170 Zurich, Switzerland, Grossmünster and tingly Zwingli

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Zurich, Switzerland, Grossmünster and tingly Zwingli


Twelfth to fifteenth  century Romanesque church in local sandstone. Big. Fabulous doorpanels with scenes from the Bible and quotes from Jesus in monumental, chiseled, sans-serif typeface. Lovely modern stained glass, and bas reliefs of the evangelists.


I was there on, if not for, the 500th anniversary of the Zurich disputations, which were a series of public debates held in this church in order to decide how Protestant the town was going to be. These were carried out in German, so all the townspeople could understand. In the first disputation, the Catholics lost (their line was “only the Pope and his mates can decide this, let’s go for a pint instead).


After that the town council decreed that all preaching in the city must be based only on the Bible (so no more Lenten fasts, clerical celibacy or golden chalices). The second disputation cut down on statues a lot, and the third decided baptizing babies was okay. Normally in neigbouring regions, princes had decided what religion was best for their subjects. The Zurich disputation was amazing because it was all decided by hundreds of (elite) citizens instead. And the leading protestant preacher was Zwingli. This verse will help you remember:


In Zurich, the Council was called,

Where the bishops were quickly appalled. 

With a gruff  voice, our  Zwingli, 

Made spines feel quite tingly, 

As the statues and idols were hauled.


Before that, according to legend, Charlemagne had the first church in Zurich built on this site.

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