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For other uses of "Zurich", see Zurich (disambiguation).
City of Zurich
City of Zurich
Municipality
Location of
City of Zurich
City of Zurich
Map
CountrySwitzerland
CantonZurich
DistrictZurich
Government
 • MayorElmar Ledergerber
Area
[1][2]
 • Total87.88 km2 (33.93 sq mi)
Elevation
(?)
408 m (1,339 ft)
Population
 (31 December 2018)[3][4]
 • Total415,367
 • Density4,700/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time)
Postal code(s)
8000-8099
SFOS number0261
Websitewww.stzh.ch

Template:CHdot

Zürichⓘ (German IPA: /ˈtsyːʁɪç/, in English and French Zurich) is the largest city in Switzerland (population: 366,145 in 2004; population of urban area: 1,091,732) and capital of the canton of Zurich. The metropolitan population is around 1.3 million. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre (the federal capital of Switzerland being Berne), 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.[5]

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.

Geography

Satellite photo of central Zurich

The city is situated where the river Limmat leaves Lake Zurich 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 Zurich.

History

Main article: History of Zurich
General view showing Grossmünster church.

In Roman times, Turicum was a tax-collecting point at the border of Gallia Belgica (from AD 90 Germania superior) and Raetia for goods trafficked on the Limmat 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 Zurich, 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.

The Murerplan of 1576

Zurich 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.

Zurich joined the Swiss confederation (which at that time was a loose confederation of de facto independent states) as the fifth member in 1351. Zurich was expelled from the confederation in 1440 due to a war with the other member states over the territory of Toggenburg (the Old Zurich War). Zurich 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 Zurich. 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. [6]

From 1847, the Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn, the first railway on Swiss territory, connected Zurich with Baden, putting the Zurich Main Station at the origin of the Swiss rail network. The present building of the Hauptbahnhof (chief railway station) dates to 1871.

Coat of arms

Banner bearer of Zurich, from a 1585 painting by Humbert Mareschet

The blue and white coat of arms of Zurich 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 Zurich, it was a mark of honour, granted by Rudolph I. Zurich's neighbors mocked it as a sign of shame, commemorating the loss of the banner at Winterthur in 1292. Today, the Canton of Zurich uses the same coat of arms as the city.

Sights

View of the inner city with the four main churches visible, and the Albis in the backdrop

Churches

  • Grossmünster (great minster) (near Lake Zurich, 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

File:Swiss National Museum Zurich.jpeg
The Swiss National Museum, in front of the main railway station

Other sights

View over Zurich from the Üetliberg

Industry and commerce

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 Zurich, the commercial centre of Switzerland. Zurich 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 Zurich (see also Swiss banking).

Business

Zurich 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 Zurich Area is Switzerland’s economic centre and home to a vast number of international companies. The GDP of the Zurich 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 Zurich 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, General Motors Europe, Google, Microsoft, Pfizer). The fact that Switzerland doesn't have an inheritance tax is also an important factor for rich private persons.

File:Pic headquarter col.jpg
Credit Suisse HQ at Parade-Platz

Another reason for the economic success of Zurich can be seen in the research and educational (R&D) field of the city. The ETH Zurich is ranked alongside the University of Zurich: there are more than 58,000 students. The reservoir for qualified employees is therefore impressive.

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 Zurich area.

Zurich'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 [citation needed]. As such, the city is home to a considerable number of people speaking at least two languages. Zurich also has a significant Muslim population.

File:Zurich late.jpg
Zurich's old towne at night

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 Zurich 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 – 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. [18]

Media outlets

Daily newspapers

Weekly magazines and newspapers

Monthly magazines

Electronic News System

Culture

Art Movements born in Zurich

File:Dreiecke.jpg
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.[19] In front of the Lake Zurich 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.[20]
  • 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.[21]
  • 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.[22]
  • Theater an der Sihl: Official theater of the Zurich Academy of Dance and Theater.[23] 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.[24]
  • 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.[25]

Nightlife and Clubbing

Zurich 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 Zurich.

But in the last ten years new spots were created: Zurich 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 [26]).

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. [27]
  • Club Indochine, in Zurich 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[28]
  • 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. [29]
  • Säulenhalle, in Zurich 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 Zurich 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. [30]
  • Toni-Areal, at the end of the trendy Zurich 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. [31]
  • Nietturm-Bar, on the top of the Schiffbau building, Schiffbaustrasse 4 in the Zurich 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. [32]
  • 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. [33]
  • 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. [34]
  • 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). [35]
  • 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. [36]
  • 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. [37]

Education and research

ETH (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), Central Building

Sports

Events

  • 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. [46]
  • Kunst Zurich, 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. [47]
  • Annual public art program each summer, sponsored by the Zurich City Association (the local equivalent of a chamber of commerce) with the cooperation of the city government. The theme for 2005 was teddy bears.

Transportation

Trams in Zurich

Zurich is a hub for rail, road, and air traffic. It has several railway stations, including Zurich Main Station, Zurich Oerlikon, Zurich Stadelhofen, and Zurich Altstetten. The Cisalpino, InterCity Express, and even the TGV high-speed trains stop in Zurich.

The A1, A3 and A4 motorways pass close to Zurich. The A1 heads west towards Berne and Geneva and eastwards towards St. Gallen; the A4 leads northwards to Schaffhausen; and the A3 heads northwest towards Basle and southeast along Lake Zurich and Lake Walen towards Sargans.

Zurich has a major international airport at Zurich-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 Zurich and throughout the canton of Zurich, the ZVV network of public transport has traffic density rating among the highest worldwide. If you add frequency, which in Zurich 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. Tickets purchased for a trip are valid on all means of public transportation (train, tram, bus, boat).

Notable people

People that were born or died in Zurich:

Famous residents:

See also: List of mayors of Zurich

Hotels

St. Peter church

See also: Zurich Tourismus

References

  1. ^ a b Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  2. ^ a b "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  3. ^ https://www.pxweb.bfs.admin.ch/pxweb/fr/px-x-0102020000_201/-/px-x-0102020000_201.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=c5985c8d-66cd-446c-9a07-d8cc07276160. Retrieved 22 June 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
  5. ^ http://www.citymayors.com/features/quality_survey.html
  6. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_International_Encyclopedia

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