Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster is a

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

–like organisation in Zürich, Switzerland, not yet associated with the

Zünfte of Zürich There are fourteen historical ''Zünfte'' (guilds, singular ''Zunft'') of Zürich, under the system established in 1336 with the "guild revolution" of Rudolf Brun. They are the 13 guilds that predated 1336, plus the ''Gesellschaft zur Constaffel'', ...

as of 2015.

History of Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster

In medieval times, in Zürich all female and male ''Bürger'' were members of the guilds, but beginning in the 19th century women were no more tolerated within the guilds then more as ''decoration'' of their men being still members of the guilds of Zürich. The history of the ''Gesellschaft zu Fraumünsters'' dates back to the late 9th century when the abbess of the

Fraumünster The Fraumünster (; lit. in en, Women's Minster, but often wrongly translated to urLady Minster) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for h ...

Abbey (853 A.D.) in fact reigned the city of Zürich as ''Fürstäbtissin'' (imperial abbess) nominated by the king of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, among them

Katharina von Zimmern Katharina von Zimmern (1478 – 17 August 1547), also known as the imperial abbess of Zürich and Katharina von Reischach, was the last abbess of the Fraumünster Abbey in Zürich. Early life Katharina von Zimmern was born in 1478 in the ...

. ''Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster'', being the society of the former noble women of the Fraumünster Abbey, was established in 1989. Now, the honorable women of the society cultivate the virtuous habits of the former abbey by p.e. honoring the work of engaged women in the modern society. Beginning fifteen years ago, the society started to organize every three years the so-called ''Mittelalter Spectaculum'', a medieval funfair, at the

Münsterhof Münsterhof (literally: Fraumünster abbey courtyard) is a town square situated in the Lindenhof quarter in the historical center of Zürich, Switzerland. Münsterhof is the largest town square within the ''Altstadt'' (old town) of Zürich, and i ...

square.

Sechseläuten and the guilds of Zürich

Since 2010 the guilds of Zürich ''allow'' to the women of the society to practice ''

Sechseläuten The ''Sechseläuten'' (Zürich German: ''Sächsilüüte'', "The six o'clock ringing of the bells") is a traditional spring holiday in the Swiss city of Zürich celebrated in its current form, usually on the 3rd Monday of April, since the early 2 ...

'', as guests of the '' Constaffel'' society, for historical reasons as until 1524 AD the abbesses of the Fraumünster abbey were members of the ''Constaffel''. As of November 2014, expressly agreed by the guilds of Zürich, the Fraumünster society – still as ''guest'', not as an ''official'' member – may practice ''Sechseläuten'' provisorily ''until 2022'', as also confirmed by the association (''Zentralkomitee der Zünfte'') of the Zürich guilds. Mrs Regula Zweifel, representative of the Fraumünster society, told in an interview on 6 November 2014, ″''... after 25 years, the tug of war is finally over. The fact that we now have guest status at Sechseläutenplatz, is great. But it is only a first step ...''″ The association of guild members will, on occasion of an official ceremony, sign an agreement between the Fraumünster society and the so-called ''Zunftmeister's'' (literally: ''masters of the guilds'') in December 2014: as long as the agreement applies, the Fraumünster society may participate namely the ''Sechseläuten'' procession and ''Böögg'' burning, but neither do any steps to join the assembly of the Zürich guilds nor participate other activities related to ''Sechseläuten''.

Activities

The association organizes monthly meetings, and its members are involved in numerous cultural projects, among them the honor book for women, a silent memorial to all women who do extraordinary things in everyday life and shape society actively. Every three years the "Mittelalter Spectaculum" at the

plaza is organized. Each year, the society honors posthumously female personalities with a plaque at their site of action in Zürich, and publishes a New Year's sheet.

Notable women awarded by the association

The ''Fraumünster'' society posthumously honors women who have provided outstanding professional services or social innovations in Zürich. The honoring take place on the morning of the ''Sechseläuten'' festival and are public. Whenever possible, a plaque is attached to a former residence or place of activity of the honored women.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gesellschaft zu Fraumunster Feminist organisations in Switzerland Organisations based in Zürich 1989 establishments in Switzerland Organizations established in 1989 Guilds in Switzerland