St. Peter, Zürich
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St. Peter is one of the four main churches of the old town of
Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich ...
, Switzerland, besides
Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation f ...
,
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 ...
, and Predigerkirche.


History

Located next to the
Lindenhof hill The Lindenhof (lit.: ''courtyard of the lime'') is a moraine hill and a public square in the historic center of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has historically grown. The ...
, site of the former Roman castle, it was built on the site of a temple to
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
. An early church of 10 by 7 metres is archaeologically attested for the 8th or 9th century. This building was replaced by an early Romanesque church around AD 1000, in turn replaced in 1230 by a late romanesque structure, parts of which survive.
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 ...
, first independent mayor of the town, was buried here in 1360. The
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
was rebuilt in 1460 in Gothic style. Prior to the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, St. Peter was the only parish church of the town, the rest being part of monasteries. The first reformed pastor, Leo Jud (1523-1542), was a friend of
Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Univ ...
and contributed to the first translation of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
in Zurich.
Johann Kaspar Lavater Johann Kaspar (or Caspar) Lavater (; 15 November 1741 – 2 January 1801) was a Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist and theologian. Early life Lavater was born in Zürich, and was educated at the '' Gymnasium'' there, where J. J. Bo ...
was pastor from 1778 to 1801. His gravestone can be seen in the church wall.
Theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
Adolf Keller served as pastor 1909 -1924. The current building was consecrated in 1706 as the first church built under Protestant rule. Its congregation forms part of the
Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zürich The Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Zürich is a Reformed State Church in Zürich. In 2004 it had 533,000 members and 179 parishes with 900 house fellowships and 520 ordained clergy. Official language is German. It is a member of the ...
. Until 1911, the steeple was manned by a fire watch. Restoration work was carried out in 1970 to 1975. The steeple's clock face has a diameter of 8.7 m, the largest church clock face in Europe. The bells date to 1880. Peculiarly, the church's steeple is owned by the city of Zürich, while the nave is owned by the St. Peter parish of the
Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zürich The Evangelical-Reformed Church of the Canton of Zürich is a Reformed State Church in Zürich. In 2004 it had 533,000 members and 179 parishes with 900 house fellowships and 520 ordained clergy. Official language is German. It is a member of the ...
.


Church tower and largest church clock of Europe

The church tower and the nave of St. Peter do not have the same owner: Until the French Revolution the tower belonged to the former city republic of Zürich, since 1803 to the city of Zürich. Belfry and bells belong to the Reformed Church of the canton of Zürich, as well as the staircase leading to the tower. The church tower was primarily used for fire police duties, and 1340 AD the first fire guard was set in duty. In the pre- and early Romanesque area, St. Peter had no church tower, i.e. the first massive three-storey tower was built in early 13th century AD. The first floor with Romanesque ribbed vault dates back to that period. In 1450 the tower was increased to (as of today) and a pitched (helmet) roof was attached. That high part of the tower was in 1996 re-covered with 42,000 larch shingles from the Engadine valley, since then being the only wooden roof in Zürich. Towards the end of the 13th century a mechanical church clock was installed. In 1366 it was renewed and got one only dial that was directed towards the Limmat and only displayed the hours. Around 1460, the sense of time has been refined by half on the quarter-hour strike, and in 1538 the striking clock was replaced, and all four facades got dials. Replacements of the clock mechanism followed in 1593/94 and 1675 and 1826. In 1844 a new movement with quarter-hour strike was installed; the electrification of the work was carried out in 1873. In 1972 the balance was replaced by a fully automatic master clock in the clock room of the St. Peter's tower, and in 1996 the electrified mechanical movement of 1844 was shut down and replaced by a central computer system. The clock tower of St. Peter was for centuries Zürich's 'official local time', and all public city clocks had to conform to it. The church clock of St. Peter has the largest tower clock face in Europe, the outer diameter of each of the four church clocks measures , the minute hand , the hour hand , and the minute crack of the large pointer measures .


Pipe organ

The pipe organ was installed in 1974 by ''Mühleisen Manufacture d´orgues'' from Strasbourg. It was revised in 1992, 1994 and 1997. The slider chests instrument has 52 registers on three manuals and 32 pedals.


St. Peterhofstatt

Around the 1st century BC
La Tène culture The La Tène culture (; ) was a European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age Hallstatt culture without any defi ...
, archaeologists excavated individual and aerial finds of the Celtic- Helvetii oppidum Lindenhof, whose remains were discovered in archaeological campaigns in the years 1989, 1997, 2004 and 2007 on Lindenhof,
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 ...
and Rennweg-
Augustinergasse ''Augustinergasse'' is a medieval lane that today is part of the innercity pedestrian zone of Zürich, Switzerland. It is named after the former Augustinian Abbey that is now Augustinerkirche, the former church of the convent that was disestabl ...
, and also in the 1900s, but the finds mistakenly were identified as Roman objects. Not yet archaeological proven but suggested by the historians, as well for the first construction of the today's Münsterbrücke Limmat crossing, the present Weinplatz square was the former civilian harbour of the Celtic-Roman ''
Turicum Turicum was a Gallo-Roman settlement at the lower end of Lake Zurich, and precursor of the city of Zürich. It was situated within the Roman province of Gallia Belgica (from AD 90 Germania Superior) and near the border to the province of Raetia; ...
''. Assumed to be the oldest parish church of Zürich, ''St. Peterhofstatt'' is St. Peter's adjoint plaza, analogously meaning the
royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...
at St. Peter.


Gallery

File:Zürich - Lindenhof - St. Peter IMG 2031.jpg, The church tower as seen from the
Lindenhof hill The Lindenhof (lit.: ''courtyard of the lime'') is a moraine hill and a public square in the historic center of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has historically grown. The ...
File:Ansicht vom Lindenhof auf das Ziffernblatt der Kirche St. Peter in Zürich 2011-08-01.jpg, Europe's largest church clock face File:Zürich - St Peter - Brun IMG 6202 ShiftN.jpg,
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 ...
's gravestone File:Zürich - St Peter IMG 6194 ShiftN.jpg, The
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
towards the apse File:Zürich - St Peter IMG 6199 ShiftN.jpg, Remains of the fresco inside the apse File:Zürich - St Peter IMG 6200 ShiftN.jpg, The
church organ Carol Williams performing at the United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. ...
and ceiling File:Zürichsee - Bürkliplatz IMG 3056.JPG, The church towers of St. Peter and
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 ...
(to the right) as seen from Bürkliplatz File:Zürich - St Peter - Sicht vom Grossmünster Karlsturm IMG 6427.JPG, St. Peter as seen from
Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation f ...
church tower St. Peter Zürich - Grossmünster 2014-10-29 11-50-03 (P7800).JPG, St. Peter as seen from
Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation f ...


Literature

* Peter Ziegler: ''St. Peter in Zürich. Von den Ursprüngen bis zur heutigen Kirchgemeinde''. Buchverlag NZZ, Zürich 2006


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Peter, Zürich Peterkirche Peterkirche Peterkirche Zurich Peterkirche 18th-century architecture in Switzerland