''Augustinergasse'' is a medieval lane that today is part of the innercity

pedestrian zone Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. It is named after the former Augustinian Abbey that is now Augustinerkirche, the former church of the convent that was disestablished in 1525. Once, it was one of the nodal points of road and public transportation between

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

, St. Peterhofstatt, the present

Münzplatz ''Augustinergasse'' is a medieval lane that today is part of the innercity pedestrian zone of Zürich, Switzerland. It is named after the former Augustinerkloster Zürich, Augustinian Abbey that is now Augustinerkirche Zürich, Augustinerkirche, t ...

plaza at the former abbey, and one of the gates and fortifications of the medieval town walls. Today, as well as the

Limmatquai ''Limmatquai'' () is a street in the Switzerland, Swiss city of Zurich. It is named after the Limmat, and it follows the right-hand (eastern) bank of that river for about through the ''Altstadt (Zürich), Altstadt'', or historical core, of the c ...

, ''Augustinergasse'' is a section of the southern extension of the '' Seeuferanlage'' promenades that were built between 1881 and 1887, and one of the best known visitor attractions of the oldest area of the city of Zürich.

Location

Bordered in the north by ''Münzplatz'' and by '' St. Peterhofstatt'' towards ''

'', it is named after the former Augustinian monastery, now the Augustinerkirche church. The ''Rennweg'', formerly the ''Rennweg–Augustinergasse'' stop on lines 6, 7, 11 and 13 of the

Zürich tram system Trams make an important contribution to public transport in the city of Zurich in Switzerland. The tram network serves most city neighbourhoods, and is the backbone of public transport within the city, albeit supplemented by the inner sections of ...

is located some further south along the ''Bahnhofstrasse'' road.

Points of interest

Augustinergasse was the home of the medieval artisans of Zürich. Beginning in the 17th century, rich factory owners settled there, resulting in an open 'competition' for the best facade. Tourist highlights are the numerous carved wooden

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...

s of these colourful houses, along with some mostly tourist-oriented shops, coffeehouses and restaurants; thus the tiny lane is probably one of the most colorful streets in Zürich. Much more modestly decorated is the exterior of the former monastery's church, the '' Augustinerkirche'' that as of today is the parish church of the Christ Catholic community of Zürich. Zürich - Augustinergasse IMG 5462 ShiftN.jpg, ''Münzplatz'', ''Glockengasse'' to the right Zürich - Augustinergasse IMG 5467 ShiftN.jpg, One of the 'typical'

s Zürich - Augustinergasse IMG 2049.JPG, As seen from ''Münzplatz'' towards

Bahnhofstrasse Bahnhofstrasse (, ), in the Swiss city of Zurich, is the city's main downtown street and one of the world's most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues. In 2011, a study named Bahnhofstrasse the most expensive street for retail property in Eur ...

2015 Sechseläuten - Augustinergasse - Bahnhofstrasse 2015-04-13 15-48-39.JPG, As seen from Bahnhofstrasse, buildings decorated for Sechseläuten 2015 Zürich - Augustinergasse IMG 5458.JPG, Upper Augustinergasse Zürich - St. Peter IMG 1180 ShiftN.jpg, '' St. Peterhofstatt'' and St. Peter church

Münzplatz

The Augustinian church was transformed during the

Reformation in Zürich The Reformation in Zürich was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrates of the city of Zürich and the princess abbess Katharina von Zimmern of the Fraumünster Abbey, and the population of the city of Hist ...

into a secular workshop, and served as a mint coinage and storage space. From 1596 to 1841 its choir served as mint and residential district of the mint master, and in the ''Jakobskapelle'', the mint masters pitched their embossing dies. Therefore, the ''Münzplatz'' was named after the mint in the choir. The so-called ''Folderbrunnen'' was built in 1537 as the local water well, and is still a popular meeting point of locals and tourists.

Augustinerkirche

'' Augustinerkirche'' was once one of the five main churches in the medieval town of Zürich. First built around 1270 as a Romanesque church belonging to the Augustinian abbey, on occasion of the Reformation, worship in the church was discontinued. In 1841 the Roman Catholic community of Zürich planned to rebuild the building to commemorate the old Augustinian church. But, as the majority of the Catholic community rejected the decisions of the First Vatican Council of 1870, the whole community was expelled from the Catholic church. For the same reason, Augustinerkirche is still their parish church. Today the building is one of the three medieval churches in the Lindenhof district of the city of Zürich.

