Restaurant/Zunfthaus zum Grünen Glas

The restaurant and guild house "Zum Grünen Glas" is located at Untere Zäune 15 and Obere Zäune 16 – a somewhat forgotten corner of Zurich's old town. The two properties were first documented in 1310 and were then called "Schwarze Leiter" and "Blauer Stern."

 

The name "Grünes Glas" was not mentioned until 1684. Through donations, most of the houses came into the possession of monasteries, namely the Barfüsserkloster. Today, the Zurich High Court is located on the site of the former monastery. At that time, the houses on Untere Zäune were sold for life to elderly people who wanted to spend their twilight years here. After their death, the houses reverted to the seller. One notable owner for a short time from 1842 was Dr. Friedrich Ludwig (von) Keller, a well-known lawyer and professor of Roman law. Keller is considered the actual founder of modern Swiss jurisprudence. As a leader of the liberals, he had a significant influence on politics in the 1830s. After the "Züriputsch" of 1839, he was forced to leave Zurich for a while. In 1844, Keller was appointed professor of Roman law in Halle and, a few years later, in Berlin, where he was ennobled and became a member of the Prussian ruling house.

 

From 1845 onwards, there is evidence of a restaurant called "Zum Grünen Glas" at Untere Zäune 15. The first landlord came from Gotha and was called Johann Gottfried Ludwig, who was known in Germany as a revolutionary. He had a fencing hall built behind the house on Obere Zäune and taught the art to students from the nearby university. He was listed as a fencing master in the population register at the time. Ludwig's reputation was legendary, and according to tradition, his intelligence and, in particular, his excellent knowledge of Latin and Greek benefited many a doctoral candidate. However, one of the students, a certain Wilhelm C. Röntgen, was apparently not interested in Ludwig's fencing skills or language skills, but rather in one of his daughters, Anna Bertha. She is said to have been very lovable and, according to legend, was even able to elicit a smile from the notoriously grumpy Gottfried Keller. Wilhelm Röntgen and Anna Bertha married in Utrecht, Holland, in 1872. At the end of the 19th century, Röntgen was to achieve world fame with the rays named after him and was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1901.

 

Around 1810, the Zurich Casino was built opposite the restaurant. In 1834, Zurich's first theater, the Aktientheater, was added. Mozart's "The Magic Flute" was performed at its opening on December 10, 1834. From 1855 to 1861, the Zurich Stock Exchange Association also held its meetings in the theater foyer. On New Year's Eve 1890, the theater burned down completely. However, theater lovers were not discouraged, and just 12 days after the fire, the go-ahead was given for the construction of a new city theater, today's opera house. Even today, the former gable of the Aktientheater can still be seen on the west wall of the High Court (from Obmannamtsgasse). Today, the former Zurich Casino and parts of the former Barfüsserkloster monastery house various cantonal courts, including the Zurich High Court.

 

In 1954, the entire row of houses on Untere Zäune was demolished. The current buildings were constructed between 1955 and 1957. In 1977, the Riesbach guild purchased the two properties that now belong to the "Grünes Glas." In 1983, the property at Obere Zäune 16 was renovated and expanded to include the guild hall, the guild master's room, and the beautiful old town garden. The guild house was inaugurated in 1984.