Protestant Church of Horgen
The reformed church, built from 1780 to 1782 by Johann Jakob Haltiner, is the village’s most important landmark, with its unusual oval nave and the 70.5 meters high bell tower.
It was quite a remarkable endeavour to build this 42.5 meters long building with a cubic content of 15,000 m3 and only just 18 meters away from the next house!
Haltiner chose to deviate from the usual one-axis and narrow nave with choir and to choose a new form of church originating from the rococo style. He suggested the centre room whose design caused a huge change. The church was now a place of assembly for the people, crowding around the pulpit and putting Christening and Holy Communion in the centre of the gathered parish.
Horgen
The roof is a work of art, too: it’s a cantilever, beam-free roof – a bold construct which allowed the strut-free construction of the huge room.
The Vorarlberg artist Andreas Moosbrugger adorned the interior of the church with absolutely astounding rococo plasterings. It is almost certain that this highly talented plasterer has already been consulted when the church was still in the planning stages. The room and the adornments harmonise and seem to have grown with the construction.
