Kirche Auf der Egg, Modern church in Wollishofen, Switzerland.
Kirche Auf der Egg is a Reformed church built in 1935–1936 by Walter Henauer and Ernst Witschi on the Egg hill above Wollishofen. Its west end is rounded, the facades are clad in shell limestone slabs, and a block-like bell tower with open sound openings and a clock without a dial stands beside the main front. Otto Charles Bänninger carved the stone reliefs of Christ with the apostles and an angel on the facade.
Wollishofen had a chapel from 1281 and the Old Church from 1702; after incorporation into Zurich in 1893 the population grew. A 1930 ideas competition and a 1931 architecture competition, won by Walter Henauer and Ernst Witschi, led to construction of the church in 1935–1936. Architect Alfred Trachsel carried out a thorough renovation in 1989.
The church's name comes from the Egg hill where it stands; the old farming village chapel is documented from 1281. Since 2014 the parish has run the KunstKlangKirche project here, combining art, music and an organ centre. The organ, built in 1937 by Orgelbau Kuhn, has 42 registers, and the choir gallery hidden behind wooden slats lets music be heard but barely seen.
The tower is accessible only from outside and has no visible spire, just a rooster on top. Inside, a walkway runs around the whole church, unusual for a Reformed building, leading from the foyers to the worship space. The organ and choir gallery sits hidden behind wooden slats above the pulpit, so musicians are heard rather than seen.
The organ and choir gallery sits above the pulpit, hidden from the nave by wooden slats, so musicians are heard but hardly seen during services and concerts. The hollow wooden rods between gallery and nave, the wood-panelled walls and the coffered ceiling give the room its acoustics.
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