St Peter, Zurich is one of the main churches located next to the Lidenhof, an old Roman castle. It is one among the four grand churches in Zurich after Grossmunster, Fraumunster and Predigerkirche. The old church was built on the site of a temple dedicated to Jupiter. The St Peter Church in Zurich is one of the prized national monuments and a sacred destination of Zurich. Hundreds of tourists come to visit this church all through the year.
The old church was built during the 8th and the 9th century. King Louis of Germany gifted this church to his two daughters, one of whom later on became the first abbess of the Fraumunster Church. The original church was replaced by a Romanesque Church around 1000 AD. Rudolf Brown, the first independent mayor of Zurich was buried inside the church in 1360. The central area of the church or the nave was rebuilt in a Gothic style in the year 1460. The impressive stucco work on St Peter Church done by Salomon Burkli is eye catching. A huge clock is mounted on the steeple of the
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St Peter's Church. The clock, with a diameter of 8.7 meters is considered to be the largest in whole Europe. The Five Bells mounted steeple date back to 1880. Leo Judd was the first reformed pastor of St Peter's church and later on J C Lavater succeeded him. After Lavater died, he was buried inside the church. The church wall bears the gravestone with his name inscribed on it. St Peter in Zurich features as the sole Parish church before reformation. Other churches were controlled by the monasteries.
At present, evening celebrations and Sunday services take place in this church. The church room is also available for various services like weddings, funerals or baptism. Sometimes religious concerts and festivities are also held here.
One of the peculiar features about this church is that, though the steeple of the church is owned by the city of Zurich the central area is owned by St Peter parish of the Swiss Reformed Church. St Peter Church at Zurich serves as a distinctive landmark in the city.
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