Zurich
I
In Zurich, the Reformation clearly bears the hallmark of Huldreych Zwingli, who was appointed to the post of secular priest at the Grossmünster in 1519. Zwingli was far more radical in his thinking than Luther, for example, who was primarily concerned with eliminating abuses in the Church (the sale of indulgences). In contrast, Zwingli wanted the Church to only allow what it could justify on the basis of the Bible. As he was also a markedly politically inclined person, and favoured close co-operation between the Church and the middle classes, he rapidly became very influential in Zurich. The decisions on the three disputations concerning theological matters all went Zwingli’s way and resulted in the iconoclasm and – also in contrast to Luther – to the abolition of mass.
In the place associated with Zwingli’s activities, the Grossmünster, traces of the iconoclasm can still be seen today. It is probably of particular significance that the place where the rigorous reformer was active was where the Saints Felix and Regula had laid the foundation stone for Christianity in the city of Zurich with their martyrdom in the fourth century.
The Reformation in Bern is also attributable to the work of Zwingli, although his great political plans for getting rid of Catholicism failed completely because Luther did not want to pursue a common cause with Zwingli.
Das ist eine Reise wert:
Grossmünster Zürich