Elisabeth of Wetzikon

Who is Elisabeth of Wetzikon?

Elisabeth of Wetzikon was imperial abbess of the Fraumünster abbey in Zurich from 1270 until 1298, when the abbey was at the height of its power, having extensive properties reaching well into Central Switzerland and political authority over the city of Zurich: Elisabeth appointed the mayor of Zurich and his deputy, she was the supreme judge of the city, and she collected the trade taxes.

There are 170 surviving documents containing her name, some of them with her seal. In a document dated 25 January 1274, Rudolph of Habsburg granted her the right to mint coins.

Elisabeth was a daughter of the Freiherr Ulrich von Wetzikon. She is first mentioned in 1265 as a nun of the Fraumünster abbey.