Käfigturm, Medieval fortified tower and city gate in Yellow Quarter, Bern, Switzerland

The Käfigturm is a square sandstone tower on Marktgasse in Bern's old town, 9.8 m on each side and 23.2 m to the roof edge. Its 5 m-wide arch lets pedestrians and trams pass through, and the tower rises to a weather vane at 49 m. The roof carries five early Baroque turrets, four identical corner towers and a larger central one.

The tower was built in 1256 as the western gate into the growing city of Bern. Heavy damage led to a full reconstruction between 1641 and 1644, when it took on the Baroque appearance it has today.

The name comes from the Middle High German nüwe kefyen, shortened to kebie, after the town prison moved here from the Zytglogge following the 1405 fire. When the armory tower became a women's prison, this one was called Mannenkefi. Since 2017 the Polit-Forum Bern, run by the city, canton, Burgergemeinde and the two national churches, has held political exhibitions and events here.

The tower sits on Marktgasse in the heart of Bern's old town and is easy to reach on foot from most central points. Exhibitions and events inside change regularly, so it is worth checking what is on before visiting.

The clock bell was bought as war booty during the Thirty Years' War, captured near Vesoul and en route to Freiburg, because metal for casting was scarce. It was installed in 1643 and struck by hand until an automatic mechanism followed in 1691–92.