Churches - St. Peter's, Zürich

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Dedicated to Saint Peter, St Peterskirche is distinguishable by its tower with the largest clock in Europe. The church traces its roots at least to the 8th century AD, but it was rebuilt several times since then. The current structure was completed in 1706, and the Baroque interior conserves a few Gothic and mediaeval details from earlier structures. Like many churches around, St Peter's was originally a Catholic church but it was converted into a Protestant one after the Reformation. The current structure is considered the first built by Protestants in the city. St Peter's is located on a hill on the left bank of old Zurich, on the site of the non-extant Roman Temple of Jupiter within the castrum.

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St. Peter's Church is the oldest parish church of Zurich. The history of the Romanesque Church dates back to 857.

The tower of St. Peters's Church is home to Europe's largest clock face which is 8.7 m in diameter.

Directions:
St. Peter's Church is one of the main landmarks on the left bank of the Limmat river. The nearst tram stop is "Rathaus" (line 4, 15).

Address: St. Peter's Church, St.-Peter-Hofstatt, 8001 Zurich

Website: http://www.st-peter-zh.ch/

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The St.Peter Church is the oldest Evangelic sacral building of Zürich, and one of the most important edifices of the city.

The actually church was constructed in four stages:
The first construction of the church began in year 857 in pre Romanic style.
The building got early Romanic elements in the 10th century.
In 1230 took place a reconstruction of the church in late Romanic style.
In 1450, the church was rebuilt in Gothic style.

Some few of these architectural elements are to be seeing in the diverse parts of the church.
The edifice was destroyed in the year 1523, during the Reformation.

The large church nave of the actually building was constructed in Baroque style in the year 1705 and inaugurated in 1706.

The bell tower is a Romanesque architectural creation.
Earlier, the tower of the church served as firewatcher, and the biggest clock of Europe, with a diameter of 8,7 m, was hole-in-the-wall of the tower, in the year 1534.
The base of the tower was constructed in late Romanic style and the upper side in Gothic style.

By the reconstruction of the church in the time period 1970-1974, the original façade paintings from 1705 were recreated.

The church is a very important edifice in Zürich, situated next to the Lindenhof Park.

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St. Peter is the oldest Parish church in Zürich. What you see now is, however, a Baroque building, erected in the early 18th century. Tuscan pillars carry the ceiling - with elegant stucco works - and the balcony. The choir is the only remaining part from the late Romanesque era and is decorated with a few frescos. A rood-screen separates the choir from the main nave.

This church is a perfect example for a Zwingli-inspired preaching room: simple but elegant decoration, pulpit and font (from 1598, redesigned in the Baroque era) in central position.

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The nave of St Peter's was built in 1705-1706 as the first new church building in Zürich after the reformation. The baroque nave is surrounded by galleries on three sides. The former choir, unused since the reformation, still shows medieval elements. Remnants of medieval frescoes have survived under layers of paint and have recently been rediscovered.

Note the disposition of the interior, which is characteristic for Zürich's Zwinglian-reformed protestantism.

The reformation abandoned catholic mass rites and substituted them by plain church services, the main part of which was the sermon, in addition to lectures from the bibles and chanting of psalms. The main part of the service was (and still is) celebrated on the pulpit, not at the altar. In the main church of Zürich, the Grossmünster, reformator Huldrych Zwingli had a pulpit attached to the jube. The one in Grossmünster is gone, but in the new church of St Peter's the same position of the pulpit has been adopted. The choir arch has been closed with a wooden gallery with the pulpit in the middle.

And where is the altar? There is none. The position where one would expect the altar has been occupied by the baptismal font. In St Peter's they have flowers on it, in other churches the lid of the baptismal font carries the bible. Protestant churches in and around Zürich have no altar. For Holy Communion, which is celebrated four times a year, a table is brought in.

Zwinglian churches have no pictures either. Instead, verses from the Bible have been used as decoration in beautiful scripture, inside above the pulpit and also outside above the portals.

Opening hours: Mon - Fri 8.00 - 18.00, Sat 10.00 - 16.00, Sun 11.00 - 17.00

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The steeple of St Peter's church bears the largest clock face in Europe. It is visible, and legible, from (almost) everywhere in the old town and along the river.

In former times a watchman used to live on top of the steeple to watch out for fires.

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St. Peter's is the oldest church in Zürich it stands close by the ruins of a late Roman fortress at the Lindenhof and its origings ga back to pre-900. It is first mentioned in 857, when King Louis the German gave it as a gift to two of his daughters, of whom one became the first abbess of the Fraumünster at the time when the Fraumünster was founded. The first mayor Rudolf Brun, buried in 1360 in the choir of the church, acquired St. Peter's in 1345 with all the associated privileges church tax and obligations. He now has a grave and monumentby the outer tower wall. The first reformed pastor, Leo Jud 1523-1542, was a friend of Zwingli and contributed to the first translation of the bible in Zürich. J.C. Lavater writer, physiognomist, friend of the young Goethe was pastor from 1778-1801. His gravestone can be seen in the church wall, and there is a memorial to him in the church choir. Zurich more attractive area much are very famous in the whold like Churches in Zurich which are very popular in Switzerland.
Architectural features: late Romanesque-Gothic tower, chori early 13th century, Baroque nave 1705/06, first new Reformed church built in Zürich. Stucco work by Salomon Bürkli from Zürich and Franz Schmutzer from Wessobrunn. Font dates from 1598, europe's largest church clock face 8.7 m diameter, five bells dating from 1880, fire-watchers in the tower until 1911.

VISITING HOURS
Mon-Fri 8am-6pm Sat 9am-4pm Worship: Sun 10am

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The church you can see in my picture is St. Peter's. King Louis the German gave it as a present (857) to two of his daughters - one of whom went on to become the first abess of the Fraumunster.

At 8.7m in diameter, the clock face on St. Peter's is the largest clock face in Europe.