Reformierte Kirche Horgen, Reformed church in Horgen, Switzerland
The Reformed Church of Horgen is a cross-oval central-plan church built in 1782 to designs by Johann Jakob Haltiner, with stucco by Andreas Moosbrugger. Its plan is based on a circle 17 m in diameter, with two circles joined by arcs of double-diameter circles. The ceiling vault extends into the roof structure, and three sides have 17 m self-supporting galleries.
The building was completed in 1782 under the direction of Johann Jakob Haltiner and introduced a design without central support columns to the architecture of this region. The design was groundbreaking for Swiss churches and shows the advances in construction techniques of the late 1700s.
The stucco was made by the Vorarlberg artist Andreas Moosbrugger, who was 60 years old at the time and worked the ornaments out of the building itself rather than applying them on top. The result is a pure Rococo room of unusual fineness. The pulpit of 1890 is carved in Neo-Rococo style as a monument of the Reformation: an eagle lectern carries a scroll reading "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott", and the pulpit basket bears carved portraits of Zwingli (centre), Calvin (left) and Oekolampad (right).
The church sits in central Horgen and is open to visitors, easily reached by public transit from Zurich. The location is well-marked and offers a straightforward visit without special preparation.
The pulpit carved in 1890 carries an eagle holding a scroll inscribed "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott", the opening of Luther's hymn. Below it are carved portraits of Zwingli in the centre, Calvin on the left and Oekolampad on the right, making the pulpit a monument to the Reformation.
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