St Peter’s Church

Here you are in front of St Peter’s Protestant Church. You’ve maybe noticed it’s quite different from the other churches in town. Inaugurated in 1706, this is the only Baroque church in Zurich. From here, but also from afar, you can easily read the time—which is normal, since the belltower’s clock is the biggest in Europe! Its face measures 9 meters in diameter. St. Peter’s Church is quite unique in that it has two owners: the nave and belltower belong to the parish, while the tower is owned by the city of Zurich. In the past, the city used the tower as a watchtower and to sound fire alarms. A place of worship has stood on this site since at least the 8th or 9th century. It was later replaced around the year 1000 by a new church, which was then rebuilt in the late Romanesque style two centuries later. Zurich’s first mayor is buried in this structure. For a long time, St. Peter’s Church was the only parish church in town, as the others belonged to monasteries. Restored in the 1970s, it is now listed as a site of Cultural Property.