Zürich
_Swiss_town|subject_name=
|canton=Zürich|district=Zürich|nd=47|nm=22|ed=8|em=33|postal_code=8000-8099|population=366,809|populationof=December 2005|area=91.88|altitude=408|mayor=
Elmar Ledergerber|website=www.stzh.ch|map=map missing|}}
(
German IPA: , in
Zürich German: , sometimes written as
Züri; in English often
Zurich, without the
umlaut) is the largest city in
Switzerland (population: 366,145 in
2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and
capital of the
canton of Zürich. The metropolitan population is around 1.3 million. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre (the political capital of Switzerland being
Bern), and is widely considered to be one of the world's
global cities. According to a survey in 2006, it offers the best quality of life.
[http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html]The origin of the name is probably the
Celtic word
Turus, a corroborating reference to which was found on a tomb inscription dating from the
Roman occupation in the 2nd century; The antique name of the town in its romanized form was
Turicum.
 |
Satellite photo of central Zürich |
The city is situated where the river
Limmat leaves
Lake Zürich and is surrounded by wooded hills including the
Zürichberg and the
Uetliberg. The river
Sihl meets with the Limmat at the end of Platzspitz, which borders the
Swiss National Museum (
Landesmuseum).
During 2004 the
Fraumünster was fully renovated. During this period the installed scaffolding went above the tip of the tower allowing a unique and exceptional 360° panoramic view of Zürich.
 |
General view showing Grossmünster church. |
In Roman times,
Turicum was a tax-collecting point for goods entering the imperial province of
Raetia by river. A
Carolingian castle, built on the site of the Roman castle by the grandson of
Charlemagne,
Louis the German, is mentioned in
835 (
"in castro Turicino iuxta fluvium Lindemaci"). Louis also founded the
Fraumünster abbey in
853 for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the
Benedictine convent with the lands of Zürich,
Uri, and the
Albis forest, and granted the convent immunity, placing it under his direct authority.
In
1045, King
Henry III granted the convent the right to hold markets, collect tolls, and mint coins, and thus effectively made the abbess the ruler of the city.
Zürich became
reichsunmittelbar in
1218 with the extinction of the main line of the
Zähringer family. A city wall was built during the
1230s, enclosing 38 hectares. Emperor
Frederick II promoted the abbess of the Fraumünster to the rank of a duchess in
1234. The abbess assigned the
mayor, and she frequently delegated the minting of coins to citizens of the city. However, the political power of the convent slowly waned in the 14th century, beginning with the establishment of the
Zunftordnung (
guild laws) in
1336 by
Rudolf Brun, who also became the first independent mayor, i.e. not assigned by the abbess.
Zürich joined the
Swiss confederation (which at that point was a loose confederation of
de facto independent states) as the fifth member in
1351. Zürich was expelled from the confederation in
1440 due to a war with the other member states over the territory of
Toggenburg (the
Old Zürich War). Zürich was defeated in
1446, and re-admitted to the confederation in
1450.
Zwingli started the Swiss reformation at the time when he was the main preacher in Zürich. He lived there from
1484 until his death in
1531.
In
1839, the city had to yield to the demands of its rural subjects, following the
Züriputsch of
6 September. Most of the ramparts built in the 17th century were torn down, without ever having been sieged, to allay rural concerns over the city's
hegemony. The
Treaty of Zurich between
Austria,
France, and
Sardinia was signed was signed in
1859.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_International_Encyclopedia]From
1847, the
Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn, the first railway on Swiss territory, connected Zürich with
Baden, putting the
Zürich Main Station at the origin of the Swiss rail network. The present building of the Hauptbahnhof (chief railway station) dates to
1871.
Political and Religious Beginnings
The earliest inhabitants of the future site of Zurich were the lake dwellers. The
Celtic Helvetians had a settlement on the
Lindenhof when they were succeeded by the
Romans, who established a custom station here for goods going to and coming from Italy; during their rule
Christianity was introduced early in the 3rd century by
Felix and Regula, with whom
Exuperantius was afterwards associated. The district was later occupied by the Alamanni, who were conquered by the Franks.
