DISCOVER ZURICH

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.

The city is situated where the river Limmat leaves Lake Zurich and is surrounded by wooded hills including the Zurichberg 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 Fraumunster 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 OF ZURICH

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 Fraumunster 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.

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 Fraumunster 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 Zuriputsch 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 in 1859.

From 1847, the Spanisch-Brotli-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.


EVENTS IN ZURICH

• Street Parade
• Sechseläuten, spring festival of the guilds and burning of the Boogg
• Zurich International Theater Festival - Zurcher Theater Spektakel, it ranks among the most important European festivals for the contemporary performing arts.
• 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.
• 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 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 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.

Zurich has a major international airport at Kloten, less than 10 kilometres northeast of the city. There is also an airfield in Dubendorf, 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).


CHURCHES OF ZURICH

• Grossmunster (great minster) (near Lake Zurich, in the old city), where Zwingli was pastor; first building around 820; declared by Charlemagne imperial church
• Fraumunster (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 Fraumunster, in the old city); with the largest clock face in Europe

MUSEUMS OF ZURICH

• Museum Bärengasse, history of the city in the 18th century
• Kunsthaus Zurich, one of the largest collections in Classic Modern Art in the world (Munch, Picasso, Braque, Giacometti, etc.)
• Museum Rietberg, Antique Asian Art
• Museum Bellerive, Museum for fashion, architecture and design, located in a villa on the beach of the lake
• Kunsthalle Zurich
• Migros Museum, modern and avantgarde international Art.
• Museum of Design Zurich
• Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum), located in the Platzspitz park opposit the main station
• Johann Jacobs Museum, history of colonial Fine Food and coffee
• Johanna Spyri Museum
• Haus Konstruktiv, constructive, concrete and conceptual art and design
• NONAM North American Native Museum
• Museum of the History of Medicine

OTHER SIGHTS OF ZURICH

• Lindenhof near St. Peter; site of the Roman and medieval castle.
• Guild houses along the river (downstream from the Grossmunster)
• Old town (Altstadt), District 1, on both sides of the river
• Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich (shopping avenue) starting at main train station
• Parade-Platz, Plaza in the middle of Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich, center of financial activity, with world-headquarters of several Swiss banks: UBS and Credit Suisse.
• Zoological garden
• 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
• Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich
• Chinese Garden, Zurich
• Neu Oerlikon, part of City District Zurich 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.
• Lake Zurich, running from Zurich to Rapperswil and linking with the Obersee
• Uetliberg, at an altitude 813 metres above sea level, with Uetlibergturm TV-tower

NIGHTLIFE AND CLUBBING IN ZURICH

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 Zurich. 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 Hardbrucke with its cinemas (Abaton Cinemax complex), music clubs, lounges, restaurants, cafes and bars and the dependance 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.

ZURICH TOURS & TRAVEL

ZURICH HOTELS AND ACCOMMODATION