History

In the European Middle Ages, it was as it is in the present days, a small street within the

fortifications of Zürich Zürich was an independent (''reichsfrei'') city or city-state from 1218 to 1798. The town was Fortification, fortified with a city wall from the 13th to the 17th century, and with more elaborate Defensive wall, ramparts constructed in the 17th to ...

, leading from St. Peterhofstatt at the St. Peter church, passing the former Augustinian monastery below

Lindenhof hill The Lindenhof (''"Tilia, linden yard"'') is a moraine hill and public square in the historic center of Zurich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Switzerland in the Roman era, Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has histor ...

, towards the so-called small ''Kecinstürlin'' gate at the southern

Fröschengraben Schanzengraben is a moat and a section of the northwestern extension of the ''Quaianlagen (Zürich), Seeuferanlage'' promenades that were built between 1881 and 1887 in Zurich, Switzerland. Schanzengraben is, among the adjoint Bollwerk zur Katz, ...

moat, and the ''

Rennwegtor ''Rennweg'' is a medieval main road and is today part of the inner-city pedestrian zone of Zürich, Switzerland. A ''rennweg'' was in the medieval German speaking territories a street where horses were moved.Schweizerisches Idiotikon, vol. VI, col ...

''. The inner moat was enforced by the later built ''

Schanzengraben Schanzengraben is a moat and a section of the northwestern extension of the '' Seeuferanlage'' promenades that were built between 1881 and 1887 in Zurich, Switzerland. Schanzengraben is, among the adjoint ''Katz'' bastion at the Old Botanical G ...

''. But, historical and scientifically more interesting, around the 1st century BC

La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...

, archaeologists excavated individual and aerial finds of the Celtic-

Helvetii The Helvetii (, , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Ju ...

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

Lindenhof Lindenhof, , in the old town of Zurich, Switzerland, is the historical site of a Roman castle, and the later Carolingian Kaiserpfalz. It is situated on Lindenhof hill, on the left side of the Limmat river at the Schipfe. In 1747, a second-century ...

, whose remains were discovered in archaeological campaigns in the years 1989, 1997, 2004 and 2007 on Lindenhof, Münsterhof and Rennweg, and also in the 1900s, but the finds mistakenly were identified as Roman objects. Not yet archaeologically proven but suggested by the historians, as well for the first construction of today's Münsterbrücke Limmat crossing, the present

Weinplatz Weinplatz (literally: ''wine square'') is a popular public square adjacent to the Rathausbrücke, Zürich, ''Gmüesbrugg'' bridge and the historical Schipfe quarter. Geography Weinplatz is situated in the historical center of Zürich, previo ...

square was the former civilian harbour of the Celtic-Roman '' Turicum''.

Augustinerturm

''Augustinerturm'' was the tower named after the

Augustinian priory Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13th ...

, and was part of the third, left-bank fortifications. It was situated close to the Augustinerkirche. There are findings of strong tower remains, which were brought to light on occasion of the foundation work at present Bahnhofstrasse 40. It is believed that the three upper, and later built timbered floors were blown open on the side towards to the city; thus it must have been a gigantic fortification. The attached fort was demolished in 1811.

Augustinertor and Augustinerbollwerk

''Augustinertor'' and ''Augustinerbollwerk'' were named after the Augustinian priory, and were also part of the 16th-century fortifications. They were situated close to the present Augustinerkirche. In 1575 the prior gate "Kecinstürlin", a small gate, was replaced, and the construction lasted to 1578. There are no further details documented, but the bulwark was probably a circular, heavy, unadorned building at the ''

'' moat. Usually, enthroned above the gate were the coat of arms of Zürich, made of stone. It is assumed that the bulwark may have not been entered with carts, as the previous ''Ketzinstürli''; thus, the gate of the bulwark was established only for passenger services. The gate also was known as ''Augustinertörlein'', meaning the small Augustinian gate. On the later map series of Bullinger and on the drawings by the illustrator Franz Hegi, the bastion had a red tile roof. The bulwark was demolished between 1811 and 1813.

Literature

* Christine Barraud Wiener and Peter Jezler: ''Die Stadt Zürich I. Stadt vor der Mauer, mittelalterliche Befestigung und Limmatraum''. In: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich, Wiese Verlag, Basel 1999, .

References

External links

{{Zürich, state=collapsed Altstadt (Zurich) Streets in Zurich Pedestrian streets in Switzerland Tourist attractions in Zurich Culture of Zurich