, 3011 Bern – UNESCO Old City.

Getting there: From Bern HB it’s an 8–10-minute walk via Spitalgasse–Marktgasse to Kornhausplatz; trams 6, 7, 8, 9 or bus 12 to Zytglogge, then a 2–3-minute walk.

Access: Outdoor public monument, free to view. The square has active tram traffic – use marked crossings.

Visiting hours: 24/7.

Visit duration: 10–15 minutes.

Best time: Morning or golden hour for softer light; colours pop after rain.

Notes: It is a working city fountain – do not climb the basin or column, keep clear of tram tracks.