The Kornhaus is regarded as one of Bern’s chief examples of High Baroque architecture. Originally the three upper floors were used to store grain while the cellar provided storage for barrels of wine from tithes and domaines.
As the Kornhaus was no longer serving its original purpose since the start of the 19th century and was by the end serving as a pub, it was, in 1983, turned into a festival venue.
In 1998 the new Kornhaus located right in the center of the City of Bern was opened. It developed into a multipurpose venue staging cultural events as well as being a meeting place. Facilities include the Kornhausbühne which is part of the Municipal Theatre, Kornhaus Library, Library for Design, the Forum for Media and Design and two gastronomic venues, the Kornhauskeller and Kornhauscafé.
Today the most important Bernese women’s traditional costumes are featured on twelve pillars and representations of 31 musicians dressed in the German traditional attire for men in the Renaissance period embellish the spaces between the arches. Furthermore there are representations of mythological figures including the man in the moon, a dragon, corn angel, mermaid, the little woman from the spring and others. What has emerged is a folkloristic panorama taking on the character of a painted history book.