Grossmünster

Zwingli on the bronze doors by Otto Münch (1935)

Huldrych Zwingli initiated the Swiss-German Reformation in Switzerland from his pastoral office at the Grossmünster, starting in 1520. Zwingli won a series of debates presided over by the magistrate in 1523 which ultimately led local civil authorities to sanction the severance of the church from the papacy. The reforms initiated by Zwingli and continued by his successor, Heinrich Bullinger, account for the plain interior of the church. The iconoclastic reformers removed the organ and religious statuary in 1524. These changes, accompanied by abandonment of Lent, replacement of the Mass, disavowal of celibacy, eating meat on fast days, replacement of the lectionary with a seven-year New Testament cycle, a ban on church music, and other significant reforms make this church one of the most important sites in the history of the reformation and the birthplace of the Swiss-German reformation.[2][3][4]

• Saints Felix and Regula
• Conrad Gessner
• Peter Martyr Vermigli

Capitals with grotesques in the grand south portal

The twin towers of the Grossmünster are regarded as perhaps the most recognized landmark in Zürich.[5] Architecturally, the church is considered Romanesque in style and thus a part of the first pan-European architectural trend since Imperial Roman architecture. In keeping with the Romanesque architectural style, Grossmünster offers a great carved portal featuring medieval columns with grotesques adorning the capitals. A Romanesque crypt dates to the 11th and 13th centuries.

Bollinger Sandstein was used for the construction.[6] The two towers were first erected between 1487 and 1492. Originally, they had high wooden steeples, which were destroyed by fire in 1763, following which the present neo-Gothic tops were added (completed 1787). Richard Wagner is known to have mocked the church's appearance as that of two pepper dispensers. The church now features modern stained-glass windows by Swiss artist Augusto Giacometti added in 1932. Ornate bronze doors in the north and south portals by Otto Münch were added in 1935 and 1950.[7]

The church houses a Reformation museum in the cloister. The annex to the cloister houses the theological school of the University of Zurich.

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  Statuary relief of Heinrich Bullinger on the southern exterior wall
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  Charlemagne on the bronze doors by Münch (1935)
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  Facade of the monastery building, now housing the theological faculty of the University of Zurich
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  Cloister
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  Same building as seen from Karlstower
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  Stained Glass from inside the church by Swiss artist Augusto Giacometti added in 1932
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  Grossmünster as seen from Münsterhof
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  Charlemagne 'sitting' at the southern tower, the so-called Karlsturm
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  Crypt with original Charlemagne statue (15tch century)
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  Crypt, heraldry
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  Nave and stained glass windows by Augusto Giacometti
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  Stained glass windows created by Sigmar Polke in 2009
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  Metzler-Organ made 1960
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  Nave, sight to the Chorus
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  Portal
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  Reliefs (portal, left side)
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  Reliefs (portal, right side)
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  Details at the northern wall
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  Chapel, fountain and so-called 'Helferei' building
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  The towers and Wasserkirche with a view of the Limmat
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  Grossmünster as seen from the Limmat
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  A model of Grossmünster, made for the blind

The cloister of former Grossmünster Chorherrenstift dates from the late 12th century AD and was part of the canons (Chorherrenstift) which was repealed in 1832, and gave place of the girls' school Carolinum. The cloister was dismantled and integrated into the new building those reconstruction was based on the original elements of the architecture, but includes numerous interpretations. The cloister was renewed in 2009, its sandstone elements were cleaned, and the interior garden redesigned in cooperation with the foundation ProSpecieRara. The compilation of the cultural and historical ornamental plants is inspired by the natural scientist and polymath Conrad Gessner who found his final resting place in the cloister.[8]

The cloister of former Grossmünster Chorherrenstift dates from the late 12th century AD and was part of the canons (Chorherrenstift) which was repealed in 1832, and gave place of the girls' school Carolinum. The Grossmünster church building is owned by the Canton of Zürich, and the annex building being the former cloister, however, is in the property of the city of Zürich. It is leased to the Theological faculty of the University of Zürich since 1976.[8] The as of today faculty building was built by Gustav Albert Wegmann in 1843. Grossmünster and Carolinum are listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class A object of national importance.[9]

• Carolinum, Zürich

• Daniel Gutscher, Das Grossmünster in Zürich. Eine baugeschichtliche Monographie (1983).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grossmünster.

• Official website
• Grossmünster, Zürich - Sacred Destinations (includes photo gallery)
• Old City Plan of Church depicting original spires
• City Panorama of Zürich, shot in Winter 2004 from the tower of Grossmünster