The name Zurich is possibly derived from the Celtic dur (water). It is first mentioned in 807 under the form Turigus, then in 853 as Turegus The true Latinized form is Turicum, but the false form Tigurum was given currency by Glareanus and held its ground from 1512 to 1748. It is not till the 9th century that we find the beginnings of the
Teutonic town of Zurich, which arose from the union of four elements: (1) the royal house and castle on the Lindenhof, with the king's tenants around, (2) the Gross Münster, (3) the Frau Münster, (4) the community of free men (of Alamanian origin) on the Zurichberg. Similarly we can distinguish four stages in the constitutional development of the town: (I.) the gradual replacing (c. 1250) of the power of the
abbess by that (real, though not nominal) of the
patricians, (ii.) the admittance of the craft
gilds (1336) to a share with the patricians in the government of the town, (iii.) the granting of equal political rights (1831) to the country districts, ruled as subject lands by the burghers, and (iv.) the reception as burghers of the numerous immigrants who had settled in the town (Derived from Free Public Domain:
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition)
Frankish and Confederate Periode
The
Frankish kings had special rights over their tenants, were the protectors of the two churches, and had jurisdiction over the free community. In. 870 the
sovereign placed his powers over all four in the hands of a single official (the
Reichsvogt), and the union was still further strengthened by the wall built round the four settlements in the 10th century as a safeguard against Saracen marauders and feudal barons. The Reichsvogtei passed to the
counts of
Lenzburg (1063-1173), and then to the
dukes of Zahringen (extinct 1218). Meanwhile the
abbess of the
Benedictine Frau Münster had been acquiring extensive rights and privileges over all the inhabitants, though she never obtained the criminal jurisdiction. The town flourished greatly in the 12th and 13th centuries, the silk trade being introduced from Italy. In 1218 the Reichsvogtei passed back into the hands of the king, who appointed one of the burghers as his deputy, the town thus becoming a
free imperial city under the nominal rule of a distant sovereign. The abbess in 1234 became a
princess of the empire, but power rapidly passed from her to the council which she had originally named to look after police, but which came to be elected by the
burghers, though the abess was still the lady of Zurich. This council (all powerful since 1304) was made up of the representatives of certain knightly and rich mercantile families (the
patricians ), who excluded the craftsmen from all share in the government, though it was to these last that the town was largely indebted for its rising wealth and importance.
In October 1291 the town made an alliance with
Uri and
Schwyz, and in 1292 failed in a desperate attempt to seize the
Habsburg town of
Winterthur. After that Zurich began to display strong
Austrian leanings, which characterize much of its later history. In 1315 the men of Zurich fought against the
Swiss Confederates at
Morgarten. The year 1336 marks the admission of the craftsmen to a share in the town government, which was brought about by Rudolf Brun, a patrician. Under the new constitution (the main features of which lasted till 1798) the Little Council was made up of the burgomaster and thirteen members from the " Constafel " (which included the old patricians and the wealthiest burghers) and the thirteen masters of the craft gilds, each of the twenty-six holding office for six months. The Great Council of 200 (really 212) members consisted of the Little Council, plus 78 representatives each of the Constafel and of the gilds, besides 3 members named by the burgomaster. The office of burgomaster was created and given to Brun for life. Out of this change arose a quarrel with one of the branches of the Habsburg family, in consequence of which Brun was induced to throw in the lot of Zurich with the Swiss Confederation (May 1351). The double position of Zurich as a free imperial city and as a member of the Everlasting League was soon found to be embarrassing to both parties In 1373 and again in 1393 the powers of the Constafel were limited and the majority in the executive secured to the craftsmen, who could then aspire to the burgomastership. Meanwhile the town had been extending its rule far beyond its wallsa process which began in the i4th, and attained its height in the i5th century (1362-1467). This thirst for territorial aggrandizement brought about the first civil war in the Confederation (the " Old Zurich War," 1436-50), in which, at the fight of St. Jacob on the
Sihl (1443), under the walls of Zurich, the men of Zurich were completely beaten and their burgomaster Stissi slain. The purchase of the town of Winterthur from the Habsburgs (1467) marks the culmination of the territorial power of the city. It was to the men of Zurich and their leader
Hans Waldmann that the victory of
Morat (1476) was due in the
Burgundian war; and Zurich took a leading part in the Italian campaign of 1512-15, the burgomaster Schmid naming the new duke of
Milan (1512). No doubt her trade connections with
Italy led her to pursue a southern policy, traces of which are seen as early as 1331 in an attack on the Val Leventina and in 1478, when Zurich men were in the van at the fight of
Giornico, won by a handful of Confederates over 12,000 Milanese troops.
In 1400 the town obtained from the
Emperor Wenceslaus the Reichsvogtei, which carried with it complete immunity from the empire and the right of criminal
jurisdiction. As early as 1393 the chief power had practically fallen into the hands of the Great Council, and in 1498 this change was formally recognized. (Derived from Free Public Domain:
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition)
The Ancient Régime
This transfer of all power to the guilds had been one of the aims of the burgomaster
Hans Waldmann (1483-89), who wished to make Zurich a great commercial centre. He also introduced many financial and moral reforms, and subordinated the interests of the country districts to those of the town. He practically ruled the
Swiss Confederation, and under him Zurich became the real capital of the League. But such great changes excited opposition, and he was overthrown and executed. His main ideas were embodied, however, in the
constitution of 1498, by which the patricians became the first of the gilds, and which remained in force till 1798; some special rights were also given to the subjects in country districts. It was the prominent part taken by Zurich in adopting and propagating (against the strenuous opposition of the Constafel) the principles of the
Reformation (the Frau Münster being suppressed in 1524) which finally secured for it the lead in the Confederation.
