07 Extra A city map from the 17th century The so-called Knillenburg Prospect shows Chur, city of guilds, and the bishop’s court before the great fire of 1674. Discover this early modern city in detail. The bishop’s court. The fortified area above the city served as the bishop’s seat since the Early Middle Ages. The court comprised the cathedral, the bishop’s castle, towers, an inner court, and other buildings. In 1514 the emperor Maximilian I separated this area from the city and handed it to the bishop as an imperial fief. Only since 1852 has the bishop’s court become an integrated part within the city’s borders once more.Photo: Raetian Museum + The church of St Stephan, final resting place of the bishops of Chur, was constructed after the year 500. Only fragments of it remained by the 17th century and it was no longer used as a church. Its remnants were only rediscovered in 1850 when the cantonal school was built. They are now considered one of the most significant architectural monuments of early Christianity in Switzerland.Photo: Raetian Museum + The church of St Luzi dates from the 8th century. In the 17th century it was the site of a Premonstratensian monastery. Today it houses the priests’ seminary.Photo: Raetian Museum + St Martin’s church, first mentioned around 800, is one of the oldest churches of the city. It was damaged by fire in 1464 and rebuilt in the Gothic style. In 1523 Johannes Comander was called to St Martin’s church, where he joined the Reformation.Photo: Raetian Museum + The tailors’ guildhall. Chur had been a city of guilds since 1464. Their members’ halls served as gathering places for ceremonial occasions but also for economic and political decisions of local importance. The guildhall of the tailors was built in the 16th century and today stands opposite the Raetian museum.Photo: Raetian Museum + The town hall of Chur. Its predecessor was destroyed by the great city fire of 1464. After that, the new town hall was built as the seat of the city authorities and has remained intact until today. Up until c. 1550 it also housed a hospital, and the large hall served as a trading and market place. Set into its outer wall is the official measurement of the ‚Chur foot’ (30 cm).Photo: Raetian Museum + The Dominican monastery of St Nicolai, founded in 1280, moved into buildings beyond the city walls in 1288. In the course of the reformation the monastery was disbanded and turned into a school. It was briefly restituted in 1624, before a final decision was made and the remaining buildings were incorporated into the school.Photo: Raetian Museum + The Obertor («Upper Gate»). Mediaeval Chur was enclosed by a city wall with several towers and gates. Not all the smaller towers featured in the Knillenburg Prospect can be verified historically. The Obertor, most important for all traffic from the South, remains until today.Photo: Raetian Museum + Welschdörfli is an area to the south of the city inhabited since prehistoric times, and also the site of the Roman town Curia. Its name comes from the Late Middle Ages when German had established itself as the city’s vernacular, while «Welsch» (i.e., Romansh) was still spoken outside the city walls.Photo: Raetian Museum + Scaletta cemetery, opened after the reformation and built beyond the city walls, was a novelty at the time as it was not in the immediate vicinity of a church. Also unusual is the fact that both Protestants and Catholics were buried there. The cemetery was in use until 1862 and is now the city park.Photo: Raetian Museum + And where is the Raetian museum? The house of Buol was only built in 1675 and therefore does not appear on the Knillenburg Prospect. Instead, its predecessor - an armoury - is still seen there. In even earlier times, this was the site of the cemetery of St Martin’s church.Photo: Raetian Museum +