Zunfthaus zur Meisen, Guild house in Münsterhof, Switzerland

The Zunfthaus zur Meisen is a Rococo palace on Münsterhof square, built from 1752 and designed by David Morf, with a cour d'honneur and wrought-iron gates. Its facade was carved in 1755 by sculptor Franz Ludwig Wind, using Bollinger sandstone from quarries on the Obersee shore. Inside, ceiling and wall paintings by Johann Balthasar Bullinger, tiled stoves by Leonhard Locher and Hans Jakob Hofmann, and stucco ceilings by Tyrolean master Johann Schuler decorate the two guild rooms and the balcony hall between them.

Construction of the guild house began in 1752 on the site of the Alter Einsiedlerhof, first mentioned in 1268. The widows of two stonemasons underbid their male competitors and were awarded the contract. David Morf built the Rococo palace, completed in 1757, with a facade by sculptor Franz Ludwig Wind.

The building once served as a gathering place for guild members, the craftspeople and merchants who shaped Zurich's urban life. Today this connection to guild tradition is visible in the formal rooms and the craftsmanship of the interior decoration.

The venue offers multiple rooms suitable for various events with flexible seating arrangements depending on your needs. Plan ahead when visiting, as the space hosts regular bookings for both private and public occasions.

A rooftop observatory was used in 1759 to determine Zurich's exact geographical coordinates through astronomical measurements. This scientific work made the building an important reference point for mapping the city.