History
The history of St. Peter’s Island stretches back into the distant past. On its banks, as in many places on Lake Biel, there are Bronze Age settlements, ‘pile dwellings’. During the Middle Ages, Cluniac monks settled on this island, founding a monastery in around 1100, and they continued to live here until the Reformation in the early 16th century.
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In 1530, the island and monastery were taken over by the Burgergemeinde Bern, which soon opened the first guest rooms. The most famous visitor to the island was Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), who spent about six weeks at the island tenant’s in 1765, before the Bernese aristocrats drove him away. Later, he wrote about his stay: “I have stayed at many lovely places; but nowhere have I felt so truly happy as on St. Peter’s Island in the middle of Lake Biel, and I think back on no stay with such sweet longing.” After an initial extensive renovation of the hotel complex in the 1980s, it was renovated again in 2008/09 with the support of the cantonal office for the preservation of historic buildings and monuments. The guest rooms were carefully restored and equipped with modern bathrooms. The public rooms on the main floor were restored to their thoroughly researched original state, with modern operational necessities being added. Thus, the original, historically significant qualities of the former monastery complex were successfully combined with the current requirements of a contemporary hotel. The Icomos jury named it Historic Hotel of the Year 2010, making special note of how “it brought 1000 years of European culture and architectural history to life, which in combination with the intact countryside and a refined kitchen, creates a unique experience for all of the senses.” The Restaurant & Klosterhotel St. Petersinsel has been a member of Swiss Historic Hotels since 2005.
