Switzerland Aupair: Dec 23, 2008

Lindsay and I decided one afternoon to tour the Grossmunter! It was so fascinating! However, we weren't able to stay long as Lindsay's flash continued to go off whenever she took a picture and so, lol, we were kicked out!!! I am hoping to go back when it gets warmer on a lovely day to go up the tower and get a lovely view of the city, as well as visit the Fraumunster and Peterkirche! The Grossmunster meaning "large minister" is a 12 century church.

Here is some of the history of the Grossmunster from http://www.sacred-destinations.com/switzerland/zurich-grossmunster.htm

"According to legend, the Grossmünster was founded by Charlemagne after his horse bowed down on the spot marking the graves of three early Christian martyrs."

"In the 3rd century, Felix and Regula were members of an all-Christian Roman legion that was to be executed en masse in southwest Switzerland. They fled with their servant Exuperantius and got as far as Zürich before being tried and executed in 286 AD."

"According to tradition, the governor plunged the three saints into boiling oil and forced them to drink molten lead. The trio still refused to renounce their faith and so were finally beheaded. The nearby Wasserkirche stands on the site of their execution."

"Impressively, the martyrs still had enough energy to pick up their heads and climb to the top of a hill, where they dug their own graves and buried themselves. (This impressive feat is more common than you might think -

St. Denis in Paris and St. Miniatus in Florence also carried their heads to a hilltop resting place.)"

"It was on this site that construction of the Grossmünster began in 1090, and most of it was completed by 1230. It was dedicated to the martyrs Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius, the patron saints of Zürich. From the 13th century, images of the saints carrying their heads were used in official seals of the city and on coins (they still appear on the seal of Zürich)."

"On the saints' feast day (September 11), their relics were carried in procession between the Grossmünster and the

Fraumünster, and the two churches vied for possession of the relics. The remains of the martyrs made Zürich the most important pilgrimage site in the area. The relics are now divided between a church in Andermatt and the new Church of St. Felix and Regula in Zürich."

"As usual, modifications to the original church building continued over the following centuries. The north tower (which holds the bells) was taller than its south counterpart until the 15th century, when the south tower was heightened to match. A statue of a seated Charlemagne was added to the newly completed south tower (the original can be seen in the crypt)."

"The cathedral reached perhaps even greater prominence through a man who had no use for saints or relics - Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531), a contemporary of Luther and one of the great leaders of the Reformation. "

"Preaching for 12 years from Grossmünster's pulpit, Zwingli called for religious freedom, encouraged priests to get married (as he had done), attacked idolatry and denounced the Mass. In 1524, he ordered all altar paintings and church treasures removed from the church."
"Under Zwingli, the small town of Zürich became a major religious center that attracted students and theologians from near and far. By 1529, the Swiss cities of

Bern, Basel and St. Gallen had all adopted the Reformation."

"In 1531, Zwingli was killed during a war between Catholics and Protestants at Kappel. Unlike the founding figures of the cathedral, he left no relics: his body was quartered and then burnt with dung. The site of Zwingli's death is marked with the inscription: "They may kill the body but not the soul." The leadership of the Reformation in Switzerland soon passed to John Calvin in Geneva."