The environs of Zurich are famous in military history on account of the two battles of 1799 (French Revolutionary Wars). In the first battle (
4 June) the French under General
Massena, on the defensive, were attacked by the Austrians under the
Archduke Charles, Massena retiring behind the
Limmat before the engagement had reached a decisive stage. The second and far more important battle took place on the 25th and 26th of September. Massena, having forced the passage of the Limmat, attacked and totally defeated the Russians and their Austrian allies under
Korsakov's command.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, a distinct tendency becomes observable in the town government to limit power to the actual holders. Thus the country districts were consulted for the last time in 1620 and 1640; and a similar breach of the charters of 1489 and 1531 (by which the consent of these districts was required for the conclusion of important alliances, war and peace, and might be asked for as to other matters) occasioned disturbances in 1777. The council of 200 came to be largely chosen by a small committee of the members of the gilds actually sitting in the councilby the constitution of 1713 it consisted of 50 members of the Little Council (named for a fixed term by the Great Council), 18 members named by the Constafel, and 144 selected by the 12 gilds, these 162 (forming the majority) being co-opted for life by those members of the two councils who belonged to the gild to which the deceased member himself had belonged. Early in the i8th century a determined effort was made to crush by means of heavy duties the flourishing rival silk trade in Winterthur. It was reckoned that about 1650 the number of privileged burghers was 9000, while their rule extended over 170,000 persons. The first symptoms of active discontent appeared later among the dwellers by the lake, who founded in 1794 a club at Stafa and claimed the restoration of the liberties of 1489 and 1531, a movement which was put down by force of arms in 1795. The old system of government perished in Zurich, as elsewhere in
Switzerland, in February 1798, and under the
Helvetic constitution the country districts obtained political liberty. (Derived from Free Public Domain:
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition)
The 19th Century
But under the cantonal constitution of 1814 matters were worse still, for the town (10,000 inhab.) had 130 representatives in the Great Council, while the country districts (200,000 inhab.) had only 82. A great meeting at
Uster on the 22nd of November 1830 demanded that two-thirds of the members in the Great Council should be chosen by the country districts; and in 1831 a new constitution was drawn up on these lines, the town getting 71 representatives as against 141 allotted to the country districts, though it was not till 1837-38 that the town finally lost the last relics of the privileges which it had so long enjoyed as compared with the country districts. From 1803 to 1814 Zurich was one of the six
directorial cantons, its chief magistrate becoming for a year the chief magistrate of the Confederation, while in 1815 it was one of the three
cantons, the government of which acted for two years as the Federal government when the diet was not sitting. In 1833 Zurich tried hard to secure a revision of the Federal constitution and a strong central government. The town was the Federal capital for 1839-40, and consequently the victory of the Conservative party there in 1839 (due to indignation at the nomination by the Radical government to a theological chair in the university of
D. F. Strauss, the author of the famous Life of Jesus) caused a great stir throughout Switzerland. But when in 1845 the Radicals regained power at Zurich, which was again the Federal capital for 1845-46, that town took the lead in opposing the
Sonderbund cantons. It of course voted in favor of the Federal constitutions of 1848 and of 1874, while the cantonal constitution of 1869 was remarkably advanced for the time. The enormous immigration from the country districts into the town from the "thirties" onwards created an industrial class which, though "settled" in the town, did not possess the privileges of burghership, and consequently had no share in the municipal government. First of all in 1860 the town schools, opend to "settlers" only on paying high fees, were made accessible to all, next in 1875 ten years' residence ipso facto conferred the right of burghership, while in 1893 the eleven outlying districts (largely peopled by working folk) were incorporated with the town proper. The town and canton continued to be on the Liberal, or Radical, or even Socialistic side, while from 1848 to 1907 they claimed 7 of the 37 members of the Federal executive or
Bundesrat, these 7 having filled the presidential chair of the Confederation in twelve years, no canton surpassing this record. From 1833 onwards the walls and fortifications of Zurich were little by little pulled down, thus affording scope for the extension and beautification of the town. (Derived from Free Public Domain:
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition)
|
Banner bearer of Zürich, from a 1585 painting by Humbert Mareschet |
The blue and white coat of arms of Zürich is attested from 1389, and was derived from banners with blue and white stripes in use since
1315. The first certain testimony of banners with the same design is from 1434. The coat of arms is flanked by two lions.The red
Schwenkel on top of the banner had varying interpretations: For the people of Zürich, it was a mark of honour, granted by
Rudolph I. Zürich's neighbors mocked it as a sign of shame, commemorating the loss of the banner at
Winterthur in
1292.Today, the Canton of Zürich uses the same coat of arms as the city.
