Might Junkerngasse be probably the most haunted avenue in Bern? From a former monastery that was once right here, locals complained for a very long time concerning the haunting of a monk who dedicated a sin so grave that neither his physique, nor his soul ever left.
Beneath the elegant façades of Bern’s Junkerngasse and its parallel Gerechtigkeitsgasse, now identified for its stately homes, flagstone walks, and commanding views of the Aare, lies a buried previous of devotion, downfall, and damnation.
Learn Extra: Try all ghost tales from Switzerland
In medieval instances, this avenue, then referred to as Kirchgasse or Church Lane, was the sacred artery of Bern’s spiritual life. It wound previous chapels, cloisters, and courtyards belonging to highly effective abbeys. Amongst these was a quiet however vital property: the Frienisberghaus, the city residence of the Cistercian monks of Frienisberg Abbey, who got here to the town on church enterprise or for relaxation.
However for hundreds of years after the Reformation, the home was shunned, whispered about, and ultimately torn down. It was mentioned to be haunted by a monk, one who carried a sin so grave that demise couldn’t carry him relaxation.
The Monastery within the Metropolis
The Cistercian Order was one in every of deep self-discipline and purity, based on silence, labor, and a vow of chastity. The monks of Frienisberg Abbey, situated within the Seeland area northwest of Bern, had been among the many many spiritual orders who held property throughout the metropolis partitions. As early as 1285, they owned a home in Bern. Within the 14th century, their holdings expanded when the town crammed within the outdated moat of the Nydegg fortress, granting the monks their monastery courtyard subsequent to the Interlakenhaus, the largest monastery courtyard within the metropolis, a stone’s throw from the Nydeggkirche and what would later turn out to be the Nydegg Bridge.
This was not a grand abbey, however quite a quiet city refuge, a spot to shelter monks touring from Frienisberg. And but, on this serene setting, one thing horrible occurred.
Sin within the Cloister
One monk, whose identify has been misplaced to historical past, dedicated the unthinkable: he violated a nun, against the law so heinous within the Cistercian world that it nonetheless lingers. The small print stay obscure, however the sin of lust, in a setting that demanded purity, sealed the monk’s everlasting punishment.
After the Reformation swept by means of Bern within the 1520s, the monasteries and their property had been dissolved or repurposed. The Frienisberghaus turned a state constructing used for charitable causes, however its halls had been by no means peaceable once more.
For years afterward, locals reported {that a} ghostly monk would wander the courtyard at midnight, his hood drawn low, his ft by no means touching the bottom. He climbed the steps slowly, mournfully, solely to descend once more moments later, as if condemned to stroll in infinite, unfulfilled penance. His type was pale and practically clear, a whisper of fabric and shadow.
Learn Additionally: Junkerngasse is called Bern’s most haunted avenue, largely due to the story of The Headless Ghost Lady of Bern
Later nonetheless, as the home aged and have become derelict, the haunting intensified. Groans, sighs, and scraping sounds echoed from the attic. Instruments rusted with out trigger, and employees who tried to restore the constructing reported a way of dread they couldn’t shake. Through the constructing’s eventual demolition, one thing much more sinister was uncovered: a skeleton, walled up in a sealed area of interest, curled in on itself in a last pose of struggling. His blackened robes and rotted rosary nonetheless clung to bone.
It was affirmation of the outdated fears. Whether or not buried in secret as punishment or hidden to keep away from scandal, this monk had been walled up alive, and his soul had by no means left.
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References:
P. Keckeis & M. Waibel, Legends of Switzerland. Bern, Zurich 1986
Frienisberghaus – Bern Metropolis Archive
