Christoffelturm

The Christoffelturm was a medieval city gate at the upper end of Spitalgasse in Bern's old town, first documented in 1346. It belonged to the third ring of city walls and stood at an angle to the Heiliggeist church; it took its name from an oversized statue of St Christopher on its west face. Despite vigorous public protest, the tower was torn down in 1865 to make way for the new approach to the railway station, an act still counted among Bern's great civic losses. Today paving stones mark the former site, and a section of the excavated foundations is on display in a small viewing room within Bern's underground station concourse.