25. October 2025
14:00 – 15:30
"Il faut repenser le plan de l'église"
St. Francis Church is considered a pioneering example of modern sacred architecture - a guided tour on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its consecration sheds light on the history of its construction, design and controversies.
St. Francis Church is considered a pioneering example of modern sacred architecture - a guided tour on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of its consecration sheds light on the history of its construction, design and controversies.
With Stefan Hess, historian
On June 25, 1950, the church of St. Franziskus am Pfaffenloh was consecrated. This was the first time that the Roman Catholic population in Riehen had a large place of worship, which was also centrally located. The building, designed by the well-known Zurich architect Fritz Metzger, with its trapezoidal nave, transverse oval choir and free-standing tower, subsequently became a model for many Catholic churches and is now one of the most important modern places of worship in Switzerland. The tour shows what makes the church so special and groundbreaking, both inside and out. It also discusses the major financing difficulties and the controversies that preceded the construction of the church and the completion of the interior in 1989.
Public guided tour from the "Riehen à point" series
Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.