The Gurnigelbad on a postcard dating from 1907.
The Gurnigelbad on a postcard dating from 1907. ETH Library Zurich

The healing waters business

Water cures, a programme of activities and amusements, meeting place of the wealthy and the beautiful... In the 19th century, Gurnigelbad in the canton of Bern was a chic spa resort in the centre of the province...

Roman Bertschi

Roman Bertschi

Roman Bertschi is a historian and specializes in everyday culture.

For the “Gurnigel coachman” Albert Beyeler, his passengers were “classy, fashionable, rich people, one and all”. And among these people there would have been “members of the aristocracy, genuine and false”. Waitress Dori Baur-Balsiger, too, described the guests as “stuck-up, snappish, haughty, spoiled and demanding people”, but there were also some kind and friendly specimens among them.

It remains unclear whether any of the luminaries of Swiss history fell into this category, but they were certainly part of the pageant: Albrecht von Haller, Heinrich Pestalozzi and Gottfried Keller, to name but a few. At the Gurnigelbad, an exceptional class of facility awaited this elite clientele. A pool room, ladies’ beauty parlours, and outside there was an English garden with four fountains. For those who couldn’t afford one of the posh double rooms, there was a cheaper alternative available – the Sennhütte, consisting of halls with 40 to 50 beds each.
Print of the Kurhotel Gurnigelbad spa hotel, c. 1825.
Print of the Kurhotel Gurnigelbad spa hotel, c. 1825. Wikimedia
In the 19th century, the Gurnigelbad in the Bern municipality of Riggisberg was one of Switzerland’s largest and most renowned spa hotels. The water from the region’s sulphur springs was believed to have curative effects, and the spa was in use as early as the 16th century. With the advent of the tourism industry, the little spa complex developed into a well-known health resort and high-class hotel with a national reputation.
Gurnigelbad experienced rapid development: from a modest spa establishment in the forest...
Gurnigelbad experienced rapid development: from a modest spa establishment in the forest... Wikimedia
... to a modern spa hotel offering exceptional service.
... to a modern spa hotel offering exceptional service. Staatsarchiv des Kantons Bern
Scores of well-heeled people stayed there, but Gurnigel was not an island, and the guests had interactions with the surrounding area. Firstly, through the many staff at the hotel, and secondly through farmers and business operators who supplied the “resort” with milk, potatoes and other services. The staff had much more intensive contact with the guests than the suppliers did. Many of the workers came from Riggisberg, with a smaller number hailing from more impoverished Rüschegg. The spa operators hired people for numerous positions, but not everyone from the surrounding area was eligible. It was important to the hotel operators that their staff be of good character. In addition, the spa hotel staff were required to organise their own uniforms, which thinned out the number of applicants.
Photograph of the “Saaltöchter”, or waitresses, from the 1892 business records.
Photograph of the “Saaltöchter”, or waitresses, from the 1892 business records. Burgerbibliothek of Berne
Trustworthy staff, guests from the “upper crust” and an offering that combined luxury living with spa treatments. The “Gurnigel circus” could have continued like this for a long time – but when a huge fire destroyed nearly all the buildings at the Gurnigelbad in 1902, the business came to an abrupt end. At the time, no one knew that this event heralded the end of the most successful Gurnigel era. Three years later the old site was occupied by a palatial stone building which the director at the time, Hans Krebs, proudly described as being as endlessly long “as the Spitalgasse in Bern, from the Heiliggeistkirche (Church of the Holy Ghost) to the Bärenplatz”.
The hotel director claimed the newly built Gurnigelbad was “as long as the Spitalgasse in Bern”. Aerial photograph dating from 1926.
The hotel director claimed the newly built Gurnigelbad was “as long as the Spitalgasse in Bern”. Aerial photograph dating from 1926. ETH Library Zurich
And it even had an “Einkaufsmeile”, an enclosed strip of shops protected from wind and weather. Picture from 1890.
And it even had an “Einkaufsmeile”, an enclosed strip of shops protected from wind and weather. Picture from 1890. Burgerbibliothek of Berne
The Gurnigel would have been willing to slip back into its golden age once again and welcome more hordes of guests. However, due to a number of obstacles, guests increasingly stayed away in droves. During World War I, for example, the hotel operators faced problems caused by issues such as higher prices for goods and the resulting additional costs. The war was followed by the Spanish flu, which also caused tourist numbers to nosedive. And in the 1930s, the effects of the Great Depression were felt in Europe. This was after it had flared up in the US a decade earlier. Even though the owners of the spa business did everything they could to overcome these external crises, they were finding it harder and harder to get enough visitors into the baths. When World War II broke out in 1939, visitor numbers imploded.

In the end the Pulver family, who owned it, felt compelled to sell the complex to the Swiss army. However, the army had no use for the building and demolished it in 1946.
Between 1918 and 1920 there were almost no tourists at all, due to the Spanish flu.
Between 1918 and 1920 there were almost no tourists at all, due to the Spanish flu. Wikimedia
There’s no question that the Grand Hotel at Riggisberg continues to intrigue and inspire thanks to thousands of minor and major scandals. It’s easy to forget that there were other mineral baths in the region – some of them continued to operate even after World War II. These included complexes such as the Längeneybad near Rüschegg and the Ottenleuebad in the municipality of Guggisberg. The latter was smaller than the Gurnigelbad. In the 1950s it had 40 beds – there were 600 in the Grand Hotel – and catered for around 150 bath treatments a year. The Buttningenbad near Schwarzenburg had ceased operations by the 1950s. Despite the spa having been closed, customers were still able to enjoy the healing waters in the form of mineral water and table water. The Hotel Schwefelbergbad in the municipal area of Rüschegg was sold in mid-2012 and has been closed since then.
Photograph of the spa resort of Ottenleuebad, c. 1920.
Photograph of the spa resort of Ottenleuebad, c. 1920. ETH Library Zurich
Even if local events and geopolitical crises were partly to blame for the spa business dying out, it’s clear that technological advances also played their part in the demise of these spa resorts. A factor that became even more starkly obvious after World War II. The pharmaceutical industry developed more and more drugs that effectively treated illnesses, and “taking the waters” became unnecessary. In addition, building companies were installing bathtubs in more and more properties, and going for a warm, restorative soak anywhere other than one’s own home became a less appealing proposition. Consequently, the number of spa resorts decreased steadily. In 1918 there were still 38 mineral spas in the canton of Berne; by 1955, this number had fallen to 24.

Published on: 19.12.2022

Modified on: 17.12.2025

URL: https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/en/2022/12/the-healing-waters-business/

More of: Modern AgeTourismArticle

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