Fraumünster

Another major church in Zurich is the Fraumünster, which you could translate as “the women’s abbey.” The name comes from a convent founded here in the 9th century by Charlemagne’s grandson. Legend has it that two royal sisters from Franconia, Hildegard and Bertha, chose to dedicate their lives to God and moved into a castle in the mountains north of the city. They would often come to Zurich to pray in a small chapel, guided at night by a deer with glowing antlers that God had given to them. One night, the deer showed them where to build a sacred site. King Ludwig later donated the abbey, which was first led by Hildegard then by her sister Bertha when she died. Though this legend isn’t written down, it’s depicted on a 13th-century mural once found inside the Fraumünster. The painting was sadly covered over with whitewash during the Reformation, then briefly rediscovered in 1850 and copied, and finally destroyed again when it was whitewashed a second time. During some renovations in the 2000s, a large colourful panel was placed over the site of the original, above the abbess’s niche. Legend aside, this Benedictine monastery was a princely abbey. The abbess could mint her own coins, control customs and markets, and wielded major political power over Zurich—this is what’s known as a prince-abbess. In the 14th century, she lost her right to appoint Zurich’s mayor but could still pardon criminals and overturn court rulings—so she still had a lot of power. Eventually, in 1400, Zurich received a bailiff, a representative of the empire, who came to enforce imperial law. The convent was officially dissolved in 1524 during the Protestant Reformation, and the church was stripped of its property and power. Part of the monastery was demolished in 1898 to make way for the nearby town hall. Today, with its iconic pale green spire visible from afar, the Fraumünster remains amongst Zurich’s most emblematic landmarks. There’s an entrance fee—unless you’ve got the Zurich Card—but the interior is worth it as you’ll find Chagall and Giacometti’s famous stained-glass windows, created in 1967.