Bern University Library has digitized old Bernese journals
The University Library of Bern has made two almost forgotten publications, the illustrated Berner Woche and the satirical journal Der Bärenspiegel, accessible online.
The Bernese State Calendar, which was once called the Regiment Book, has also been digitized. Not only can people be found in the State Calendar, it also depicts the structure of the cantonal administration, parliament and judicial authorities. The publication was first issued in 1708. Also digitized was the Berner Woche, launched in 1911 by Bernese publisher Jules Weder, as the University Library of Bern announced on Tuesday.
While text initially dominated, photos became increasingly important from the 1930s onward. Until the advent of television, photo magazines were popular media. They reported on events from the wider world, but also on local news. The satirical monthly magazine Der Bärenspiegel was founded in 1923 by the painter Hans Eggimann together with colleagues. The politically independent magazine contained caricatures and satirical texts on local, national and international current events. Issue 1 from 1937, for example, contains caricatures of the four editors-in-chief at a time when there were still four daily newspapers in Bern. (SDA)
Advertisement page from Building, Housing, Living (1964)