|
View of the inner city with the four main churches visible, and the Albis in the backdrop |
Churches
*
Grossmünster (great
minster) (near Lake Zürich, in the old city), where
Zwingli was pastor; first building around 820; declared by
Charlemagne imperial church
*
Fraumünster (our lady's minster) first church built before 874; the
Romanesque choir dates from 1250-70;
Marc Chagall stained glass choir windows; (on the opposite side of the Limmat)
*
St. Peter (downstream from the Fraumünster, in the old city); with the largest clock face in Europe
Museums
*
Museum Bärengasse, history of the city in the 18th century
*
Kunsthaus Zürich, one of the largest collections in Classic Modern Art in the world (Munch, Picasso, Braque, Giacometti, etc.) [
1]
*
Museum Rietberg, Antique Asian Art [
2]
*
Museum Bellerive, Museum for fashion, architecture and design [
3], located in a villa on the beach of the lake
*
Kunsthalle Zürich [
4]
*
Migros Museum, modern and avantgarde international Art. [
5]
*
Museum of Design Zürich [
6]
*
Swiss National Museum (
Landesmuseum) [
7], located in the Platzspitz park opposit the main station
|
The Swiss National Museum |
*
Johann Jacobs Museum, history of colonial Fine Food and coffee [
8]
*
Johanna Spyri Museum [
9]
*
Haus Konstruktiv [
10], constructive, concrete and conceptual art and design
*
NONAM North American Native Museum [
11]
Other sights
|
View over Zürich from the Üetliberg |
*
Lindenhof near St. Peter; site of the Roman and medieval castle. V
*Guild houses along the river (downstream from the Grossmünster)
*Old town (Altstadt), District 1, on both sides of the river
*
Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich (shopping avenue) starting at main train station
*
Parade-Platz, Plaza in the middle of
Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich, center of financial activity, with world-headquarters of several Swiss banks:
UBS and
Credit Suisse.
*
Zoological garden [
12]
*
Masoala Rainforest Ecosystem Great Glass Hall in the Zoological garden with trees, flowers and animals in liberty from the rainforest of
Masoala National Park in Madagascar [
13]
*
Botanical Garden of the University of Zürich [
14]
*
Chinese Garden, Zürich [
15]
*
Neu Oerlikon, part of City District
Zürich Oerlikon: north quarter of the city - Oerliker Park, MFO-Park, Center-11-Building, Price-Waterhouse-Building, ABB-Building, UBS-Building and other modern public spaces. [
16]
*
Lake Zürich, running from Zürich to
Rapperswil and linking with the
Obersee*
Ãœetliberg, at an altitude 813 metres above sea level, with
Uetlibergturm TV-tower |
Goldman Sachs offices on the Fraumünsterplatz (the light-colored building at the left) |
UBS,
Credit Suisse,
Swiss Re, and many other financial institutions have their headquarters in Zürich, the commercial centre of Switzerland. Zürich is the world's primary centre for offshore banking, mainly due to Swiss bank secrecy. The financial sector accounts for about one quarter of the city's economic activities. The
Swiss Stock Exchange has its headquarters in Zürich (see also
Swiss banking).
Zürich is a leading financial centre and has repeatedly been proclaimed the
global city with the best quality of life anywhere in the world. The Greater Zürich Area is Switzerland's economic centre and home to a vast number of international companies. The
GDP of the Zürich Area is CHF 210 billion (USD 160 billion) or CHF 58'000 (USD 45'000) per capita (2005).
Economic success reasons
The success of the Greater Zürich Economic Area as one of the most important in the world is probably due to more than one factor. The very
low tax rate and the possibility for foreign companies and private persons to optimize their tax burden by personalized tax agreement with the Tax Authorities is surely one of the key points - a practice that often brings conflicts with Switzerland's neighbours in Europe, who do not like this type of successful and aggressive strategy for establishing European headquarters or service/research centres by known global economic players (e.g.
IBM,
Google,
Microsoft,
Pfizer). The fact that Switzerland doesn't have an inheritance tax is also an important factor for rich private persons.
|
Credit Suisse HQ at Parade-Platz |
Another reason for the economic success of Zürich can be seen in the
research and educational (R&D) field of the city. The Federal Institute of Technology
ETH is ranked alongside the University of Zürich: there are more than 58,000 students. The reservoir for qualified employees is therefore very big.
