5 months ago
50
PROTECT YOUR DNA WITH QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY
Orgo-Life the new way to the future Advertising by AdpathwayAfter the exhumation of the graves of one of Zurich’s mayors who died under mysterious circumstances people started talking about seeing his ghost wandering around the church tower and wall of St. Peter. Could the ghost of Rudolf Brun, who ruled during volatile times in the city have returned?
Zurich, a city renowned for its stunning landscapes and rich culture, also harbors a darker side woven into its history. Tales of ghostly encounters and restless spirits have permeated its ancient streets, attracting those intrigued by the supernatural. St. Peter’s Church in Zurich is the only baroque church in the city. The clock on the tower is the largest in Europe and the dial has a diameter of 8.7 metres. St. Peter’s parish church is the oldest church in Zurich and dates to before the year 900.
Read More: Check out all ghost stories about Switzerland
Buried just below the clock tower is Rudolf Brun, the first independent city mayor in the 14th century and leader of the Zürich guilds’ revolution of 1336. He died a terrible and mysterious death, that some attributed to poisoning.
Rudolf Brun as Zurich’s first Independent Mayor
Rudolf was the son of Jakob Brun, a member of the city council, and of Mechthild. Brun overthrew the former city council with the help of the city’s craftsmen in June 1336 to balance the power between them and the aristocracy.
In 1349, Brun led a massacre of the Jewish community of Zurich, seizing many of the spoils for himself. The incident was caused by antisemitism in the city due to the alleged murder of the son of a Zurich man, and fueled by the subsequent accusations of well poisoning. The son of Zurich man Zur Wyden from a family of shoemakers, about four years old, was murdered, and the Jews were accused of the murder. The Zurich Jewish community numbered around 400, and most of them were killed.
Mayor Rudolf Brun for example took possession of the house of a certain Moses. This event took place in the frame of the widespread persecution of Jews during the Black Death, in which the Jews were accused of spreading the bubonic plague.
On 17 of September in 1360 he died and was buried in St. Peter’s Church together with his cook. It was believed that the cook had poisoned him, but it remained a mystery for years.
Exhuming his Bone to get to the Bottom of the Murder Mystery
In 1972, Brun’s remains were examined and tested positive for arsenic according to the ghost walk tours that used to be in the city. But as the substance was often used in earlier times for medicinal and recreational purposes, the result was inconclusive. The bone and hair analysis gave no other signs for poisoning.
So what really happened, and how did Bruno, who lived through a violent time in Zurich’s history, die?
None the wiser for the truth, Brun’s bones were reburied at the clock tower. If we are to believe the rumors, it was without his skull, which had mysteriously disappeared. Could this have been the incident that caused him to rise up as a ghost?
The Haunting of Rudolf Brun
Just a few weeks after the reburial of Rudolf Brun, two boys were playing football near the gravesite when they experienced something that would give the historic man a ghostly reputation. When the ball they were kicking stopped in front of the feet of a dark figure. According to the boys, this mysterious figure before them was wearing old-fashioned clothes.
One of the boys went to get the ball, not really taking too much notice of the strange man standing at a short distance. When approaching, the figure of the man turned around and walked towards the tower wall. When reaching the wall, the figure walked right through it and disappeared.
According to the rumors, more than one person had seen this figure around the tower.
Newest Posts
The Gorbals Vampire: Glasgow’s Night of Terror12. December 2025
One night, the Southern Necropolis Cemetery in Glasgow is filled with children. In their mind they are not playing, they are hunting the horrible vampire that is said to have taken the life of more than one child. The absolute mania of the Gorbals Vampire ended up passing several new laws.
The Cursed Butcher Apprentice Haunting Rathausgasse in Bern 11. December 2025Said to be cursed after torturing a calf, the butcher apprentice is now cursed to haunt the old butcher street for eternity. For centuries now, people claim to have heard the horrid sound of hooves clattering on the ground as he was transformed into the very thing he tortured for fun.
The Vampire Secrets of Glamis Castle: Bloodlines and Bloodlust in Scotland’s Haunted Fortress10. December 2025In one of the oldest inhabited castle in Scotland, Glamis Castle is said to be filled to the brick with ghost stories and legends. According to the stories though, there is seemingly something more monstrous and more blood thirsty said to be sealed inside of the bricked up secret chambers, waiting to get out.
Mayor Rudolf Brun’s Ghost Under St Peter’s Church Tower in Zurich9. December 2025After the exhumation of the graves of one of Zurich’s mayors who died under mysterious circumstances people started talking about seeing his ghost wandering around the church tower and wall of St. Peter. Could the ghost of Rudolf Brun, who ruled during volatile times in the city have returned?
Blood in the Soil: The Chilling Tale of the New England Vampire Panic8. December 2025Centuries after the witch panic in Salem, New England was gripped by another entity – vampires! Thought to crawl out from their graves at night and back to their remaining family to feed and consume the life of them. This has later been known as the New England Vampire Panic The only way to stop them was to dig them up and set them on fire.
Markheim by Robert Louis Stevenson6. December 2025Set on Christmas Day, this Gothic moral thriller follows a man who murders his way into an antique shop, only to be visited by a mysterious figure—perhaps a devil, perhaps a savior—who challenges his soul’s darkest impulses.
Most Haunted Places in Germany5. December 2025From haunted castles, local legends inside of the forests and the ghosts from the second world war: to strangest local legends. Here is a closer look at the most haunted places in Germany.
The Legend of the Rollibock: Guardian of the Aletsch Glacier4. December 2025Coming down as an avalanche through the Swiss Alps, the Rollibock monster is the avenger on man when they take too much from nature.
The Alp: Night Terrors of German Folklore3. December 2025Sitting on your chest, crushing you in your sleep, The Alp of Germanic Folklore was said to be a vampiric entity after people’s life force. But where did this creature come from?
The Ghosts Haunting the Ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle2. December 2025Around the ruins of the once grand Dunstanburgh Castle in Northumberland, England, the ghost stories are covered by a thick veil of sea mist. From legends of a gallant knight to the Queen from the War of Roses, the abandoned fortress is not quite empty.
The Vampire of Rachel Burton: Vermont’s Gruesome 18th Century Exhumation1. December 2025A cold day in February, the village people in Manchester, Vermont gathered in the square to stop a vampire thought to suck the life out of a young woman. By burying her up and burning her remains, they thought they could fight back the curse of the undead.
The Tatzelwurm of the Aare Gorge: Switzerland’s Elusive Alpine Monster27. November 2025Can the Aare Gorge in Switzerland be the home of an ancient creature? The Tatzelwurm is an old legend in the alps and even in modern times, people have claimed to have seen this elusive and mysterious serpent-like creature.
.png)
.jpg)
English (US) · 
French (CA) ·