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After visiting Zurich’s Predigerkirche, I was on a quest to make it to the last of the city’s four major churches that I had not visited before the end of the day.
The Church of St. Peter’s.
Problem was, there were so many photos to take in the beautiful Neumarkt area that I kept getting sidetracked!
Finally, crossing the river, it was easy to find the oldest parish church in Zurich. Standing on the former site of an ancient Roman temple to the god Jupiter, the church’s clock tower is said to be the largest in Europe and can be spied from most locations within the city. With a clock face measuring almost nine meters in diameter, it is an amazing site to behold!
Arriving at the church, we discovered, as did other tourists arriving at the same time, that the entrance was opposite of where we thought.
Making our way down the stairs, through the alley and back up another set of stairs, we finally found a courtyard with some interesting art pieces. Not even convinced that this was the entrance, we made our way inside to discover what makes this church interesting.
In 1345, the church was acquired by the city’s first mayor, Rudof Brun. His grave and monument can be seen by the outer tower wall. The first pastor, Leo Jud, served from 1523 until 1542 and contributed to the first translation of the Bible in Zurich. The church’s second pastor, J.C. Lavater, served from 1778 until 1801 and was so popular that people reserved seats for Sunday mass. His gravestone is in the courtyard, to the left of the entrance, on the church wall.
As I walked into the church, I noticed immediately the similarities between St. Peter’s and the Predigerkirche. The first church in Zurich that was built as a Protestant place of worship, after the Reformation during the eighth century, St. Peter’s exhibits the same elegant, simplicity although its tower and choir date back from a Romanesque church built in 1230.
During the Middle Ages, the short spire windows of the tower was the home of the town watchman, whose duty was to look out of the windows every fifteen minutes for signs of fire. Should a fire be spotted, he would sound an alarm and hang a flag out of the window facing the fire. Since Zurich, unlike so many other cities, never endured a major fire, the system worked well.
As I walked through the interior of the church, I took note of the three-aisled Baroque nave and the Romanesque choir that still contains some faded medieval murals. Above the pulpit, the name of God in Hebrew can be spotted, reflecting the Reformation emphasis on the original biblical languages. Another important feature of the church is the original 9th century foundation walls which can still be seen beneath the chancel.
In addition, St. Peter’s contains a baptismal font, dating back to 1598 and richly carved choir chairs from the 15th century. These chairs were transported to the church from the suppressed convents of the city. Make sure to take a look upward at the beautiful crystal chandeliers and the wood paneled gallery.
Even though, I initially thought that St. Peter’s was so very like the Predigerkirche, I learned from my visit that this church had a much richer history and much more to discover in its interior.
If you are taking a stroll through the streets of Zurich, take a look upward, find the largest clock tower and head that way! Its worth the visit!
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St. Peter’s Church
- https://www.st-peter-zh.ch/home.html
- Address: St. Peterhofstatt 2, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland
- Hours: Monday-Friday, 800-1800, Saturday, 1000-1600, Sunday, 1100-1700
- Admission: free
- Getting There: Tram, stop Paradeplatz