Other data: Switzerland made an excellent showing in the
IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2005, scoring in the Top 10 in the following categories:
*
Nobel Prizes per resident (No.2)
*Active patents per resident (No.2)
*Private research expenditure (No.6)
*R&D expenditure per resident (No.6)
*R&D employees per resident (No.8)
*R&D expenditure as % of the
GNP (No.10)
Most of the Swiss R&D institutions are concentrated in the Zürich area.
Zürich's international population with its
multilingualism is also considerable. Statistics show that in the productive sector of the city 60% speak German, 43% English, 30% French and 13% Italian . As such, the city is home to a considerable number of people speaking at least two languages.
Of course also the
quality of life is very important in the possible reasons for the international economic growth. William M.
Mercer, an HR consulting firm based in London, has ranked Zürich as the city with the highest quality of life anywhere in the world for the fourth consecutive time.
Berne and
Geneva were also ranked among the Top 10 â€" in fact,
Switzerland was the only country with more than one city in the Top 10.
Thanks to extremely low
crime rates,
personal safety can be assured without extra charges. And the importance of security as an economic factor should not be underestimated.
The Swiss stock exchange
The Swiss stock exchange is called
SWX Swiss Exchange. The
SWX is the head group of several different worldwide operative financial systems:
virt-x,
Eurex,
Eurex US,
EXFEED and
STOXX. The exchange turnover generated at the SWX was in 2004 of 1,244,045 million
CHF; the number of transactions arrived in the same period at 14,697,381 and the
Swiss Performance Index (SPI) arrived at a total market capitalisation of 780,320 million
CHF.
The
SWX Swiss Exchange goes back more than 150 years. In 1996, fully electronic trading replaced the traditional floor trading system at the
stock exchanges of
Geneva (founded in 1850), Zurich (1873) and
Basle (1876).
The
SWX is subject to Swiss law. The Federal Act on
Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading (SESTA) prescribes the concept of self-regulation, which obligates the SWX to meet international standards in its regulatory activities. The SWX itself is supervised by the Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC).
The shares traded on SWX are mainly held in the Swiss-based accounts of domestic and international investors. Other products traded on the SWX Platform are
bonds (CHF-denominated bonds as well as international bonds), traditional investments, Exchange Traded
Funds (ETFs, known as exchange-traded index funds) and non-standardised
derivatives. In terms of turnover, the SWX Swiss Exchange operates Europe's largest market segment for listed and exchange-traded
warrants.
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
SWX Group is Prof. Dr. Peter Gomez. Gomez is a business professor at St. Gallen business school. [
17]
Daily Newspapers
*
Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ (English Window)*
Tages-Anzeiger*
Blick*
Limmattaler Tagblatt*
Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich*
Zürichsee-Zeitung*
20 MinutenWeekly Magazines and Newspapers
*
Die Weltwoche*
Facts*
Die Wochenzeitung WOZ*
Finanz und Wirtschaft*
Cash*
Tachles*
Sonntags-Zeitung*
Neue Zürcher Zeitung am Sonntag NZZaS*
Sonntags-Blick Sie+Er*
P.S. ZeitungMonthly Magazines
*
Bilanz*
Du MagazinElectronic News System
*
Swissinfo (News in English)Art Movements born in Zürich
*Zürich is the home of the
Cabaret Voltaire where the
Dada movement began in
1916. Visit at the Spiegelgasse/Niederdorf-Corner the Cabaret Voltaire Museum.
*Constructive Art Movement took also one of the first steps in Zurich. Artists like
Max Bill,
Marcel Breuer,
Camille Graeser or
Richard Paul Lohse had their ateliers in Zurich, which became even more important after the takeover of power by the Nazi-Regime in Germany and World War Two. Visit the museum at the
Haus Konstruktiv.
|
Constructive Art: Richard Paul Lohse, Dreiecke, 1942, Kunsthaus Museum |
Opera, Ballet and Theaters
*Zürcher Opernhaus: one of the most famous Opera Houses in Europe. Director is Alexander Pereira. Once a year elegant and exclusive Zürcher Opernball with the President of the Swiss Confederation and the economic and cultural élite of Switzerland.[
18] In front of the Lake Zürich and
Bellevue-Place, where the traditional
Sechseläuten takes place. Famous Ballet-Academy by
Heinz Spoerli. Antique
Neo-baroque interior very elegant and worth visiting. Take S-Bahn to
Stadelhofen.
