Berne - St Vincent Minster

From the tree-planted Berne Minster terrace there is an attractive view down into the Aare valley; and there are fine panoramic views of Berne from the gallery on the Minster tower (254 steps).

The west doorway of the Berne Minster is richly decorated with sculpture (now copies); in the tympanum is a Last Judgment (originally 1495) containing a large number of figures, and on the side walls are paintings (1501, restored) of the Fall and the Annunciation.

The nave and the choir of Berne's St Vincent Minster have reticulated vaulting with fine 16th C. bosses (coats-of-arms). The finely carved choir stalls (1523) were the first Renaissance work of art in Berne. In the apse are a Gothic font (1524), sedilla (15th C.: on right) and beautiful stained glass (1441-50). At the end of the south aisle is a monument to Berchtold von Zähringen (1601), incorporating a coat-of-arms; at the end of a marble memorial to the 702 men of Berne who died fighting the French in 1798. In the Matter chapel (seventh bay in the south aisle ) can be seen the Dance of Death window (1917), with 20 scenes from the "Dance of Death" (1516-19) by Niklaus Manuel-Deutsch. There is a magnificent Baroque organ (1726-30) with 5,404 pipes and fine modern stained glass (1947) in the south aisle.