Canton of Zürich
Zürich
State
Country
Switzerland
Continent
Europe
Size
88 KM2
Population
403,000
Spending Budget
$1,697 - $6,273
Famous For
- Zürich is often labelled as the most expensive city in the world. Zürich is famous for luxurious lifestyles, high-end shopping, and fancy chocolates.
Best Time to Visit
- June
- July
- August
History
From the early Middle Ages until the middle of the ninth century, almost nothing is known of Zürich’s history. The Alemanni, who had already infiltrated the settlement process during what was known as the Barbarian migration, reached the Zürich area in the middle of the sixth century. About the same time that the city came under Frankish Merovingian rule. In the eighth century, the Zürich area was under the aegis of the Carolingians. Ludwig the German, grandson of Charles the Great, built a convent with a great deal of surrounding land at the graves of Felix and Regula (the patron saints of Zürich) in 853. This convent on the left bank of the Limmat was finally finished in 874 – at about the same time that the congregation of Canons was formed in the Grossmünster cathedral. The oldest church in the city is St Peter’s, which was thought to have been originally home to a Roman place of worship. Since Carolingian times, there has been a palace on the Lindenhof. Since the middle of the 13th century, the history of the city has been greatly influenced by religious writers. In the 12th century, the city grew due to the good economic situation at the time, with Otto von Freising naming Zürich nobilissimum Sueviae oppidum. When the house of Zähringen died out in 1218, Zürich became a free city and a parliament is mentioned for the first time in sources. In the 13th century, Zürich’s famous city walls were constructed (with building starting in the 1220s), as is illustrated in the city veduta of Jos Murer in 1576. In the 13th century, mendicant orders (the preachers’, barefoot, Augustine and Ötenbach cloisters) were formed. The formal head of the city was the abbess of the cathedral. But her powers, along with those of the city nobility, faded as the city absorbed property rights from the abbey and the provost.
Present Day
Zürich is at the core of a constantly expanding metropolitan area that encompasses parts of central, northern, and eastern Switzerland. It is the industrial, financial, and cultural centre of the country and one of the most cosmopolitan and dynamic Swiss cities. Throughout the city centre, green space extends to the shores of Lake Zürich, which are lined by attractive public parks, and up to the slopes of Zürichberg. The city has a diverse ethnic composition; more than one-third of its population is made up of immigrants. The largest immigrant groups are from Italy, the Balkans, Portugal, and Germany. There is also a small population of non-European immigrants. Zürich’s city centre and most of the city’s architectural features extend along both shores of the Limmat River, which runs from the north side of Lake Zürich through the city centre and out to the west. Zürich has nurtured a rich cultural life, and its theatres and opera have often been characterized by innovation and experiment. The city has traditional annual festivals: the Sechseläuten in April, with a guild procession and the ceremonial burning of a snowman, and the Knabenschiessen in September, a sharpshooting contest for young people. Along with these traditional festivals, there is the Zürich Carnival (Fasnacht) in late winter and the Street Parade in August, which began in the 1990s and draws thousands of people to dance to techno music. The city has built new hotels, renovated museums and theatres, and illuminated landmarks in its attempt to become a premier tourist destination.
Future
Zürich has announced a range of ambitious targets for the 2020-2022 period. Selective growth and targeted capital allocation together with further improvements in productivity will allow Zürich to target a business operating profit after tax return on equity in excess of 14% and increasing over the 2020-2022 period. This is expected to lead to compound organic growth in earnings per share of at least 5% per annum over the period. Data and information, health and medicine, materials and manufacturing, and responsibility and sustainability: these are the main priorities set out in ETH Zurich’s Strategy and Development Plan for 2021–2024. The 2021–2024 Strategy and Development Plan builds on the existing strengths of ETH Zürich and refines them further. The four strategic action areas – data and information, health and medicine, materials and manufacturing, and responsibility and sustainability – tie into the university’s strategic priorities from the previous four-year period. There are teaching, research and knowledge transfer priorities in each action area that closely link further scientific progress with collaboration between disciplines.
Old Town
In the midst of this modern financial powerhouse of a city is a neighborhood filled with historic charm, its narrow streets rising steeply on the east side of the river. You can get an overview of the Old Town’s warren of charming streets, as well as an orientation of the layout of the city, on the two-hour Zürich Highlights Tour. After riding through the Old Town and hearing the historic commentary from your guide, you’ll board the Dolderbahn railway to climb into the hills of the Zürichberg district for views of the Old Town and lake.