*Schauspielhaus: Main Theater-Complex of the City. Has two Dépendances: Pfauen (historic old theater) in the Central City District and Schiffbauhalle (modern architecture in old industry-halls) in Zürich West (S-Bahn-Station Hardbrücke). Was home for Emigrants like Bertolt Brecht or Thomas Mann and World-Première-Theater for Max
Frisch, Friedrich
Dürrenmatt,
Botho Strauss or Nobel-Prize winner
Elfriede Jelinek.[
19]
*
Theater am Neumarkt: One of the oldest Theaters of the city. Established by the old guilds in the Old City District, located in a baroque Palace near
Niederdorf Street. Two stages with mostly production by avantgarde directors from Europe. Has both classic theater (Racine, Goethe, Shakespeare) and new productions in its repertoire.[
20]
*Theater Gessnerallee: Young and underground Theater. The most experimental stage in the city. Ballet, breakdance, own theater-productions and guest-shows from all over the world. Very good Restaurant and Bar is attached (Reithalle). On the River Sihl (bathing in summer) and in front of the Historic Military Place Alte Kaserne with parc.[
21]
*Theater an der Sihl: Official theater of the Zürich Academy of Dance and Theater.[
22] Next tho the Theater Gessnerallee and the
Bahnhofstrasse - the main shopping street of the city.
*Rote Fabrik Theater: The Rote Fabrik Cultural Complex is located on the shores of the lake in the district of
Wollishofen. In the great red brick halls of an old fabric of the 19th century was created in the 1980s an avantgarde and political left-oriented room for young and controversial theater and ballet productions. There are also an art gallery, a restaurant (Ziegel Oh Lac) and a Club integrated in the Rote Fabrik. Take S-Bahn to the
Wollishofen Station.
*Theater Miller's Studio: Cabaret- and Revue-Theater with political and social comedy. A lot of one-man-shows. In the old Tiefenbrunnen-Complex with Restaurants, Bars, Museums (
NONAM and Alte Mühle Tiefenbrunnen), Art-Galleries. In front of the lake. Take S-Bahn to Tiefenbrunnen Station.[
23]
*Zurich Comedy Club: Much of Zurich's theatre is conducted in the native German. However, twice per year (May & November) this amateur theatre group stages English-language theatre ranging from Shakespearean drama, to thrillers & drama of all kinds, pantomimes and of course comedies. The Zurich Comedy Club has been part of Zurich life for over 50 years and potential new members are always welcome.[
24]
Nightlife and Clubbing
Zürich has an extreme variety of possibilities for night-time leisure. It became one of the capitals of Europe's electronic music scene and it's the host city of the world-famous
Street Parade.
The most famous districts for Nightlife are the
Niederdorf in the old city district with bars, restaurants, lounges, hotels, clubs, etc. and a lot of fashion shops for a young and stylish public and the
Langstrasse in the districts 4 and 5 of the city. Here you find more rough but authentic amusements: Brazilian bars, punk clubs, HipHop stages, Caribic restaurants, arthouse-cinemas, Turkish kebabs and Italian espresso-bars, but also sex shops or the famous red light district of Zürich. At the Langstrasse you find the very international and multicultural heart of Zürich.
But in the last ten years new spots were created:
Zürich West District within the old district 5, with its heart around the Escher-Wyss plaza and the S-Bahn Station of
Hardbrücke with its cinemas (Abaton Cinemax complex), music clubs, lounges, restaurants, cafés and bars and the dépendance of the most important theater of the City:
Schiffbau. New hotels were also built in this young quarter, which lives mostly during nighttime and weekends: hotel Ibis, Novotel Accor (on the stunning Turbinenplatz - a new plaza built with an interesting light design) and Etap Hotel. During the day you can visit art galleries, fashion shops (e.g. Freitag-Bags), organic-food stores and the Puls 5 Complex at the Turbinenplatz: a mall with an interesting architectural mix of modern and old (especially the huge Central Court [
25]).
Check the online-mag
usgang.ch for the latest events.
The most famous clubs in the city are:
*
Kaufleuten, Pelikanplatz, very posh and stylish club in the heart of the business and shopping district of the city centre. Old art-nouveau architecture, one of the oldest still running clubs of the world, the place-to-be for all the rich, famous and wannabes (from 50 Cent to Paris Hilton down to Tina Turner or Madonna). Music-style (Elektro, RnB, etc.) changes daily. [
26]
*Club Indochine, in
Zürich West District, Limmatstrasse 275, elegant club with public from the age of 18 to 60. Mainly financial business people or posh students. Located in front of
Migros Museum of Modern Art and
Kunsthalle museum and Säulenhalle club. Every day is a different style of music. Tram station Dammweg[
27]
*Supermarket is a legendary underground house club making a beautiful and stylish crowd bounce for over 10 years. It is located in Zurich West next to Hardbrücke which is only one stop from the main station by S-Train. [
28]
*Säulenhalle, in Zürich West District, Limmatstrasse, Italian-style club, young and mixed international public; mostly electronic music and RnB or HipHop. Also bar and lounge. Located in the Löwenbräu-Complex, same building as
Migros Museum. In front of Club Indochine, tram station Dammweg.
