Zurich

Felix and Regula (and their servant Exuperantius) were members of the Theban Legion, a Roman legion from Upper Egypt. They escaped the massacre at Agaunum (Saint-Maurice) and fled to Turicum (Zurich). Captured near the Lindenhof, they were tortured and beheaded at the site where the Wasserkirche now stands. According to legend, after beheading they picked up their own severed heads, walked 40 paces uphill, and lay down where the Grossmünster was later built. They became Zurich’s patron saints, depicted on the city’s coat of arms.

According to the chronicle of Heinrich Brennwald (1508–1516), Emperor Karl der Grosse erected a column with a bell at the Felix and Regula church — anyone could ring it to seek justice. One day, a giant snake rang the bell. The emperor followed it to its nest by the lake, where a fat toad had stolen the eggs. Karl judged in the snake’s favour and condemned the toad. Days later, the grateful snake dropped a precious gemstone into a golden goblet. The emperor had a church built at the nest site — the Wasserkirche.

The Sechseläuten is Zurich’s spring festival, held on the third Monday of April. The Böögg — a snowman effigy stuffed with firecrackers — is placed on a pyre at Sechseläutenplatz and lit at exactly 6 pm. The faster the Böögg’s head explodes, the better the coming summer. The fastest explosion was 5 minutes 7 seconds (2003); the slowest 26 minutes 28 seconds. Originally a masked carnival figure, the Böögg has represented winter itself since 1892, when the guilds took responsibility for the burning.

The Lindenhof is a moraine hill 20 metres above the Limmat, the oldest settled area of Zurich. Celtic settlers founded the settlement around 80 BC; tapping plates (casting molds for coin blanks) were found, identifying it as a coin-minting centre. The Romans built a fortress there, and in the 2nd century AD a public bathhouse with hypocaust heating stood nearby — its remains are visible today in the Thermengasse. Legend says treasure is buried under the linden trees.

Baker Wackerbold was caught baking underweight bread, charging full price for loaves that were too light. As punishment, he was placed in the Schnelli — a cage that was publicly dunked into the Limmat three times. The story illustrates medieval guild justice and consumer protection. In 1336, Rudolf Brun established the Zunftordnung (guild constitution), creating 13 guilds that controlled prices, wages, and quality standards.

The Fraumünster was founded on 21 July 853 by King Ludwig der Deutsche, who granted his daughter Hildegard a royal convent. In 1045, King Henry III gave the convent the rights to hold markets, collect tolls, and mint coins — making the abbess the ruler of the city. Today the church is famous for the 5 stained-glass windows by Marc Chagall (installed 1970) and the rose window by Augusto Giacometti (1945).

In 1045, King Henry III granted the Fraumünster convent the rights to hold markets, collect tolls, and mint coins — making the abbess the ruler of Zurich. For centuries, the Fraumünster abbess held more political and economic power than any other institution in the city — one of the most powerful ecclesiastical positions held by women in medieval Switzerland. The abbey’s power gradually waned as the guilds and city council gained strength.

According to legend, Emperor Karl was hunting in Germany when he spotted a magnificent white stag. He pursued it across all of Europe until the stag led him to Zurich. At the spot where Felix and Regula were buried, Karl’s horse suddenly knelt down, honouring the saints’ burial site. Karl recognised the divine sign and ordered the construction of the Grossmünster. Historical reality: the men’s monastery was confirmed by Emperor Karl III (the Fat), Charlemagne’s great-grandson, around 870.