Quaianalagen (German, plural; en, quays, or quaysides; from french: des quais) or Seeuferanlagen (German, plural for lakeshore sites) on
Lake Zürich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used ...
(german: Zürichsee) is a series of lakefronts in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Zürich ...
. Inaugurated in 1887, the quaysides are considered an important milestone in the development of Zürich. The construction of the lake fronts transformed the medieval small town on the rivers
Limmat and
Sihl
The Sihl is a Swiss river that rises near the Druesberg mountain in the canton of Schwyz, and eventually flows into the Limmat in the centre of the city of Zürich. It has a length of , including the Sihlsee reservoir, through which the river f ...
to a modern city on the Lake Zürich shore. The project was managed by engineer
Arnold Bürkli.
Geography
The quays are situated in the districts of
Enge,
Seefeld and
Wollishofen
Wollishofen is a neighbourhood in Zürich's 2nd district. It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zürich in 1893. The neighbourhood has a population of 15,592 distributed on an area of 5.75 km2.
Geography ...
at the lower
Lake Zürich
__NOTOC__
Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/ Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used ...
shore within the city of Zürich. The complete construction includes, among others, the central
Bürkliplatz on the outflow of the Lake Zürich, and (from west to east coast)
Saffa-Insel,
Strandbad Mythenquai,
Belvoirpark,
Mythenquai,
Arboretum,
General-Guisan-Quai,
Sechseläutenplatz,
Utoquai,
Seebad Utoquai,
Seefeldquai,
Riesbach Harbour,
Centre Le Corbusier
The Pavillon Le Corbusier is a Swiss art museum in Zürich-Seefeld at Zürichhorn dedicated to the work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. In 1960 Heidi Weber had the vision to establish a museum designed by Le Corbusier – this building shou ...
,
Blatterwiese,
Chinagarten,
Zürichhorn and
Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen.
The lower lake basin also houses four of the huge
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zürich
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich comprises 11 – or 10% of all European pile dwelling sites – of a total of 56 prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland, that are located around Lake Zurich in the cantons ...
of the transnational 111 serial sites. The majority of the important sites of the
Horgen culture
The Horgen culture is one of several archaeological cultures belonging to the Neolithic period of Switzerland. The Horgen culture may derive from the Pfyn culture and early Horgen pottery is similar to the earlier Cortaillod culture pottery of ...
are situated on lakeshore, including:
Grosser Hafner
Grossner Hafner is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland.
Geography
Grosser Hafner was located on the then swamp area between the L ...
on a former lake island;
Kleiner Hafner
Kleiner Hafner is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland.
Geography
Kleiner Hafner was located on the then swamp land between the ri ...
on a peninsula at
Sechseläutenplatz, at the outflow of the Lake Zürich;
and
Alpenquai,
located within an area of about in the city of Zürich.
Further points of interests
Blatterwiese
Blatterwiese is a wide and popular neighborhood meadow situated between
Seefeldquai and
Zürichhorn, established in 1839 as a fabrication area, and since then also used as on open public
lido
Lido may refer to:
Geography Africa
* Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco
Asia
* Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing
* Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok
* Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...
. In 1926, the city government acquired the land and broke down the factory building. In 1939, it was the site of the Swiss National Exhibition ''Landi39'', and was also used for the G59 exhibition in 1959. After the horticultural exhibition, the open parkland was taken over by the city government and transformed to a large playground. Between Blatterwiese and ''Bellerivestrasse'', in 1993, the
Chinese Garden Zürich was inaugurated.
The new ''Spielplatz Blatterwiese'' began construction in October 2006 and opened in June 2007. Coordinated with the transformation of the adjacent playground, the former partially underground cable car station of the G59 exhibition
was rebuilt with a ''ZüriWC'' public toilet.
The
Centre Le Corbusier
The Pavillon Le Corbusier is a Swiss art museum in Zürich-Seefeld at Zürichhorn dedicated to the work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. In 1960 Heidi Weber had the vision to establish a museum designed by Le Corbusier – this building shou ...
(or ''Heidi Weber Museum''), an art museum dedicated to the work of the Swiss architect
Le Corbusier, is situated opposite of the playground.
General-Guisan-Quai
The
Alpenquai on the left bank – renamed
General-Guisan-Quai after
Henri Guisan in 1960 – was created as a terrace-like promenade for the urban population, and four rows of trees were planted. On occasion of the renovation in 2003, the 20th century asphalt-covered surfaces were restored to the original gravel pathways. The original trees, three rows of double-flowered ''
Aesculus hippocastanum Baumannii'' significantly characterize the appearance of the place. To maintain the same basket-like crown as the elderly chestnut, the young trees are capped at their historical model of the main trunk, the runners are moved to the desired ''quirl''-like crown. In combination with the intervening series of trumpet trees of the species ''
Catalpa bignonioides
''Catalpa bignonioides'' is a species of ''Catalpa'' that is native to the southeastern United States in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Common names include southern catalpa, cigartree, and Indian-bean-tree (or Indian bean ...
'' and ''
Catalpa ovata'', the image of a compact roof tree is achieved.
Works of art from three generations adorn this path segment: the sculpture of ''
Ganymede'' by Hermann Hubacher (1959) on the so-called
Bürkliterrasse (named after Arnold Bürkli) at ''
Quaibrücke'' ; the fountain bowl of pink concrete by Christoph Haerle (2003, popularly known as female Ganymede); and the mosaic fountain by Alfred F. Bluntschli (1903) to the east at the
''Arobetum''.
Hafen Enge
The
Hafen Enge, meaning the harbour area in
Enge, is situated between the
Arboretum and
Strandbad Mythenquai. The harbour itself is used as a private-owned marina.