*X-Tra Palais, at the very beginning of the
Langstrasse corner Limmatplatz, Limmatstrasse 118, the only club in the city of Zürich with its own hotel, restaurant, lounge and music-label! All located in the so called "Limmathaus", a sovietic-style-architecture building of the late 1920s. Mainly young crowd and students. Special party on weekends, Monday the traditional "Cool-Monday-Party". Good hotel for young guests between hip district Zürich West and traditional multicultural district 4 and 5 and the
Langstrasse. In front of Café Greco and
Migros-Tower (modern department store with good organic food choice). Tram station Limmatplatz. [
29]
*Toni-Areal, at the end of the trendy
Zürich West district, Förrlibuckstrasse 109, located in a huge dismissed industrial complex, with stunning modern interior design and video and light art features. Mostly avantgarde and international electronic music. Has also a good choice of vegetarian and organic food. [
30]
*Nietturm-Bar, on the top of the
Schiffbau building, Schiffbaustrasse 4 in the
Zürich West District, a big glass box (architecture by the famous Ortner&Ortner-Studios) with roughly 100 places to sit, enjoy drinks and listen to lounge music. Nice view over the district. Mixed public (young crowds, theater-habitués, international businessmen. Good choice of cocktails, but quite expensive. [
31]
*Moods, inside the
Schiffbau-Building, Schiffbaustrasse 4, famous international jazz club with escapades in the electronic, funk and South-American field. Stylish interior. Good drinks and food. [
32]
*Hard-One Bar, Heinrichstrasse 269, on the top of the Abaton-Cinemax-Complex in
Zürich West District, stunning view over the whole district and the elevated Autobahn close by. Very crowded on weekends, with live electronic music. Elegant modern interior design. [
33]
*Labor-Bar, Schiffbaustrasse 3, a state-owned TV studio which becomes a lounge and club at night! Located near the Turbinenplatz and
Schiffbau in
Zürich West District. Very hip and stylish public, most in electronic music, but also in RnB (program changes every day - also special gay-and-friends-party). [
34]
*Les Halles, Pfingstweidstrasse 6,
Zürich West district, unique mix of lounge bar, restaurant and gourmet market, where you can eat mediterranean cuisine, buy exquisite food products from all over the world and listen to good music. Very original interior design provided by the owner's family. [
35]
*Aaah-Club, Marktgasse 14, Gay-Club in the old city district, located in a medieval building on the crowded
Niederdorf-Strasse, a few meters from the gay hotspots Cranberry-Bar and the
Barfüsser-Bar (Europe's oldest gay bar!). Very international young public. [
36]
*
ETH Zürich |
ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Central Building |
*
University of Zürich*
F+F School for Art and Media Design Zurich*
IBM Zürich Research Laboratory*
Swiss Re Center for Global Dialogue[
37]
*
SIK Swiss Institute for Art Research Schweizerisches Institut für Kunstwissenschaften
*
HGKZ - University of Applied Sciences and Designs Zürich Zürcher Hochschule der Künste [
38]
*
Avenir Suisse Liberal Think Tank
*
Swiss Institute of International Studies *
HMT School of Music, Drama and DanceHochschule für Musik und Theater
*
ZFH College of Applied Sciences and Technologies Zurich Zürcher Fachhochschule
*
Graduate School of Business Administration Zurich*
National Centre of Competence in Research - Financial Valuation and Risk Management*
Zurich International School*
Grasshopper-Club Zürich Football [
39]
*
ZSC Lions Ice Hockey Club [
40]
*
FC Zürich Football Club [
41]
*Challengers Baseball Club Zürich [
42]
*Zürich Lions Baseball Club [
43]
*Zürich Renegades American Football Club [
44]
*
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) headquarters.
