46 Churches to Explore in Switzerland

The Convent of St Gall, a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery, was, from the 8th century to its secularization in 1805, one of the most important in Europe. Its library is one of the richest and oldest in the world and contains precious manuscripts such as the earliest-known architectural plan drawn on parchment. One of the famous tourist and pilgrimage centers and this area and is a worth visit.

The old church Lungern is located in the municipality of Lungern in the canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Only the tower remains of the former church. During the renovation in 1989, a staircase with 78 steps was built in, and the tower has served as an observation tower ever since. The viewing platform provides a view of the Lungerersee and the surrounding mountains Turren, Sädel, Güpfi and Gibel.

Basel's medieval cathedral is situated on a hill high above the river Rhine which has been inhabited even before the Age of Romans. The Romans had a fortress on this hill. Excavations in this site show traces of settlements of 1st C BCE. it adds definition to the cityscape with its red sandstone architecture and colored roof tiles, its two slim towers, and the cross-shaped intersection of the main roof. The Swiss inventory of the cultural property of national and regional significance lists the

The Basilica of Notre-Dame, built between 1852 and 1857. It is the main place of worship for Geneva's Catholic community. Located near the Cornavin railway station, pilgrims stop there on their way to Santiago de Compostela. In June 1875, after the anticlerical government came to power, the Basilica was occupied, then closed. In 1911, the Catholic Church was able to buy it back. Made of sandstone, its architecture was inspired by the 13th-century Gothic style.

The Roman Catholic Our Lady of Assumption Church, also known as the Red Church, stands in the Swiss city of Neuchâtel in the diocese of Lausanne, Geneva, and Freiburg. The Neo-Gothic church was planned by Guillaume Ritter and consecrated on March 25, 1906. After a major renovation between 1984 and 2000, it was recognized in 1986 as a national monument. In 2007 Pope Benedict XVI raised the church's status to that of basilica minor.

The Cathedral of Saint Lawrence is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland. It was founded in the High Middle Ages but rebuilt in the late 15th century, with the façade completed in 1517. It is the seat of the Diocese of Lugano and dedicated to Saint Lawrence of Rome. One of the famous pilgrimage centers in this area and also a famous tourist destination too.

The church of Santa Maria Degli Angeli is a late Romanesque religious building located in Lugano Centro. The church, which was originally part of a Franciscan monastery, is home to Switzerland's most famous Renaissance fresco. It covers the whole wall of the nave. The "Passion and Crucifixion of Christ" is defined by the great expressiveness and vividness of the individual scenes.

The St. Peter Church is the oldest parish church in Zurich – with the original 9th-century foundation walls still seen today beneath the chancel. This church has the largest church clock face in Europe. Until 1911 the church tower was used as a fire watch post.

This is the seat of the Swiss reformist catholic church in Switzerland, formed in 1871. The cathedral is comparatively modern, having been built next to the city hall between 1858 and 1864, and was the result of an international design competition, won by a group of architects including Frenchman Pierre Joseph Edouard Deperthes, the architect of the Hôtel de Ville in Paris.

The Protestant Church of the Holy Spirit is located near the Main Train station building. It was built in the Baroque style by the Knights Hospitallers of the Holy Spirit. It was founded in 1726 on the site of an earlier Christian Church. The Church was originally built as a Protestant temple, and eventually became one of the most remarkable Protestant churches in Switzerland.

The Collegiate Church of Neuchâtel is built in yellow limestone from Hauterive, bright and solid. Its work began at the end of the 12th century, it was dedicated a hundred years later in 1276, which explains why we can observe the passage from Romanesque art to Gothic art.

The Convent of Müstair, which stands in a valley in the Grisons, is a good example of Christian monastic renovation during the Carolingian period. It has Switzerland's greatest series of figurative murals, painted c. A.D. 800, along with Romanesque frescoes and stuccoes.

A most important site of Roman Catholic pilgrimage in Switzerland. Founded by the Benedictine monk and hermit Saint Meinrad around c. 835 CE, Einsiedeln Abbey has been the site of Marian devotion in Switzerland for over a thousand years. It is arguably the most impressive monastic structure in Switzerland. It is a territorial abbey and, therefore, not part of a diocese, subject to a bishop. It has been a major resting point on the Way of St. James for centuries.

A church in Zürich that was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard.

This church is a landmark of Zurich. Legend has it that the church was built on the graves of the city’s patron saints, Felix and Regula. the Grossmünster church was the starting point of the Swiss-German Reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli and Heinrich Bullinger. The theological college then annexed to the monastery spawned what is now the University of Zürich.

Hauterive Abbey is the oldest working Romanesque abbey. It is possible to visit the Romanesque church with its Gothic choir. Exceptional stalls provide seating for the monks. The abbey's history began in 1131, at an isolated site, when a local nobleman donated his lands to build a monastery. The church, built between 1150 and 1160, is a fine example of medieval architecture. It has a Romanesque structure and a Gothic choir.

St. Leodegar was founded in the mid-8th century, part of the monastery which in turn founded Lucerne. St. Leodegar's white stone interior is generously furnished with gilt statuary and altars. Ornate wooden pews comprise the south half of the sanctuary, while simpler wooden seats occupy the north, a reminder of an earlier time when wealthy and poor parishioners worshiped apart.

Lucerne's Jesuit Church is the first large baroque church built in Switzerland north of the alps. First and foremost is an expression of the Catholic Church's 17th century struggle to regain spiritual leadership in the counter-reformation At the same time it does show, that the Catholics then refused to accept any discussion on major points of criticism by the protestant churches.

The St. Laurenzen Church is a federal monument and is considered a monument of national importance. It was built between 1850 and 1854 in neo-Gothic style. After climbing the tower, you will have a wonderful view over the roofs of St.Gallen. The church takes its name from the martyr Lawrence of Rometo whom it was dedicated to. It is classified as a building worthy of national protection and, as a monument of national importance, is therefore under federal monument protection.

Königsfelden Monastery is a former Franciscan double monastery, which housed both a community of Poor Clare nuns and one of the Franciscan friars, living in separate wings, in the municipality of Windisch in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It was founded in 1308 by the Habsburgs. In the course of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland in 1528, it was secularized, and the complex was then the residence of the bailiffs of Bern.