St. Peter, Zürich
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St. Peter is one of the four main churches of old Zürich, besides Grossmünster, Fraumünster and Predigerkirche.
Located next to the Lindenhof, the former Roman castle, it was built on the site of a temple to Iuppiter. 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 surive. Rudolf Brun, first independent mayor of the town, was buried here in 1360. The nave was rebuilt in 1460 in Gothic style. Prior to the reformation, St. Peter was the only parish church of the town, the rest being part of monasteries. The current building was consecrated in 1706 as the first church built under Protestant rule. Until 1911, the steeple was manned by a fire watch. Restauration 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 the World. 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 Swiss Reformed Church.
[edit] Literature
- Peter Ziegler: St. Peter in Zürich. Von den Ursprüngen bis zur heutigen Kirchgemeinde. Buchverlag NZZ, Zürich 2006
