500 years of Reformation, peasant uprisings and the Anabaptist movement in the Zurich Oberland – a journey through time

In the context of Anabaptism@500 Zurich
Friday, May 30, 2025, 9 am - 6 pm

Organization subject to sufficient interest

At the end of April 1525, the Rüti monastery and the Bubikon Ritterhaus (commandery of the Order of St. John) were occupied and plundered by peasants; shortly afterwards, a catalog of demands with religious, political and economic complaints was sent to the city of Zurich, based on Zwingli's new ideas of the Reformation. A bloody escalation similar to the German Peasants' War seemed to be in the offing. Anabaptist figures such as Conrad Grebel, Jörg Blaurock and Felix Manz were also active in the Zurich Oberland during these months. The year 1525 is therefore regarded as the key year of the Zurich Reformation – with an initially completely open outcome. Would a more rural, peasant or a more religiously radical, Anabaptist orientation of the Reformation have been conceivable? One of the centers of this controversy was the Zurich Oberland. It was here that the rural protest movement originated, combined with the beginnings of Anabaptism, which remained alive here for a long time despite all the persecution – starting with the arrests of Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz.

Various places remind us of this turbulent history, from Grüningen Castle, the seat of the bailiff and the place where Konrad Grebel lived as a child, to the Rüti Monastery and the Bubikon commandery, the Dürnten country church, the hamlet Girenbad and the Anabaptist cave near Bäretswil. A journey through time in a historic vintage bus takes you to these historical sites and presents the history of the Reformation in the countryside from an unusual perspective. How did the riots in the Oberland come about in 1525? How justified were the demands? And why did the Oberland become an Anabaptist region and remain so for a very long time? These and other questions are discussed and explained at selected historical sites.

Organization
Matthias Hui, theologian / editor Neue Wege, hui@neuewege.ch,
Peter Niederhäuser, historian

Meeting point
9.00 am, bus terminal Sihlquai Zurich (near the main railway station) – end approx. 6.15 pm Zurich

Costs
CHF 60-120, depending own bus/rented bus, lunch with regional products and number of participants; max. 30 participants

Mobility
A walk of approx. 45 minutes is required to reach the Anabaptist cave; sturdy shoes are essential! People with reduced mobility should contact the organizers.