The Zunfthaus zur Meisen is the

guild house A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in som ...

of the Zunft zur Meisen. It is one of the many historically valuable buildings in the Lindenhof quarter in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and also housed the porcelain and

faience Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ad ...

collection of the

Swiss National Museum The Swiss National Museum (german: Landesmuseum)—part of the ''Musée Suisse Group'', itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture, is located in the city of Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, next to the Hauptbahnhof. The museum bui ...

by April 2018. It is situated 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 is ...

'' and the Münsterbrücke, a bridge over the river Limmat, opposite the upper

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

with the Constaffel, Zimmerleuten, Kämbel and Saffran guild houses.

History

The Zunft zur Meisen

In 1449, the former ''Zunft zum Winlütten'' (innkeepers guild) built a house named ''der Meysen hus''. That same year the guild, which was composed of vintners, tavern owners, saddlers and painters, changed their name to reflect the name of the house, ''Zunft zur Meisen'' (Meisen guild). The ''Zunft zum Winlütten'', along with the other medieval Zürich guilds, was founded in 1336, based on a system established by

Rudolf Brun Rudolf Brun (1290s – 17 September 1360) was the leader of the Zürich guilds' revolution of 1336, and the city's first independent mayor. Since 1234, Zürich had been governed by an aristocratic council. One third of the council's members w ...

, Zurich's first independent mayor. Although the guilds represented various craft associations, they were also economic, political, social and even military organizations that participated in the wars of the medieval city republic as independent military units. They also constituted the councilors of the elitary council of the medieval city republic of Zürich, until the French revolutionary troops terminated the guild regime, and the

Old Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...

collapsed in spring 1798. The Zürich guilds, except for the women members 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 ...

society who only participate as guests of the Constaffel, still celebrate ''

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 ...

''.

Building of the Zunft

In early times, the "Alter Einsiedlerhof" house stood on the site of today's guild house. This was first mentioned on 25 October 1268. Abbot Anselm von Einsiedeln once had this building built as a flophouse for the abbot. In addition, the house also contained the former apartment of the administrator. In 1618 the former "Alte Einsiedlerhof" was sold to Squire Colonel Kaspar Schmid who had the time-honored house replaced by a new building. In 1752 construction of a new guild house was begun, and the widows of two stonemasons caused a stir by submitting a lower bid than their male counterparts. The two women were given the contract. The building is located on the

Limmat The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluenc ...

river's left shore, in immediate neighborhood of the

abbey at the

plaza. The building originally housed an observatory, the

Urania Sternwarte Urania Sternwarte is a public observatory in the Lindenhof quarter of Zürich, Switzerland. Its name ''Urania'' refers to the muse of astronomy in Greek mythology. History Its origins base on a first observatory on the roof of the Zunfthaus ...

, on its roof. In 1759, the astronomical commission used this telescope to define the '' Culminatio solis'', thus determining the exact location of the city of Zürich on the globe. In the 19th century,

Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called ''The People from Seldwyla'' (''Die Leu ...

and

Ferdinand Hodler Ferdinand Hodler (March 14, 1853 – May 19, 1918) was one of the best-known Swiss painters of the nineteenth century. His early works were portraits, landscapes, and genre paintings in a realistic style. Later, he adopted a personal form of ...

were among the most famous guests of the former Café zur Meisen. In the 20th century,

Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during h ...

and

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

were all visitors. The building is still a restaurant of the higher price class.

Architecture

The former ''Zunft zum Winlütten'' had its guild house at ''Marktgasse''. In 1757, a

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

palace in the French style – with a

cour d'honneur A ''cour d'honneur'' (; ; german: Ehrenhof) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block (''corps de logis''), sometimes wit ...

and elegant puddling doors – was built by the architect, David Morf (1700–1773). The stone for the building was Bollinger sandstone from the quarries on Obersee lake shore. Particular attention was given to the interior of the building; the ceiling and wall paintings are by

Johann Balthasar Bullinger Johann Balthasar Bullinger (30 November 1713, Langnau am Albis – 31 March 1793, Zürich) was a Swiss landscape painter. Life Bullinger was born in Langnau am Albis, the son of Heinrich Bullinger, a clergyman. He was a pupil of and then of ...

, the

masonry heater A masonry heater (also called a masonry stove) is a device for warming an interior space through radiant heating, by capturing the heat from periodic burning of fuel (usually wood), and then radiating the heat at a fairly constant temperature ...

s by Leonhard Locher and Hans Jakob Hofmann, and the elaborate

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

ceilings by the Tyrolean master Johann Schuler. The two guild rooms and the balcony hall between them are decorated with lavish stucco and form an ideal backdrop for the comprehensive presentation of Baroque table culture. With this connection, the house and exhibition merge into a synthesis of the arts. The Zunfthaus zur Meisen is considered one of the most beautiful guild houses in Zürich.

Porcelain and Faience collections

From 1958 to 17 April 2018 the guild house was one of the seven sites of the

and housed its

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

and

collection. The permanent exhibition gave an overview of the Swiss porcelain and faience factories of the 18th century, and the development of forms and patterns of

dishware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of obj ...

and miniatures. One of the focuses were the products of the ''Porzellanmanufaktur Schooren'' (1763–1790) in Kilchberg. Changing exhibitions further explained the history and the work of well-known porcelain manufacturers and other cultural and historical issues in Zürich, such as the anniversary exhibition ''Frauen, Zunft und Männerwelt – 250 Jahre Zunfthaus zur Meisen'' (Women, Men's Guild and the world - 250 years Guild house Meisen).Swiss National Museum: Changing exhibitions
The main item in the collection was an originally 300-piece dinner service, which Zürich donated to the Einsiedeln Abbey in 1775 as a thank-you for its mediation in the conflict over fishing rights with the Canton of Schwyz. Zürich porcelain is complemented by outstanding objects from Nyon, the other important Swiss porcelain manufactory of that time, which produced from 1781 to 1813. In the field of faience tableware production all Swiss production sites of that time were represented. Zürich's magnificent tiled stoves made of faience refer to the close ties to this branch of industry, but also to the important Swiss harbor tradition. Because of the less visitor-friendly opening hours (Thursdays to Sundays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) the museum management tried to reconcile the different needs. Since the opening of the intensively used new Nationalmuseum building, the flow of visitors has shifted even more clearly there. In view of the imminent renovation of the tits, which required the exhibition to be cleared from 17 April 2018 anyway, the management of the National Museum finally decided not to continue the Meisen outstation. It is envisaged that the ceramic and porcelain holdings will one day be integrated into the redesigned permanent exhibition in the west wing of the Landesmuseum, the opening of which is planned for next year after completion of the comprehensive renovation. The museum management expects that this relocation of the collection to the head office will benefit from the link to other collections and that it will be noticed by many more visitors.

Cultural heritage of national importance

The Meisen building and its collection is listed in the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...

as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.

Literature

* Markus Brühlmeier, Beat Frei: ''Das Zürcher Zunftwesen''. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich 2005.

References

External links

*
Landesmuseum
{{Authority control Altstadt (Zürich) Guild houses in Zürich Museums in Zürich Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zürich Ceramics museums Restaurants in Zürich Museums established in 1908 Buildings and structures completed in 1757 1908 establishments in Switzerland