Geography
Situated where the river Limmat leaves the Lake Zürich, surrounded by wooded
hills. The river Sihl meets with the Limmat at the end of Platzspitz, which
borders the Swiss National Museum
History
Numerous lake side settlements from the Neolithic and Bronze age were found,
like Zürich Pressehaus and Zürich Mozartstrasse.
In Roman times, Turicum was a tax collecting point for goods entering the
imperial province of Raetia by river. The earliest record of the town's name
is preserved on a tombstone found in the 18. century on Lindenhof, referring
to the roman castle as STA(tio) TUR(i)CEN(sis).
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 rights to hold markets,
collect tolls, and the coinage prerogative 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. 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 coinage prerogative to citizens of the city.
However, the political power of the convent would slowly wane in the 14th
century, beginning with the establishment of the Zunftordnung (guild laws)
in 1336 by Rudolf Brun (d. 1360), who also became the first independent
mayor, i.e. not assigned by the abbess.
The Codex Manesse, a major source of medieval german poetry, was written and
illustrated in the early 14th century in Zürich.
Zürich joined the Swiss confederation (which at that point was a loose
confederation of 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 1518 until his death in 1531.
Sights
Grossmünster (great minster) (near Lake Zürich, in the old city), where
Zwingli was pastor
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 of Fraumünster, in the old city); with the largest
clock face in Europe
Lindenhof (linden court), near St. Peter; site of the Roman and medieval
castle. View over river and old town.
Guild houses along the river (downstream Grossmünster)
Old town on both sides of the river
Bahnhofstrasse, Zürich (shopping avenue) starting at main train station
Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum, directly opposite Zürich's main train
station.)
Art Museum (Kunsthaus Zürich)
Zoological garden
Lake Zürich, running from Zürich to Rapperswil and linking with the Obersee
Üetliberg, at altitude 813 metres above sea level
Industry and Commerce
UBS, Credit Suisse and many private banks have their headquarters in Zürich,
the commercial center of Switzerland. The Swiss Stock Exchange is also
headquartered in Zürich (see also Swiss banking, Gnomes of Zurich).
Education and Research
ETH Zurich
University of Zurich
Sports
Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF)
Swimming in the lake, in the river or in several outdoor swimming pools
(June-September)
Transportation
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 leave Zürich (the A1 heads west towards Bern and
Geneva, east towards St. Gallen, and the A3 heads northwest towards Basel
and southeast 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.
Notable people
born or died in Zürich
Huldrych Zwingli (1484 - 1531), reformer
Conrad Gessner (1516 - 1565), 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
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
Wilhelm Filchner (1877 - 1957), explorer, died in Zürich
James Joyce (1882 - 1941), Irish novelist, died in Zürich (buried at
Fluntern cemetery 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
Bruno Ganz (*1941), actor, born in Zürich
famous residents:
Richard Wagner (1849–1861)
Albert Einstein (1896–1900, 1909–1911, 1912–1914)
Lenin (1917)
Thomas Mann (1933–1942)
Kurt Tucholsky (1932–1933)
