The Big Ben in Zurich

22 December 2021

The St. Peter Church (St. Peter Kirche) is the oldest in Zurich. The visible foundations date back to the ninth century. The originally Carolingian church was renovated in the 10th to 13th centuries in the Romanesque style.

The church played a crucial role in the Reformation in Zurich. The pastor Leo Jud (1482-1542) supported the reformer Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531).

The city council discussed with these reformers, who even won the argument. The city council agreed with the Reformation, and St. Peter’s became Protestant.

The baroque nave of the church replaced its Gothic predecessor in 1706. The late Romanesque tower and choir have been preserved.

However, the famous part is the church tower or the church bell. The church bell has a diameter of 8.7 metres and is thus the largest in Europe, bigger than Big Ben in London, which has a diameter of 7 metres.

(Source and further information: www.st-peter-zh.ch).