FRAUMÜNSTER CHURCH

The Romanesque-Gothic church on the right bank of the Limmat is, together with the Grossmünster Cathedral, one of Zurich's landmarks. The church, with its Benedictine monastery, was founded in 853 by King Ludwig the German, whose two daughters, Hildegard and Berthe, were the first abbesses. The abbey was home to women of the European nobility, mainly from southern Germany. The church enjoyed royal favour and influence, including the right to mint Zurich's currency until the 13th century. Following the Reformation movement (1524), the church and convent became the property of the city of Zurich. The most interesting parts are the 18-metre high Romanesque choir and the transept vault. Today it is appreciated by many visitors for its magnificent stained glass windows, world-famous masterpieces that make it a place of art. The famous painter, engraver and sculptor Marc Chagall, born in Belarus and naturalized in France in 1937, executed the five stained glass windows in the choir in 1970 and the rose window in the south of the transept in 1980 at an advanced age. Augusto Giacometti, the uncle of the famous Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti, made the stained glass windows in the north window representing the four evangelists, God, the eight prophets and Christ in 1947. The cloister also features frescoes by the Zurich artist Paul Bodmer depicting the legend of the construction of the monastery. The organ of the Fraumünster, inaugurated in 1953, is the largest organ in Zurich with 5,793 pipes.