At Staffareheplatz

Open Church of St. Jacob at Staffarcherplatz
Zurich, Switzerland

"The English names "James" and "Jacob" are both derived from the Hebrew "Jacob". Many persons or places known locally as "Saint Jacob" (or similar) are often translated into English as "Saint James"." (Link 5.)

The first historical mention of the St. Jakob church dates to 1221. It was the site of the Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl in 1443. (Link 3.)

The Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl was a battle of the Old Zürich War that occurred on July 22, 1443, resulting in a defeat for Zürich....The commander of the Habsburg forces, Albrecht Freiherr von Bussnang, was killed behind the altar of the St. Jakob chapel. (Link 2.)

Choir Loft and Organ Pipes

Today " Open St. Jacob (is) in the center of Zurich, in the cheerful gear at Stauffacher, our church of  St. Jakob. From early morning to evening, you can enter it and enjoy the spirituality of the colorful church interior. Frankly, we are also in our focus: In addition to the Sunday services will also danced with us, yoga practicing, held concerts and theater performances, is shown and discussed art. We want to record the questions, the joys and hardships of the residents of the city and respond with our offer on it. The Open St. James is part of the Reformed parish Aussersihl." (Link 1.)

Steeple and Clock Tower

"Stauffacher is a tram junction  in Aussersihl, Zurich, next to theSt. Jakob church.. The tram stop was named after the street, which had been named for Werner Stauffacher in 1893.  (Link 3.) Werner Stauffacher was supposedly the name of the representative of the canton of Schwyz, one of the three founding cantons at the legendary Rütlischwur of 1291, as told by Aegidius Tschudi." (Link 4.)

*****

Photos: Taken in June 2014 by Richard Wilson while living and working in 

                 Basel, Switzerland.  His work also takes him across the border to small

                 towns in Germany.

Link 1: http://www.offener-st-jakob.ch/
Link 2:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_St._Jakob_an_der_Sihl
Link 3: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stauffacher
Link 4: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Stauffacherhttpr
Link 5: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Jacob_(disambiguation)

Prayer

God, be with persecuted Christians through out the world. Amen (SW.)