Reformed church with clergy house, Protestant church complex in Gsteigwiler, Switzerland

The Reformed Church with clergy house is a religious complex in Gsteigwiler, Bern, comprising a main sanctuary for worship and an attached residential building for the local minister. The ensemble is classified as a Class B Swiss cultural property of regional importance and demonstrates how worship and parish administration were integrated into a single architectural composition.

The church was rebuilt in the 12th century on the site of an earlier sanctuary and was dedicated to St. Michael. The nave was heavily altered in the first quarter of the 17th century, as a ceiling beam dated 1617 records; the baroque-gabled bell tower followed in 1659, built by master mason Simon Erisman. In 1673 the architect Abraham Dünz directed a further transformation, demolishing the triumphal arch and raising the choir. The wall paintings were uncovered and restored in 1974/75.

The name Gsteig belongs to the parish, not to a village, which still causes confusion; the church stands on Gsteigwiler soil beside the covered wooden bridge of 1738 over the Lütschine. The parish once reached as far as Bönigen, Interlaken, Iseltwald and Matten, and Lauterbrunnen broke away at the Reformation in 1528. The four bells include a medieval one dedicated to St Michael and one cast by Abraham Zehnder in 1613.

The complex is located in a rural area of Bern and welcomes visitors interested in Protestant religious architecture and Swiss heritage sites. Wear comfortable walking shoes and allow time to examine both the church and clergy house, as the architectural details and transitions between the two buildings reward close observation.

The church's medieval wall paintings are the last surviving work of the Bernese painter Diebold, who died in 1473; his murals in Meiringen and the Barefoot Friars' monastery in Bern are lost. A Bernese messenger was sent to collect the outstanding payment for Gsteig for his widow. The paintings, applied al secco, show the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi and Passion scenes.