Witikon old church

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Witikon old church

The Alte Kirche Witikon is an evangelical reformed church in the Witikon district . With its location at 629  m above sea level. M. it is the highest church in the city of Zurich .

history

The Old Church of Witikon was first mentioned in a document in 1270. It was originally a chapel dedicated to St. Otmar . In 1612 the church received its first roof turret . In 1768 the church was expanded to a spacious preaching room with a new, large choir . In the years 1820, 1889 and 1901 the church was redesigned again, with a new gallery , a new choir window and a new roof turret.

After a complete renovation in 1926, a sacristy was added in 1939–1940 and the church was equipped with new benches, wall panels and a new gallery parapet. In 1975 the choir was renovated and a new organ was installed on the east and north walls of the choir.

Building description

Arnold Gygi fountain

The old church of Witikon rises on a hilltop in the center of the historical core of Witikon. According to legends, there was once a Celtic cult site on the hilltop. The surrounding fields were in the 20th century in time with a ban on building occupied, so that the church could keep its distinctive appearance. The historic churchyard Witikon was built on the teardrop-shaped area around the church before the year 1000 . It is the oldest cemetery in the city of Zurich and is still in use. Because of the construction ban on the surrounding meadows, the churchyard could not be converted into a cemetery, so the new cemetery had to be built on Witikonerstrasse .

In front of the church there is a fountain with a round bowl and a kneeling figure by Arnold Gygi from 1938. The plan of the old Witikon church is a rectangular nave with a rectangular choir. The sacristy from 1948 is in the north, the entrances to the church are in the west and south. The interior of the church is kept simple and is finished with a flat wooden ceiling . The font dates from 1715, the choir windows were designed by Max Billeter in 1939. The western gallery parapet rounds off the interior.

organ

In 1970 the old church in Witikon received its present organ . It is an instrument with 15 sounding registers and an extract on two manuals and a pedal , which was built by the company Neidhart & Lhôte, St-Martin NE. In 1999 there was an overhaul by Orgelbau Metzler AG , Dietikon.

I Hauptwerk C – g 3
Reed flute 8th'
Principal 4 ′
recorder 2 ′
Sesquialtera II 2 2 / 3 '
Third (excerpt)
Mixture II 2 ′
II breastwork C – g 3
Dumped 8th'
Coupling flute 4 ′
Principal 2 ′
Chamois fifth 1 1 / 3 '
Cymbel 2 / 3 '
shelf 8th'
Pedal C – f 1
Sub bass 16 ′
Wooden principal 8th'
Dolkan 4 ′
bassoon 8th'

Trivia

During the Reformation, Witikon Wilhelm Röibli (approx. 1490–1559) preached in the old church. Because he fraternized with the Anabaptists , he was expelled from the country.

The Witiker Pastor Johann Jakob Wick (1522–1588) collected illustrated leaflets and single-leaf prints . The Wickiana Collection, named after him, is one of the most important news collections of the 16th century and comprises two dozen volumes that report on witches, murderers, atrocities of war, monsters and natural events.

In 1799, French troops under General André Masséna used the church hill of Witikon as a fortress. The Napoleonic troops were surprised by the Austrians and driven out of Witikon after fighting. Cannon balls from the armed conflict of 1799 are still walled in at two places on the outer wall.

See also

literature

  • Building Construction Department of the City of Zurich: Reformed Churches of the City of Zurich. Special inventory. Zurich 2006.

Web links

Commons : Alte Kirche Witikon  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Building Department of the City of Zurich: Reformed Churches of the City of Zurich. Special inventory. Zurich 2006, pp. 172–174.
  2. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger of December 1, 2016, p. 24.
  3. ^ Building Department of the City of Zurich: Reformed Churches of the City of Zurich. Special inventory. Zurich 2006, pp. 172–174.
  4. ^ Neidhart-Lhôte organ church Witikon. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  5. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger of December 1, 2016, p. 24.
  6. ^ Zurlaubiana, Acta Helvetica. Series 16 registers. Accessed December 2, 2016.
  7. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger of December 1, 2016, p. 24.
  8. ↑ Tages-Anzeiger of December 1, 2016, p. 24.
  9. ↑ Züri z'fuess. Out and about in Zurich-Witikon. Flyer from the City of Zurich. Retrieved December 2, 2016.

Coordinates: 47 ° 21 '27.3 "  N , 8 ° 35' 40.6"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and eighty-seven thousand three hundred and thirty-two  /  245836