Fraumünster Kreuzgang

Fraumünster Kreuzgang forms part of the Fraumünster Abbey complex in Zurich, linking medieval architecture with the city’s modern civic identity.

Gustav Gull redesigned the cloister around 1900 for Zurich. Its main visual feature is Paul Bodmer’s fresco cycle, created between 1924 and 1941 with al fresco and al secco techniques. The paintings cover entrance, Gothic, and Romanesque sections.

The entrance frescoes present Hildegard and Berta, royal sisters associated with the abbey’s legendary foundation beside the Limmat. Another cycle depicts Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius in Zurich. Bodmer’s Romanesque-wall scenes feature Charlemagne, a snake, the abbey school, and relics connected with Zurich’s patron saints. Subdued colours make these upper paintings resemble large coloured drawings.

The courtyard also contains Anna Maria Bauer’s 2004 copper sculpture commemorating Katharina von Zimmern, Zurich’s last abbess. Stacked copper blocks echo the church’s stonework in the courtyard. Together, the cloister’s architecture, frescoes, and sculpture record religious, artistic, and civic stories from Zurich’s history. The space sometimes hosts wedding celebrations after civil ceremonies.