Uetliberg
For the best views of the city and the lake, follow locals to their favorite weekend aerie the 871-meter Uetliberg. Southwest of Zürich, the Uetliberg is the most northerly summit in the Albis ridge, easy to reach by the Uetlibergbahn, a mountain railroad that runs year-round from Selnau station to the upper station. From here it is a 10-minute walk to the summit. The broad walkway is well lit at night and leads to the summit restaurant, a glass-enclosed space with beautiful views of the city lights below.
Lake Zürich and Bürkliplatz
The focal point of Zürich and a favorite playground for tourists and locals is the long Lake Zürich. The entire shore is lined with promenades and parks, where local residents catch the sun, jog, picnic, and swim in the lake. But the favorite way to enjoy the lake is on one of the many cruises from which you’ll see beautiful views to the Glarus Alps. Look for the steamer landing at Bürkliplatz, at the point where the Limmat flows from the lake.
Kunsthaus Zürich (Museum of Fine Arts)
One of Europe’s top art museums, the Kunsthaus is run by the Zürich Society of Arts and traces its history back to a society of artists founded in 1787. While it has large collections of works by several artists - more paintings by Charles Munch than any other museum outside of Oslo and Europe’s most important collection of Monet’s works outside of Paris - the emphasis has always been on showing the highest quality works by an artist over the largest quantity.
Bahnhofstrasse and the Bahnhof
Zürich’s "Main Street" is the busy pedestrianized Bahnhofstrasse, stretching from the main train station (Bahnhof) to the Bürkliplatz at the head of the lake. 1,200-meter street is one of the most attractive shopping streets in Europe, enlivened by fountains, public art, trees, and distinguished buildings. Although many of the shops that line it are filled with furs, fashions, jewellery, and other high-end goods, their smartly decked windows and the buildings themselves make it a popular place for everyone to stroll.
Fraumünster
Often mistranslated to Church of Our Lady, the name of the protestant Fraumünster actually means Women’s Church, referring to the founding of an abbey here in 853 for aristocratic women of Europe by Emperor Ludwig for his daughter, Hildegard. Until the High Middle Ages, the head of the convent was also governor of the city. The church is a three-aisled, pillared basilica with a Gothic nave built from the 13th to the 15th centuries, a Romanesque chancel, and an Early Gothic transept with high vaulting. In the undercroft, you can see remains of the crypt of the 9th-century abbey church
Lindenhof
Between the Bahnhofstrasse and the left bank of the Limmat, the western half of Zürich’s old town rises steeply to the quiet tree-shaded Lindenhof. This is where the Romans built their fortified settlement in the fourth century to defend against migrations from the North. Five centuries later, the grandson of Charlemagne built a palace here as a royal residence.
Schweizerisches Landesmuseum (Swiss National Museum)
A castle-like building with neo-Gothic flourishes houses an excellent museum showcasing the cultural history of all Switzerland. It is by far the most important collection of Swiss historic and cultural artifacts - more than 820,000 of them, covering a wide range of subjects from prehistory through the 20th century. The archaeological collections, with artifacts discovered in Switzerland that date from about 100,000 BC to about AD 800 are among the finest in Europe. Entire collections cover works of gold- and silversmiths, textiles, costumes, metalwork, jewelry, watches and clocks, scientific instruments, rural life, carriages and sleighs, musical instruments, crafts, and industrial antiquities. The medieval wall paintings are particularly interesting, as is the collection of old stained glass. The Armory Tower exhibits an important collection of arms and armor. Displays follow four themes: early migration and settlement, religious and intellectual history, political history, and the economic development of Switzerland.
Grossmünster (Great Minster)
Standing in an open terrace above the river, Zürich's principal church dominates the city skyline with its twin towers. Built between the 11th and the 13th centuries, it is a Romanesque three-aisled galleried basilica with a chancel over a crypt that dates from about 1100. The upper levels of the towers date from 1487, but the domed tops were added in 1782. High on the south tower on the river side is a seated figure of Charlemagne, who is believed to have founded the order to which the church originally belonged.
Zürich Zoo
More than 360 different animal species live in the exotic world of the Zürich Zoo, one of the finest in Europe. Animals live as close to their own environments as possible: snow leopards amid the rocky Himalayan landscape, penguins swimming in chilly water, and you can spot flying foxes from a canopy walk amid 13,000 square meters of tropical rainforest. In the Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park, you can watch the Asian elephant family play with their baby and swim in their multi-environment outdoor complex, which was designed to resemble their natural Thai habitat. Trams and trains run to the zoo from the main train station and the Paradeplatz.