*
Weltklasse Zürich*
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)
*Swimming in the lake, in the river or in several outdoor swimming pools (June-September)
*
Street Parade*
Sechseläuten, spring festival of the guilds and burning of the
Böögg*Zurich International Theater Festival - Zürcher Theater Spektakel, it ranks among the most important European festivals for the contemporary performing arts. [
45]
*Kunst Zürich, international art fair with an annual guest city (New York in 2005); combines most recent and youngest art with the works of well-established artists. [
46]
*Annual public art program each summer, sponsored by the Zürich City Association (the local equivalent of a
chamber of commerce) with the cooperation of the city government. The theme for 2005 was
teddy bears.
 |
Trams in Zürich |
Zürich is a hub for rail, road, and air traffic. It has several railway stations, including
Zürich Main Station,
Zürich Oerlikon,
Zürich Stadelhofen, and
Zürich Altstetten. The
Cisalpino,
InterCity Express, and even the
TGV high-speed trains stop in Zürich.
The
A1,
A3 and
A4 motorways pass close to Zürich. The A1 heads west towards
Bern and
Geneva and eastwards towards
St. Gallen; the A4 leads northwards to
Schaffhausen; and the A3 heads northwest towards
Basel and southeast along Lake Zurich and Lake Walen towards
Sargans.
Zürich has a major
international airport at Kloten, less than 10 kilometres northeast of the city. There is also an airfield in
Dübendorf, although it is not used for civil aviation.
Within Zürich and throughout the canton of Zürich, the
ZVV network of public transport has traffic density rating among the highest worldwide. If you add frequency, which in Zürich can be as often as 7 minutes, it does become the densest across all dimensions. Three means of mass-transit exist: the S-Bahn (local trains),
trams, and
buses (both diesel and electric, also called trolley buses). Rumour has it that no point exists on the ground floor within the central district which is farther than 150 metres from the next bus, tram, or train stop.
In addition the public transport network includes boats on the lake and river, funicular railways and even a cable car between Adliswil and Felsenegg.
People that were born or died in Zürich:
*
Huldrych Zwingli (
1484 -
1531), reformer
*
Conrad Gessner (
1516 -
1565), naturalist, born and died in Zürich
*
Johann Jakob Scheuchzer (
1672 -
1733), scholar, born in Zürich
*
Johann Kaspar Lavater (
1741 -
1801), poet and physiognomist, born in Zürich
*
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (
1746 -
1827), educational reformer, born in Zürich
*
James Sadleir (c.
1815 -
1881), fugitive swindler, murdered in Zürich
*
Gottfried Keller (
1819 -
1890), poet, born and died in Zürich
*
Conrad Ferdinand Meyer (
1825 -
1898), poet, born in Zürich
*
Johanna Spyri (
1827 -
1901), author of
Heidi, died in Zürich
*
Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna of Russia (
1853) - (
1920) Duchess of Edinburgh, died in Zürich
*
Wilhelm Filchner (
1877 -
1957), explorer, died in Zürich
*
James Joyce (
1882 -
1941), Irish novelist, died in Zürich (buried at Fluntern cemetery in Zürich)
*
Pancho Vladigerov (
1899 -
1978), Bulgarian composer, born in Zürich
*
Felix Bloch (
1905 -
1983), physicist, born in Zürich
*
Elias Canetti (
1905 -
1994), novelist, died in Zürich
*
Max Frisch (
1911 -
1991), novelist, born and died in Zürich
*
Hugo Koblet (
1925 -
1964), cycling champion
*
Bruno Ganz (born
1941), actor, born in Zürich
*
Martin Suter (born
1948), author, born in Zürich
*
Lucinda Ruh (born
1979), figure skater, born in Zürich
*
Heinz Gunthardt (born
1959), professional tennis player, born in Zürich
Famous residents:
*
Tristan Tzara (
1915-
1919)
*
Richard Wagner (
1849–
1861)
*
Albert Einstein (
1896–
1900,
1909–
1911,
1912–
1914)
*
Vladimir Lenin (
1917)
*
Thomas Mann (
1933–
1942)
*
Kurt Tucholsky (
1932–
1933)
*
James Joyce (
1915–
1919)
*
Harald Naegeli*
Tina Turner*
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf*
Andreas Vollenweider*
Moritz Leuenberger*
Kimi Raikkonen*
Fernando Alonso*
Yves NetzhammerSee also: List of mayors of Zürich |
St. Peter church |
*Savoy Baur en Ville ([
47])
*Baur au Lac ([
48])
*Dolder ([
49])
*Alden Splügenschloss ([
50])
*Eden au Lac ([
51])
*Park
Hyatt Zürich ([
52])
*Widder ([
53])
*Marriott ([
54])
*Ascot ([
55])
*Swissotel ([
56])
See also: Zürich Tourismus*
Zürich Tourismus*
English Forum - an English language community website for Zurich
*
Stadt Zürich, official site in German.
*
Official partner of Switzerland Tourism*
Greater Zürich Area*
Usgang Party Magazine*
Zurich Comedy Club - English Language Theatre in Zurich
