Grossmuenster Zurich

Also known as Grossmunster

Huldrych Zwingli stood in this church in 1519 and began the Swiss Reformation. The Grossmunster (Great Minster) is a Romanesque church (meaning the round-arch style that predated Gothic pointed arches, built in stone with massive walls and twin towers) dating from around 1100, and its twin towers define the Zurich skyline from every direction.

The Grossmunster is Zurich’s defining landmark and the site of the Swiss Reformation: Huldrych Zwingli began preaching here in 1519 and launched a theological break with Rome that ultimately influenced Calvinist and Reformed Christianity across Europe. The Romanesque twin towers (built from around 1100) are climbable for views over the Limmat and Lake Zurich. The church interior is intentionally austere, the result of Zwingli’s iconoclasm, with modern stained glass by Sigmar Polke providing the only visual richness. Free entry to the church; small fee for the tower. Directly opposite the Fraumunster across the Limmat.