The Helvetiaplatz () is a

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

located in

Aussersihl Aussersihl is a district in the Swiss city of Zürich. Known officially as District number 4, the district is known as colloquially ''Chreis Cheib'', ''cheib'' being the Zürich German word for an animal cadaver. It earned the name as the area h ...

(district 4) at the corner of Langstrasse and

Stauffacherstrasse Werner Stauffacher was supposedly the name of the representative of the canton of Schwyz, one of the three founding cantons at the legendary Rütlischwur of 1291, as told by Aegidius Tschudi. Many members of the Stauffacher family held the off ...

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. The first project of pastor

Ernst Sieber Ernst Sieber (; 24 February 1927 – 19 May 2018) was a Swiss pastor, social activist and politician who served one term as a member of the National Council (Switzerland) for the Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland, Evangelical Pe ...

Sozialwerke Pfarrer Sieber ''Sozialwerke Pfarrer Sieber'' (SWS) is a Swiss charitable foundation and relief organisation based the Municipalities of the canton of Zürich, municipality of Zürich. Initiated in 1963 by Ernst Sieber, a pastor associated with the Reformierte Ki ...

for homeless people started at Helvetiaplatz in winter 1963; the foundation is still based in Zürich-Aussersihl. The place is well known because of demonstrations on 1 May and against the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

. Otherwise peaceful and multicultural events or demonstrations take place there. In 2006 and 2007 there was a great champion celebration after

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

won the Swiss Axpo Super League. Every Tuesday and Friday from 6 to 11 o'clock you can find a market with a wide range of food products. Directly at the Helvetiaplatz you can find the Volkshaus where there are regular events such as concerts or parties. Next to the Helvetiaplatz is the Kanzleiareal with a schoolhouse, the cultural centre called ''Kanzlei'' and the alternative cinema and bar named ''Xenix''. upright=3.5, center, Panorama of the Helvetiaplatz with the Civil Service building (middle left), the ''Volkshaus'' (middle right) and the ''Kanzleiareal'' (right)

Events

;Langstrassenfest The Langstrassenfest () is an important part of the Langstrasse PLUS campaign. It takes place since 1996 every two years. In 2004, it counted about 270,000 visitors. In the years without a Langstrassenfest, the Longstreet Carneval takes place. The Langstrassenfest is organised by Swiss citizens. ;Longstreet Carneval Every other year when there is no Langstrassenfest, the Longstreet Carneval takes place. This carnival is organised by non–Swiss citizens. ;Caliente The Caliente Festival is the biggest Latin Festival all over Europe. It counted over 130,000 visitors in 2006. ;Open-Air-Cinema Every summer in July and August there is an open air cinema at the cinema/bar Xenix near the Helvetiaplatz. {{Zurich District 4 of Zurich Squares in Zurich