Herrengasse (Bern)

Herrengasse

Old City of Bern with Herrengasse highlighted
Former name(s)	vicus de Egerdon herrengass von Egerdon
Length	200 m (700 ft)
Location	Old City of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Postal code	3011
Coordinates	46°56′49.55″N 7°26′56.98″E / 46.9470972°N 7.4491611°E / 46.9470972; 7.4491611

The Herrengasse ("Nobles' Lane") is one of the streets in the Old City of Bern, the medieval city center of Bern, Switzerland. It was the southernmost street of the old Zähringerstadt (Zähringer town) of Bern and ended at the first city wall. Three buildings on the Herrengasse are listed on the Swiss inventory of heritage site of national significance and it is part of the UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site that encompasses the Old City.

Herrengasse, like most streets in the Old City, runs east to west. However due to the increasing width of the Aare peninsula the street only runs a short distance from the Münsterplatz (the plaza in front of the Münster of Bern) to the Casinoplatz. The Herrengasse is divided into 2 sections along the center of the street. The Sonnseite (Sunny Side) was originally the southern flank of the 1191 Zähringerstadt. The Schattseite (Shady Side) was built later as the original city expanded within the city walls from 1191. In addition to the division along the street, there is also a division in the middle of the street. Along both sides of the street there are two separate rows of buildings, with a small passageway between them which runs north and south. South of the Herrengasse the Aare peninsula drops away sharply toward the Aare. Near the Herrengasse, at Casinoplatz, the modern Kirchenfeld Bridge crosses the river to the heights of Kirchenfeld.

The Herrengasse was originally the path that led between the Münster and the Franciscan monastery (German: Barfüßerkloster). It was known as vicus de Egerdon in 1312 and as herrengass von Egerdon in 1316. During the early 16th century the name was shortened to Herrengasse.

While the city of Bern was founded in 1191, what would become the Herrengasse wasn't added until a little while later. In 1255 the Franciscan monks were granted a piece of land in the southwest corner near the city wall. A year later, in 1256, a Teutonic Knights chapter house is first mentioned on the south side of the modern Münsterplatz. The road that would become the Herrengasse stretched between the two. Both of the original names of the Herrengasse (vicus de Egerdon and herrengass von Egerdon) refer to a knight (or Herren, a member of the minor nobility), Heinrich von Egerdon, who bought a house along the road in November 1271.