Kindlifresserbrunnen (Child-Eater Fountain)

The Kindlifresserbrunnen, the Child-Eater Fountain, stands on Kornhausplatz in Bern’s Old Town, close to the Zytglogge Clock Tower and the grand Kornhaus building. It is one of the best-known of Bern’s many Renaissance fountains, which are scattered along the main streets and each carry a figure on a tall column. This one is dated to the middle of the 16th century and is generally attributed to the sculptor Hans Gieng, who also made several of the city’s other fountains in that decade.

The central figure is a large ogre in a pointed hat, perched on a column and shown in the act of swallowing a child. He holds more children in a sack at his belt and in his arm, and a few more are tucked under his arm. Around the base, a frieze of bears in armour, marching with weapons, adds a more humorous tone. The scene has puzzled and fascinated visitors for centuries. Nobody knows what the figure was meant to represent. Explanations suggested over the years include a warning to children to behave, a mocking portrait of a figure from folklore, a representation of Cronus, who devoured his children in Greek myth, and a pointed comment on an unpopular group in society. The name that stuck is simply Kindlifresser, Bernese German for child-eater.

The fountain is a good example of how fountains in Bern were more than water points. They worked as public monuments and as signs of civic pride, painted in bright colours and placed at the junctions of the main streets. The Kindlifresserbrunnen still has painted details on the ogre and on the column capital, and the water still runs from the spout into the basin. As part of the UNESCO-listed Old Town, it is one of the stops on most walking tours, and guides often use it to tell stories about Bernese legends.

The fountain stands in a public square and can be seen at any hour. It is free to visit, and the best light for photographs comes in the morning or late afternoon. Nearby you can find the Zytglogge Clock Tower, the Kornhaus with its cellar café, and a short walk away the Bundeshaus. If you are making your way through the Old Town on foot, the fountain sits a short walk from the Käfigturm and the Zytglogge, on the edge of Switzerland’s federal-city core.

It suits families who like a little darkness in their folklore, history fans, photographers and anyone interested in unusual public art. It takes only a few minutes to see, so it fits easily into a longer walk through the centre of the capital.