Wasserkirche

A church built on a martyrs' island, the Wasserkirche stands beside the river Limmat in the centre of Zurich, on a spot that was once a small islet in the water, from which it takes its name, the water church. Tradition holds it as the place where the city's patron saints, Felix and Regula, were executed.

The present late Gothic building dates from 1479 to 1484, replacing earlier churches on the same sacred ground. According to legend the beheaded saints Felix and Regula, along with their companion Exuperantius, carried their own heads uphill to the site of the Grossmünster before being buried; the Wasserkirche marks the place of their martyrdom and was long a pilgrimage destination.

The Reformation nearly ended the church. After Zurich embraced the reforms of Huldrych Zwingli in the sixteenth century, veneration of relics ceased and the deconsecrated building was put to secular use, for a time housing the city library. The land around it was gradually filled in, so that the former island church now stands directly on the riverbank, connected to the streets. It has since been restored as a place of worship and features modern stained glass by Augusto Giacometti.

Set between the Grossmünster and the Limmatquai, the Wasserkirche is easy to include in a walk through the historic centre, close to the Rathaus and the lake. The statue of the Reformer Zwingli stands just outside. Entry is free when open, and the intimate interior with its luminous glass rewards a short visit. As a place that ties together Zurich's early Christian legend and its pivotal role in the Reformation, the church carries far more history than its modest size suggests.