Altstetten is a quarter in
district 9
''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction mockumentary film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zeala ...
of the city of
Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It was formerly a municipality in its own right, but was incorporated into Zürich in 1934.
History
![Altstetten 1910](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Altstetten_1910.jpg)
Altstetten is first mentioned in 1249, at which time a distinction was made between ''in Altstettin superiori'' and ''in villa Altstetin Inferiori''. Excavations have found remains probably from the late
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
(1000-800 BC), together with those of a
Roman villa
A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house built in the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions.
Typology and distribution
Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD) distinguished two kinds of villas n ...
.
In 1847, the
Swiss Northern Railway
The Swiss Northern Railway (German: ''Schweizerische Nordbahn'', SNB), informally known as the ''Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn'', opened the first railway line within Switzerland in 1847, the Zürich–Baden line. This followed the extension of a Fre ...
opened Switzerland's first domestic railway line between Zürich and
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...
. The line passed through Altstetten, and a station was provided. Over time, the line became the principal rail route between Zürich and northern and western Switzerland. In 1864, a second line, to
Zug
, neighboring_municipalities = Cham, Baar, Walchwil, Steinhausen, Unterägeri
, twintowns = Fürstenfeld (Austria), Kalesija (Bosnia-Herzegowina)
Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; french: Zoug it, Zugo r ...
via
Affoltern am Albis
Affoltern am Albis (abbreviated as ''Affoltern a.A.''; Swiss German: ''Affoltere'') is a town and a municipality in the district of Affoltern in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Affoltern is first mentioned in 1190 as ''Afiltre ...
, made a junction with the first just west of Altstetten railway station. In 1907, the
Swiss Federal Railway
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
, who had taken over both lines, opened a workshop in Altstetten.
[
In 1900, the Limmattal-Strassenbahn opened an interurban electric tramway through Altstetten, connecting with Zürich's city trams at ''Letzigraben'', which then formed the boundary between Zürich and Altstetten. Beyond Altstetten, the tramway continued to ]Schlieren
Schlieren ( ; , ) are optical inhomogeneities in transparent media that are not necessarily visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to produce high-quality lenses devoid of such inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneitie ...
, Dietikon
Dietikon is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zürich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zürich metropolitan area.
Geography
The ind ...
and Weiningen
Weiningen is a municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal'').
The municipality was first mentioned in 870 as ''Winingon''.
Geography
Weiningen has ...
. In 1931, the line was taken over by the Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich, operators of Zürich's city trams, by which time the line had been cut back to Schlieren. In the late 1950s the line was further cut back to ''Farbhof'' in the western of Altstetten, and it now forms part of city tram route 2.
The former municipality of Altstetten was incorporated into the city of Zürich in 1934. The neighbouring municipality of Albisrieden
Albisrieden is a quarter in the district 9 in Zürich
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of ...
was incorporated at the same time, and together they form district 9 of the city.[
In 1967 ]Ernst Sieber
Ernst Sieber (; 24 February 1927 – 19 May 2018) was a Swiss pastor and social activist who was one of the most popular and best known personalities associated with the Swiss Reformed Church. He was ordained in the Evangelical Reformed ...
became the parish priest of Zürich-Altstetten where he worked until his retirement as pastor in 1992.
Transportation
Altstetten railway station is a nodal point where the Zürich S-Bahn
The Zürich S-Bahn (german: S-Bahn Zürich) system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zürich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, ...
, Zürich trams
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Züric ...
, Zürich trolleybuses
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich () ...
and Zürich buses
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
all connect. The station is served by S-Bahn lines S5, S11, S12, S14, S19 and S42, providing frequent services to Zürich Hauptbahnhof
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; ''Zürich Main Station'' or ''Zürich Central Station'') is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland a ...
with a ride time only a few minutes. Tram route 4 serves a terminus on the northern side of the station, whilst trolleybus route 31 passes the south side of the station. Bus routes 78, 80, 89 and 95 also serve the south side of the station, whilst routes 304, 307 and 308 terminate at the north side.
Some south of the station, tram route 2 operates through the main ''Badenerstrasse'' street, connecting with bus routes 35, 78 and 80 at ''Lindenplatz'' stop. About to the west of ''Lindenplatz'', tram route 2 terminates at ''Farbhof'', where it connects with trolleybus 31 and buses 35, 78 and 303.[
Future plans involve the construction of the Limmattalbahn, a new metre gauge light rail line that will link Altstetten station with communities further west in the valley of the ]Limmat
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluenc ...
, along a route similar to that of the long abandoned Limmattal-Strassenbahn. It is planned that the line will be partially opened by 2020 and will connect to the city tram system at Altstetten station, with the possibility of extending city tram service over the Limmattalbahn as far as Schlieren.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Altstetten (Zurich)
District 9 of Zürich
Former municipalities of the canton of Zürich