Fraumünster
For centuries the abbess here appointed Zurich's mayor, collected its tolls, and minted its coins — then Marc Chagall came along in 1970.
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Founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard, this Benedictine convent for aristocratic women once held direct imperial authority over the city. Power eroded with guild laws in 1336, and the abbey dissolved during Zwingli's Reformation in 1524. What remains is the church and its choir, where five monumental stained glass windows — each keyed to a single dominant color and a distinct Biblical scene — were installed by Marc Chagall in 1970.
What to look for
- Five Chagall stained glass windows in the choir (1970): the leftmost depicts Elijah's ascent to heaven; the next shows Jacob's combat — each window carries one dominant color
- Münsterhof square directly outside, the medieval marketplace named for the abbey and the commercial center of the old city
- The church building itself — the monastery that surrounded it was torn down in 1898 to make room for the Stadthaus next door
One of Zurich's four main reformed churches alongside the Grossmünster, Prediger, and St. Peter's; the Chagall windows are in the choir at the east end.
Fraumünster is one of 17 sights worth the detour in Zurich, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Zurich pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Zurich
- LetzigrundOn this track, on 21 June 1960, Armin Hary became the first person in history to run 100 metres in 10.0 seconds.
- Zürich HauptbahnhofSwitzerland's largest station runs 2,915 trains a day — and a river flows through it in a tunnel, with tracks both above and below.
- GrossmünsterThe church where Zwingli launched the Swiss-German Reformation in 1520 — and then his followers stripped out the organ and every statue to prove the point.
- Zürich Opera HouseThe first electrically lit opera house in Europe — built in 16 months, nearly razed by street riots, and winner of Opera Company of the Year at the 2014 International Opera Awards.
- Cabaret VoltaireHugo Ball borrowed a back room on Spiegelgasse in February 1916 and accidentally invented Dada — Lenin was renting a flat fourteen doors up the same street.
- Kunsthaus ZürichTwo buildings on opposite sides of Heimplatz, linked underground, housing one of Switzerland's most important art collections — the 2021 David Chipperfield sandstone block alone added over 80% more floor space.