No. 4 to Rudolf-Brun-Brücke
No. 3 to Neumarkt
from there approx. 5 minutes’ walk to the venue
There are no parking spaces available.
Urania car park, with disabled parking spaces (5 minutes walking distance)
Zähringer car park, without disabled parking spaces (1 minute walking distance)
Given its historic nature, Schauplatz Brunngasse is only partially barrier-free. We would be happy to assist any guests with disabilities who would like to visit.
Schauplatz Brunngasse is located on the first floor (above the ground floor). It does not have an elevator and can only be reached via a relatively long and steep stairway. During our opening hours, a member of the museum team is on hand to assist people with disabilities who are able to climb stairs. Information and images of the murals can be found on our website (in German and English).
The stop nearest the museum is “Rudolf-Brun-Brücke” where people with mobility impairments can board or leave the tram without assistance. Tram no. 4 runs to the stop from Zurich’s main train station and from the “Tiefenbrunnen” station. As a rule, every other tram has low-floor access. The streets leading to the museum are slightly inclined, partially paved with cobblestones, and uneven.
Located 450 meters from the museum, “Parkhaus Urania” has parking spaces for people with disabilities. The streets leading to the museum are slightly inclined, partially paved with cobblestones, and uneven.
The museum offers no tactile orientation points for people with visual impairments. The floor is uneven in some places. We recommend visiting the museum with a companion. Visitors can experience the murals at the museum through descriptions provided by a member of our staff or by an audio guide. Guide dogs and other assistance dogs are welcome at Schauplatz Brunngasse.
Some of the printed information available at the museum is in German and English. Our staff members can communicate with visitors in both languages.
An overview of the accessibility and barrier-free features of Schauplatz Brunngasse can be found on the Ginto app.
Would you like to learn more about the murals as part of a private group? Simply book a guided tour (approx. one hour) to discover the fascinating history of Schauplatz Brunngasse and its former residents.
As a venue for extracurricular learning, Schauplatz Brunngasse offers an ideal introduction to Zurich’s medieval history, as well as insights into how different religious groups have coexisted within society. During the educational outreach program “Zu Besuch bei Frau Minne: Jüdisches Leben im mittelalterlichen Zürich” (Visiting Frau Minne: Jewish Life in Medieval Zurich), school students participate in a walking tour to explore the old town and its religious sites. Afterwards, they take an interactive and playful look at Schauplatz Brunngasse and its history.
The educational program is geared towards Curriculum 21 (RKE 3.2.a–c, RKE 4.1.a–c, RKE 4.2.a–d, RKE 4.3.c, RKE 4.4.a–d, RKE 4.5.a) and the general curriculum for secondary schools. During the tour, students also engage with challenging topics such as the persecution and murder of members of Zurich’s first Jewish community.
From the 13th to the 15th century, Froschaugasse 4 housed the religious meeting place for Zurich’s first and second Jewish communities. The first Jewish community was annihilated in 1349 following accusations that it had spread the plague. A second community existed until all of Zurich’s Jewish residents were expelled from the city in 1436. The building known as the “Judenschuol” became the private property of Christian owners. It was renamed the “Burghof” in the 18th century.
It is known that a Jewish cemetery existed in the Middle Ages during the time the second Jewish community settled in Zurich (1350–1436). The cemetery was located beyond the city walls, although the exact site is difficult to determine. After the expulsion of the second Jewish community in 1436, the cemetery was used for agricultural purposes until the 17th century. In Judaism, graves are supposed to remain undisturbed for all of eternity, a practice that was violated, with gravestones sometimes being used as building material. An extension of Zurich’s Kunsthaus art museum was planned for the site in 2015, an undertaking that was initially controversial since the construction work could have disturbed human remains.
Other Jewish households existed near Froschaugasse and Brunngasse between the 13th and 15th centuries.
The street Brunngasse got its name from the former “Zübelibrunnen,” Zurich’s first flowing artesian well. It was possibly built as early as the 13th century. Pipes – known locally as “Zuben” or “Tubi” – were used to bring spring water from Zürichberg hill to the city’s old town.
Moyse von Bern, who was Jewish, resided in the house “Zum Grossen Propheten” (The Great Prophet) at Froschaugasse 10 before 1349. A document from 1350 records the sale of the house to the city’s mayor, Rudolf Brun – a transaction that can be seen as a direct result of the pogrom the year before. In a later bill of sale from 1359, Frau Minne is listed as a neighbor. She survived the persecution but, after 1359, all traces of her disappear.
Around 1400, members of the second Jewish community purchased the houses at Froschaugasse 1 and 3 and Rindermarkt 23. Froschaugasse 3 was referred to in historical sources as “Jsrael, juden hus” (Israel, Jewish house) until 1417. In 1436, all members of the second Jewish community were expelled from the city. Hans Altenburg acquired this group of houses. The current name – “Zur Hinteren Alten Burg” (The Rear Old Castle) – can be traced back to him.
This house is located at Brunngasse 2, on the corner next to Niederdorfstrasse 8/10. The building dates from the 12th century. In the 14th century, it was owned by the Manesse family. Rüdiger II Manesse, who died in 1304, commissioned the “Codex Manesse,” an extensive collection of medieval love songs. Around 1400, one of his descendants sold the house to Abraham Spyr, a member of the second Jewish community.
This house is located at what is today Brunngasse 6. In 1345, the neighboring property at Brunngasse 8 was sold. The bill of sale indirectly shows that a Jewish resident, Jakob von Klingnau, also lived here. He was most likely also killed in the pogrom of 1349. Brungasse 6 was acquired by the Order of St. John a few years after the pogrom, as was Brunngasse 8.
This house is located at Brunngasse 8 and is the main venue for Schauplatz Brunngasse. It is the only dwelling inhabited by a Jewish family in the Middle Ages that has been preserved in Europe. The murals can be traced directly back to the family of Frau Minne thanks to the Hebrew inscriptions. Other information can be found here.
The “Schauplatz Brunngasse” is part of the “Archäologischen Fenster”.
The minnesinger, or minstrel, Johannes Hadlaub is mentioned as a citizen of Zurich in documents dating from around 1300. In 1302, Hadlaub purchased a property at Neumarkt 1, where he lived until his death in 1340. He might have been involved in the compilation of the “Codex Manesse.” He himself is listed in the manuscript as a minnesinger. The illustrations in the codex and the murals in the Brunngasse, which bear a strong resemblance to each other, attest to a nostalgia for the past weddings of knights, minnesingers and noblewomen.
This bridge, completed in 1913, was originally called the Urania Bridge due to its proximity to the Urania Observatory. From the beginning, however, people were dissatisfied with the unusual name. In 1951, the bridge was renamed after Rudolf Brun, who had declared himself Zurich’s first mayor and sole ruler in 1336 during what is known as “Brun’s Guild Revolution.” The pogrom against the city’s first Jewish community took place while he was in office, in 1349. More recently, two attempts have been made to rename the bridge after Frau Minne or Moses ben Menachem, both of which were unsuccessful.
