Zurich

Today we left Lucerne to head to Zurich.

Zurich

We left via, Lake Lucerne on a lake cruise. I was in Lucerne when I was 10 and remember taking a similar cruise. First thing, to get it out of the way (as it appears to be very important to the locals), we have been informed by 2 different guides that it isn’t really called Lake Lucerne, but rather Lake of the Four Forested Settlements (or something of the sort). I’m sticking to the anglicized version.

Lucerne from the lake

The lake is nestled among really green mountains on all sides. Today those mountains were covered with clouds, with some snow showing. Not the best for pictures, but still very pretty. It is interesting to see how there can be bright green grass, orange and yellow leaves, and white snow all in one place! We ended our boat ride in Vitznau and then took a scenic bus ride to Zurich.

Views along the lake

Countryside (with green, snow, and sheep)

Zurich was founded by the Romans in 15 BC and was then called Turicum. Earlier settlements have been found dating back more than 6400 years ago. Zurich was a prominent city in the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. It is obviously known today as a major financial center not only for Europe, but world wide. I can definitely attest to a very high extreme luxury car density here. (And our hotel is over a Maserati dealership.)

Zurich

We only had the afternoon/evening to explore as we fly home in the morning. We spent our time in the old town area, walking up and down cobblestones walkways. There are, not surprisingly, some prominent churches here. Fortunately for you, I ignored the “no photography” signs that showed up in some of them. I also had to avoid the “hall monitors” stationed around to watch for rebels like me.

Grossmunster

We started in the Grossmunster, a Romanesque church. According to legend, the initial church on this site was commissioned by Charlemagne. Construction of the building began around 1100 and it was inaugurated around 1220. The two towers were first erected between 1487 and 1492. Here’s some info completely and shamelessly lifted from Wikipedia:

“Huldrych Zwingli initiated the Swiss-German Reformation in Switzerland from his pastoral office at the Grossmünster, starting in 1520. Zwingli won a series of debates presided over by the magistrate in 1523 which ultimately led local civil authorities to sanction the severance of the church from the papacy. The reforms initiated by Zwingli and continued by his successor, Heinrich Bullinger, account for the plain interior of the church. The iconoclastic reformers removed the organ and religious statuary in 1524. These changes, accompanied by abandonment of Lent, replacement of the Mass, disavowal of celibacy, eating meat on fast days, replacement of the lectionary with a seven-year New Testament cycle, a ban on church music, and other significant reforms make this church one of the most important sites in the history of the reformation and the birthplace of the Swiss-German reformation.”

Sanctuary

Stained glass

Replica of a statue of Charlemagne from about 1450

Crypt of Grossmunster

Next we went to the Fraumunster Church which is built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853. In 1045, the king granted the convent the right to hold markets, collect tolls, and mint coins, and thus effectively made the abbess the ruler of the city. Eventually the political power of the abbess waned in the 1300s and the abbey was dissolved in the 1500s. The church today has very brightly colored stained glass windows (which are modern). There is a crypt under the church that dates to the earliest part of the abbey in the 800s.

Stained glass

Foundation of the early abbey in the crypt

Cloisters

We also made it to St Peter’s Church, which was built on a Roman temple to Jupiter in the 8th or 9th century. That building was replaced by an early Romanesque church around AD 1000, in turn replaced in 1230 by a late romanesque structure, parts of which still survive. The nave was rebuilt in 1460 in Gothic style and the current building was consecrated in 1706. The inside of this church was plain, but it does have a pretty clock tower.