Reformed church, Protestant church building in Münsingen, Switzerland
The Reformed Church of Münsingen is a hall church with a three-sided closed choir, built in 1709 by Bern Minster master builder Abraham Dünz. Its tower, raised to 47 metres in 1902 and given its present form in 1938, stands above a crypt-like room from Roman times. Inside, a wooden barrel vault spans the nave, and the choir windows by Alois Balmer depict the Sermon on the Mount.
The site held a Roman estate with a crypt-like room beneath today's tower, then a 7th/8th-century cemetery and a 9th/10th-century stone church. A larger church followed in the 11th or early 12th century, first documented in 1146. In 1709 Abraham Dünz built the present hall church after Bern approved two funding requests.
The church's name origin is tied to Münsingen's medieval past, and its 1620 pulpit canopy bears a Hebrew psalm verse and the donor's name. The eleven heraldic glass panels donated for the 1709 rebuild stand to the right of the pulpit, below Bern's cantonal coat of arms.
The Roman-era crypt-like room is reached only from outside, at the west side of the tower, not through the nave. The church stands on Bernstrasse 23 in Münsingen; the 2014/15 renovation added underfloor heating and a uniform sandstone floor, and moved the font into the choir.
The 1412 bell cast by Johann Reber in Aarau, bearing the names of Saints Martin and Theodul, was sold to Meikirch in 1857 when four new bells replaced the old peal. The four bells of 1857 are named Hope, Love, Faith and Concord; a fifth was added in 1959, all from the H. Rüetschi foundry in Aarau.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,717 contributors worldwide.