Fraumünster

The Fraumünster, with its slender spire on the left bank of the Limmat, began as an abbey for women of the high nobility. King Louis the German, a grandson of Charlemagne, founded it in 853 for his daughter Hildegard, who became its first abbess. The abbey enjoyed royal favour, and Elisabeth von Wetzikon, abbess from 1270 to 1298, led it during its most powerful period. Its abbesses held the right to mint Zurich's coins until the 13th century. Katharina von Zimmern was the last abbess, and after the Reformation the abbey passed into the city's possession.

Most visitors come for the glass. In the choir, Marc Chagall's cycle of five tall windows, installed in 1970, fills the Romanesque choir with colour. Each window has a dominant colour and a biblical theme: the prophets, Jacob, Christ, Zion and the Law. Chagall also designed the rose window in the south transept. In the north transept, Augusto Giacometti's window of 1940 rises about nine metres. The church's organ, with 6,959 pipes, is the largest in the canton, and concerts are held regularly.

The Romanesque choir and the high-vaulted transept survive from the medieval church. Below the church, the crypt was sealed after a renovation in 1900 and reopened to the public in 2016. It holds foundations from the 9th century and a small exhibition on the abbey and the Reformation. The cloister has a fresco cycle by the Swiss painter Paul Bodmer, and the nave was last remodelled in 1911.

Visiting is simple. There is a small charge for adults; children up to 16, students and Zürich Card holders enter free. Hours change between the summer season and winter, and on Sundays the church opens only after the service, so check the official website before you go. Allow 30 to 45 minutes for the windows, the crypt and the cloister, and try to avoid service times.

The church stands on the Münsterhof, once the main square and marketplace of the medieval town. Paradeplatz and Bahnhofstrasse are two minutes' walk west, the Grossmünster is just across the river, and St. Peter, with its huge clock face, is just up the lane to the north.