À propos de ce lieu
Standing directly across the river from the delicate Fraumünster, the Grossmünster answers with muscular Romanesque strength and a pair of towers that have become the signature of Zurich's skyline. Legend says the emperor Charlemagne founded the church after his horse knelt over the hidden graves of the city's patron saints, Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius, and a golden statue of the emperor still gazes out from the southern Karlsturm. Construction began around 1100 and the church was inaugurated around 1220, but its greatest fame came in 1519, when the reformer Ulrich Zwingli began preaching here and launched the Swiss Reformation. His followers stripped the interior of its ornament, leaving the pale, austere space visitors find today, now lit by luminous stained glass from Augusto Giacometti and shimmering agate windows by Sigmar Polke.
À retenir
- 187 steps — Spiral up the steep staircase of the Karlsturm to reach the panoramic viewing platform
- 1519 year — Ulrich Zwingli became the people's priest here and ignited the Swiss Reformation
- 1932 year — Augusto Giacometti crafted the glowing stained glass windows in the choir
📍 Zwingliplatz 7, 8001, Zürich