The history

Over 30 years ago, goldsmith Armin Kurz (1924–1989), founder and former owner of Juwelier KURZ, had a vision of creating a lasting memory for customers and culture lovers and bringing a little joy to their day. Inspired by the Zytglogge in Bern and the Munich City Hall tower, he wanted to give passers-by a brief moment of pause and joy every day. The carillon was his gift to the city of Zurich and was inaugurated in 1982.

The KURZ shop on Bahnhofstrasse was to be given an impressive glockenspiel with moving figures. The bay window was the perfect location. In Melle, he found the only manufacturer of a carillon of this size, namely a carillon with rotating figures. Hand-carved and hand-painted figures were added from a woodcarving workshop in Brienz. They represented every canton except Jura, which only became an independent canton of Switzerland later.

The carillon with 32 bells was then created, powered by a punch card system. The card system is connected by cables to the clappers, which strike the bells like little hammers. As the aim was to expand the melodies with deeper tones, the carillon was further expanded to 36 bells, making it the largest of its kind in Switzerland.

The inauguration took place on Tuesday, 21 September 1982, at exactly 11 a.m. The clock face is a replica of the one in St. Peter's Church in Zurich, where Armin Kurz (1924–1989) was baptised and confirmed. Every day at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., young and old alike enjoy the original puppet dance and glockenspiel, which lasts 6 minutes and 10 seconds.