Zunfthaus zur Meisen, Zurich

The Zunfthaus zur Meisen is the guild house of the Zunft zur Meisen. It is one of the many historically valuable buildings in the Lindenhof quarter in Zürich, Switzerland, and also houses the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss National Museum. It is situated at the Münsterhof and the Münsterbrücke, a bridge over the river Limmat, opposite the upper Limmatquai with the Constaffel, Zimmerleuten, Kämbel and Saffran guild houses.HistoryThe Zunft zur MeisenIn 1449, the former Zunft zum Winlütten built a house named der Meysen hus. That same year the guild, which was composed of vintners, tavern owners, saddlers and painters, changed their name to reflect the name of the house, Zunft zur Meisen .The Zunft zum Winlütten, along with the other medieval Zürich guilds, was founded in 1336, based on a system established by Rudolf Brun, Zurich's first independent mayor. Although the guilds represented various craft associations, they were also economic, political, social and even military organizations that participated in the wars of the medieval city republic as independent military units. They also constituted the councilors of the elitary council of the medieval city republic of Zürich, until the French revolutionary troops terminated the guild regime, and the Old Swiss Confederacy collapsed in spring 1798.

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