Description of the attraction
St. Peter's Church is a famous architectural monument and the first Protestant church in the city of Zurich after the Reformation. It attracts tourists not only because it is the oldest temple in the city, but also installed in 1538 on the tower with a huge clock with the largest dial in Europe: 9m in diameter; the minute hand is almost 4m long.
The tower was also of great importance to the city earlier thanks to the fire watchmen, whose task was to observe the clock from the tower room and regulate its work, since other city clocks were oriented towards these. The tower was built in the 16th century, but the bells were hoisted on it only at the end of the 19th century. The bells played the role of a fire alarm.
The church was built in 1230 to replace two other temples that stood here in the 8th and 10th centuries. Initially, the architecture of the building was predominantly late Romanesque. In the 15th century, elements of the Gothic style were added, and even later, baroque galleries appeared. In the 18th century, the church became the first Protestant church in Zurich. Near the church, in front of the stairs at the entrance to the temple, there is a wonderful public garden with many trees.
Rudolf Brun, the first burgomaster of Zurich, was buried in this church. Leo Yud, a friend of Zwingli who helped him translate the Bible, is also buried here. The famous writer and philosopher Johann Kaspar Lavater lectured here.
Today St. Peter's Church is the church of a small community of the same name in the old part of the city.
