Erlacherhof - Stadtkanzlei Bern

The Erlacherhof on Junkerngasse is the only residence in the Old City of Bern to break from the traditional street line, revealing an open, ceremonial courtyard behind a wrought-iron gate. Built between seventeen forty-five and seventeen fifty-two for the powerful patrician Hieronymus von Erlach, this Late Baroque palace was designed by architect Albrecht Stürler. Its layout follows the French concept of an urban mansion positioned between a formal court and a garden, which provided a dramatic departure from the dense, medieval housing pattern that defines the rest of the street.