The Big Ben in Zurich

22 December 2021

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

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 a Protestant church.

The church’s baroque nave 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).