Hotel Harder Kulm

From Oriental Pavilion to Grand Hotel

Until the founding of the Swiss Heritage Society in 1905, there was no organization or authority in Switzerland or the Canton of Bern that concerned itself with the aesthetics of buildings in rural areas, and especially in mountainous regions. Here, the building owners and their architects were king.

A hotel was an integral part of the project.

Every mountain railway had its own hotel offering upscale hospitality. Guests in the elegant spa towns were accustomed to comfort and didn't want to forgo it in the mountains. Thus, the Hotel Harder Kulm formed a crucial component of the project. Looking at the expansion plans five years after the railway's opening, one can't help but suspect that the builders had already envisioned a hotel complex like the one on the Bürgenstock when planning the Harderbahn.

The first open carriages of the Harderbahn

Like an exotic World's Fair pavilion

that's how the first design by Zurich architects Forté and Westermann, dated January 20, 1905, looked. It exuded Far Eastern charm and a touch of cosmopolitan openness. The representatives of the heritage preservation movement certainly couldn't have been pleased. How far their influence on the building's design extended is difficult to ascertain from today's perspective. It's quite possible that the railway builders themselves opted for a more down-to-earth architecture. The plans by engineers G. Boiceau and H. Muret from Lausanne, dating from 1906, were better received and also met the expectations of the heritage preservationists.

Harder Hotels Planned 

The Harder funicular first successful years, from 1908 to 1912, inspired a group of investors from the circle around National Councillor Dr. Fritz Michel to develop expansion plans. Their vision was ambitious. The existing Hotel Harder Kulm was to be expanded westward by 50 guest beds. A hotel with 100 beds was planned for the Hardermatte. The exact date these plans were drawn up is unclear; the documents contain neither dates nor signatures. The only evidence pointing to a specific timeframe is the 1913 plans for the Harder Kulm expansion. A year later, the First World War broke out, and the project was shelved.

The new panoramic carriages of the Harder funicular.