Discover a side of Zurich that most visitors never see.
Behind the picturesque façades of the Old Town lies a history of imprisonment, torture, witch trials, religious persecution, public punishment and execution.
On this private historical walking tour, discover how justice worked in medieval and early modern Zurich – from arrest and interrogation to judgement and punishment.
Begin near the site of the vanished Wellenberg, the prison tower that once stood isolated in the River Limmat. For centuries, prisoners were held and interrogated there. In serious criminal cases, torture could be used as a judicial means of obtaining confessions.
Continue to Zurich's Town Hall, where the city's political authorities also acted as judges in serious criminal cases. Learn how closely political power, religion and justice were connected in the old city-state.
Hear about Zurich's witch trials and the people who were imprisoned, tortured and condemned. Between 1487 and 1701, more than 80 women and men were sentenced to death for witchcraft in the old Zurich territory.
The tour also explores the darker side of the Reformation. Discover the persecution of the Anabaptists, the execution of Felix Manz in the River Limmat, and the roles played by Huldrych Zwingli, Heinrich Bullinger and Zurich's ruling authorities.
One of the tour's central stories is the dramatic fall of mayor Hans Waldmann. Once one of the most powerful men in Zurich, he was arrested in 1489, imprisoned in the Wellenberg and executed only days later outside the city, in the area of today's Stadelhofen.
From the political centre of Zurich, follow part of the route once taken by condemned prisoners. Discover the former home of Zurich's executioner near today's Paradeplatz and learn how prisoners were led out of the city towards different execution grounds.
Public punishment was not only about killing a convicted person. It was also a demonstration of authority, designed to be seen.
This is not a ghost tour. There are no invented legends or supernatural stories. The tour is based on historical sources, court records and documented events, told as closely as possible to the places where they happened.
Experience Zurich's beautiful Old Town from an entirely different perspective – a city where power, fear, religion and justice were once closely intertwined.
