Zurich is not particularly renowned for its Catholicism. The reformer Huldrych Zwingli succeeded in converting most of the city to his version of Protestantism during the course of the Reformation. Catholics in Zurich, as in Scandinavia, Britain, and other Protestant nations, were largely marginalized until the mid Nineteenth Century. Yet, there are some Catholic gems to be found even in iconoclastic Zurich. This church, in Zurich's fashionable Hottingen neighborhood, was built at the beginning of the Twentieth Century. Karl Moser, the foremost proponent of the Art Nouveau (or Jugendstil) in Switzerland, was the architect.
It's reserved exterior is quite handsome. It preserves the traditional facade of a church, while introducing bits of modernity in terms of the detailing and the materials. It is a very elegant exercise in architectural continuity. The tower is especially lovely, and bears a striking resemblance to the campanile on the campus of Cornell University.
The interior provides many lessons on how church architects today, often faced with tight budgets, might make the most of a parish's resources. It is not overdone in terms of ornament, yet the ornamental scheme that is employed is sound, unified, and beautiful.
Expensive materials are used sparingly around the sanctuary, while the remainder of the iconography is basically all painting. Yet, the richness of the colors and the clear orientation of the painting prevent it from seeming too "tacked on" to the whole. It is a shame that a meager Ikea-table-altar is used instead of the magnificent original high altar.
