Grossmünster (church building) built

1201 CE.

Shown on the map at 47.370°, 8.544°.

The Grossmünster (German pronunciation: [ɡʁoːsˈmʏnstɐ]; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Swiss Reformed Church in Zurich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation forms part of the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich. The core of the present building, near the banks of the Limmat, was constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, which was, according to legend, originally commissioned by Charlemagne. Construction of the present structure commenced around 1100 and it was inaugurated around 1220. The Grossmünster was a monastery church, vying for precedence with the Fraumünster, across the Limmat, throughout the Middle Ages. According to legend, the Grossmünster was founded by Charlemagne, whose horse fell to its knees over the tombs of Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius, Zurich’s patron saints. The legend helps support a claim of seniority over the Fraumünster, which was founded by Louis the German, Charlemagne's grandson. Archaeological evidence confirms the presence of a Roman burial ground at the site.

Text from the Wikipedia article Grossmünster, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Everything else in 1201 CE

HistoryLayer draws the world as it was in any year from 123,000 BCE to 2026. Move the slider and the borders redraw for that year; the map carries 23,890 events, 12,790 people, 837 wars and 13,183 cities, each one readable in place. Signing in is optional and lets you keep what you find.

HistoryLayer
1914CE
World Wars
123,000 BCE2026 CE
54 stops — one per surviving map on file, evenly spaced drag the pin · ←→ steps one stop the same 54 stops by true elapsed time ↑
Map & filters
Show on the map
Filter
Colour by
Polity Empire