Tower

In pre-Romanesque and early Romanesque times, the Church of St Peter did not have a tower. The first solid 3-storey tower was constructed at the beginning of the 13th century. The ground floor with Romanesque round-arched cross-ribbed vault still exists in its original form. The height was extended and a new spire was added around 1450.  The 24 metres high octagonal pointed spire sits atop the 40 m high tower.

42000 larch tiles

The spire was last newly roofed in the year 1996 using 42000 larch tiles from the region of Engadine. Until 1911, the tower was used as a watchtower by city firemen. The tower is still owned by the city of Zurich. The belfry and the bells belong to the church, as does the staircase that leads to the tower entrance and the church attic.

The clock

The first clock was installed on the tower in 1366. Its single clock face pointed towards the River Limmat and only showed the full hours. In 1460 the sense of time was refined from beating on the half hours to beating on the quarter hours. In 1538 four imposing clock faces were painted on all four façades of the fourth tower storey which was characterised by the Gothic style.

The clock mechanism

The new clock mechanism on the 3rd storey, by Hans Luterer, transferred the propelling force onto the hour hand using rods and wheels. This clock mechanism was replaced in 1593/94. In the year 1675 the striking mechanism was converted into a pendulum clock by F. Bachofen, thereby increasing its precision. Even in 1826, a clock mechanic still had to wind the clock several times a day using a pulley that lifted the weights.

New mechanism with quarter hour strike

At the same time as the clock face renovation in 1844, a new clock mechanism with quarter hour strike was installed by horologist for large clocks, Johann Rudolf Frech from Zurich. The mechanism was electrified in 1873. The balance wheel, the electric pulse generator, was located in the Haus zum Rüden.

Fully automatic master clock

In 1972 the balance wheel was replaced by a fully automatic master clock in the clock room of the St Peter tower. In 1996 the electric mechanical clock mechanism from 1844 was decommissioned. Its place was taken by a central computer system which controls the 4 pairs of hands directly on their axles.

The clock tower of St Peter originally displayed Zurich’s local time. All public city clocks had to comply with it. St Peter’s church tower has the largest tower clock face in Europe; its outside diameter measures 8.64 metres.

The bells

Until 1927 the bells of St Peter were rung by hand. Then an electrical ringing mechanism was installed for the large bell. In 1957 every bell received an electric motor. The five-part peal originates from the year 1879 and is composed as follows: 1. Mourning bell (Ab3), 2. Summoning bell, 11 o’clock bell (C4), 3. Prayer-time bell (Eb4), 4. Tocsin (Ab4), 5. Baptismal bell (C5).