Grossmunster

Grossmunster is a famous medieval church in Zurich with a history dating to Charlemagne and one of the most beautiful historical sites in Switzerland. Indeed, it is said that the Frankish king built the first incarnation of Grossmunster on the site where he discovered the graves of the city’s patrons, Felix and Regula. However, the Romanesque style version of Grossmunster we see today, with its two iconic towers, was built later from around 1100 until 1220. It was here in Grossmunster in the 16th century that Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger started the Swiss-German Reformation.

Today, visitors to Zurich flock to see Grossmunster’s Romanesque crypt, its museum dedicated to the Reformation, and its striking windows. Grossmunster is situated near the banks of the river Limmat. It was constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, which was, according to legend, originally commissioned by Charlemagne after his horse fell to its knees over the tombs of Felix and Regula, Zurich’s patron saints. The present church was constructed from 1100 until its inauguration in around 1220. It was originally a monastery church, vying with the Fraumunster across the Limmat throughout the Middle Ages.

Today, visitors can enjoy a the church as both a tourist attraction and a place of worship. There are a few features that are particularly worth seeing. These include the glass windows by Sigmar Polke, the Romanesque Crypt, the Romanesque capitals in the church and cloister, the stained glass windows by Augusto Giacometti, the bronze doors by Otto Munch and the Reformation museum in the cloister. Visitors should also take the 187 stairs from the nave up to the tower vantage point, from where visitors have panoramic views over the Zurich rooftops and lake as well as majestic Alpine summits on the horizon.