Our Zurich guide lists 10 places of worship, and most of the historic ones stand in the old town on both banks of the river Limmat. You can see the main churches in one short walk between the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster.
The twin-tower Grossmünster is the city's landmark church. Across the river at Münsterhof, the Fraumünster was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women, founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. Between the two, on a small island in the Limmat at the Limmatquai and the Münsterbrücke, stands the Wasserkirche, first mentioned around 1250 and again in 1256.
St. Peter is one of the four main churches of the old town, alongside the Grossmünster, the Fraumünster and the Predigerkirche, and the Augustinerkirche on Münzplatz was once one of five. The Synagoge Zürich Löwenstrasse, at Löwenstrasse 10, is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue built in 1884 in the Moorish Revival and Byzantine Revival styles; it is the oldest and largest synagogue in Zurich.
The guide also includes smaller chapels such as the Grossmünsterkapelle and the St. Anna-Kapelle, the IRGZ synagogue on Freigutstrasse and St. Andrew's Anglican Church on Promenadengasse. When visiting during services, dress respectfully and keep quiet.
Updated:
10 places in our guide
1. Grossmünster
Altstadt
Twin-tower landmark church.
2. Fraumünster
Münsterhof
The Fraumünster is a church in Zurich, Switzerland, which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women and which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard.
3. Wasserkirche
Limmatquai
The Wasserkirche in Zurich, first mentioned as ecclesia Aquatica Turicensi around 1250 and as wazzirkilcha in 1256, is a church built on a small island in the river Limmat, situated between the two main churches of medieval Zürich, the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster, at the Limmatquai and the Münsterbrücke.
4. St. Peter
St. Peterhofstatt
St. Peter is one of the four main churches of the old town of Zürich, Switzerland, besides Grossmünster, Fraumünster and Predigerkirche.
5. Augustinerkirche
Münzplatz
Augustinerkirche was once one of the five main churches in the old town of Zürich, Switzerland, together with Fraumünster, Grossmünster, Predigern and St. Peter's.
6. Synagoge ICZ Löwenstrasse
Löwenstrasse
The Synagoge Zürich Löwenstrasse is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, located at Löwenstrasse 10, Zürich, in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland. Built in 1884 in the Moorish Revival and Byzantine Revival styles, the building is the oldest and largest synagogue in Zürich.
7. Grossmünsterkapelle
Zurich
8. St. Anna-Kapelle
St. Annagasse
9. Synagoge IRGZ
Freigutstrasse
10. St. Andrew's Anglican Church
Promenadengasse
Questions travellers ask
- Which historic churches are in Zurich's old town?
- The guide includes the Grossmünster, the Fraumünster, St. Peter, the Wasserkirche and the Augustinerkirche.
- What is the history of the Fraumünster?
- It was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women, founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard.
- Where is the Wasserkirche?
- On a small island in the river Limmat, at the Limmatquai and the Münsterbrücke, between the Grossmünster and the Fraumünster.
- Is there a synagogue in central Zurich?
- Yes. The Orthodox Synagoge Zürich Löwenstrasse at Löwenstrasse 10 was built in 1884 and is the oldest and largest synagogue in the city. The guide also lists the IRGZ synagogue on Freigutstrasse.
- Is there an Anglican church in Zurich?
- Yes, St. Andrew's Anglican Church on Promenadengasse.