Romantik Hotel Bären

The façades covered with wood shingles and painted with oil paint are made to look like a stone building along with their segmental arch windows and artistically designed Late-Baroque-style pilaster strips. The wrought iron inn sign with its imposing hook (1752) is remarkable. The large Belle Époque banquet hall in the addition at the back is unique among country inns. In 1998, the building was skillfully restored in cooperation with the historic preservation office. In 2000, the Bären restaurant was named Historic Restaurant of the Year. Across the street stands the former Kreuz, a Late-Baroque wood post-and-beam construction with a splendid mansard-hipped roof. This half-timbered building with its wooden corner pilaster strips and imitation joints also looks like a sandstone building - considered a sign of wealth at the time. Like the Bären, the new Kreuz of 1806 replaced an older tavern from the 16th century. A kind of cloisters within the building, Kreuzgang in German, gave the hotel its name and is also worth a visit. It is closed off by four identical oak doors to the north, south, west and east, with the north-south axis oriented straight towards the main entrance of the church. The Kreuz was completely renovated in 2000/01 with support of the historic preservation office. The Land­gasthof Bären (with the Kreuz) has been a member of Swiss Historic Hotels since 2009. From the stagecoach period until the opening of the railway line in 1908, the two inns were important horse-changing stations on the Lucerne-Bern line. The coaches were even able to drive right into the 1820 'Kreuzstock' building to unload passengers. The stables are part of the guest house that belongs to the Bären.