There is a restaurant, ''Quai61'', and a very popular snack bar at the parking facility adjoining the Arboretum, also housing a ''ZüriWC''.
The harbour is in three sections, beginning at the Arboretum. At the parking facility and towards the
Mythenquai there are four boathouses, typically for members; on the parking facility at the Mythenquai lido, it is permitted to park private boats in the winter season. The most popular sculpture there is the so-called ''Züri-Leu'', a colossal statue of a lion (renewed in 2013), situated at the publicly accessible wave-breaker.
Hafen Riesbach
The Hafen Riesbach, or Riesbach harbour area, is situated between
Seefeldquai and
Blatterwiese. The harbour is used as a private-owned marina. In 2004, the old kiosk at the popular open lido at ''Riesbachstrasse'' was replaced by a building with a windowed face. The new polygonal pavilion was designed by the architects Andreas Furrimann and Gabrielle Hächler,
and now houses a small restaurant and an annexed ''ZüriWC'' public toilet.
The colour of the windows is reflected by the surroundings, and the pavilion is illuminated in the evening hours. The original seawall front is long, and was renovated in 2003 and 2006 but not fully renewed due to risk of collapse; thus the natural stone dry wall was rebuilt in the same way. The Seefeldquai is an important milestone in the work of the landscape architect Willi Neukom, as it combines park designs from different design periods. The stone pillar ''Klausstud'' originally stood in the lake and served as a border designation of the medieval right of ''bann'' (boundary) of the city republic of Zürich. It marked where fishing rights of the urban fishermen ended, and from here the
Einsiedeln Abbey
Einsiedeln Abbey (german: Kloster Einsiedeln) is a Benedictine Catholic monastery in the village of Einsiedeln in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland. The abbey is dedicated to Our Lady of the Hermits, in recognition of Meinrad of Einsiedeln, a he ...
pilgrims proved their honour to the Protestant city by lowering the volume of their prayers and songs. Since the landfills in the construction of the quais, the pillar stands in the middle of the park. The sculpture by
Henry Moore is named ''Sheep Piece'', and was donated in 1976.
Landiwiese
Named after the ''Landi39'' exhibition, various public events continue to be held here. These include the camp of the
Circus Knie
Circus Knie (german: Schweizer National-Circus Knie, french: Cirque National Suisse Knie) is the largest circus of Switzerland, based in Rapperswil.
The circus was founded in 1803 by the Knie family and has existed in its present form since 19 ...
when it stages at
Sechseläutenplatz, numerous youth events,
Zürcher Theater Spektakel
The Zürcher Theater Spektakel (''Zürich Theatre Spectacle'') is an international theatre and performing arts festival, held annually each summer in Zürich, Switzerland. First held in 1980,
the festival invites 20-25 different performing arts g ...
, the
SAFFA (Swiss Exhibition for Women's Work) in 1958, and the popular artificial island Saffa-Insel that is connected by a small bridge for thousands of people who like to swim or have fun there. Landiwiese includes a large open meadow with a smaller hard court for sports, and is home to valuable old trees. The festival site is part of the last replenishment on the left lake shore; in 1939, it was named for the Swiss National Exhibition (''Landesausstellung''), and expanded to its present size.
''Mädchen mit erhobenen Händen'' is the most remarkable sculpture at the area; a work of
Hermann Haller, created in 1939.
Mythenquai
Otto C. Banninger's
Gottfried Keller
Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called ''The People from Seldwyla'' (''Die Leu ...
memorial (1964) is situated at the ''Wabengarten'', a honeycomb water installation, one of the few relics of the 1959 garden exhibition, G59. It had been constructed for a temporary exhibition, so reductions for bad foundations and water loss occurred in the less-dense pools. A few steps from the shore there's another rare plant in Zürich, ''
Taxodium distichum
''Taxodium distichum'' (bald cypress, swamp cypress; french: cyprès chauve;
''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a wide r ...
'' having
pneumatophore
Aerial roots are roots above the ground. They are almost always adventitious. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (''Orchidaceae''), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs (''Fic ...
s, originating from Mississippi River up to Missouri. At the
marina, ''
Alnus glutinosa
''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations wh ...
'' were planted after the flood of May 1999, and because the high water table in the vicinity of the lake gets better than their commitments, a group of ''
Paulownia tomentosa
''Paulownia tomentosa'', common names princess tree, empress tree, or foxglove-tree, is a deciduous hardwood tree in the family Paulowniaceae, native to central and western China. It is an extremely fast-growing tree with seeds that disperse rea ...
''. In 2004 the city council (''Stadtrat'', Zürich's executive organ) decided to develop a master plan for this area of the lakeside promenades.
Because the adjacent lake police (''Wasserschutzpolizei der Stadt Zürich'') planned a new building,
and the public access to Mythenquai had to be reorganized, a general upgrading and redevelopment of the whole area was planned, extending to the parking facilities
and
Strandbad Mythenquai, Zürich's only sand-beach lido.
Seefeldquai
The Seefeldquai consists of the popular and historic promenade between
Utoquai and ''Feldeggstrasse'' at the lakeside environment of the 1970s, leading to ''Lindenstrasse'', opposite of the
Mythenquai. It is the southernly extension of the long promenades from Utoquai, having a mix of beaches with sand and gravel areas. Due to fluctuations in the water level, some shore sections had to be secured with boulders. The upright stone pillar ''Klausstud'', named after Saint Nicholas, was the former ''Bann'' (boundary) of the medieval city of Zürich, situated near the Riesbach harbour. The 1864-built bathhouse was closed in 1887, but as a substitute of the former ''Riesbach'' local authorities approved the construction of two new baths,
Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen and
Seebad Utoquai. From 1975 to 1977, the waterfront between ''Feldeggstrasse'' and ''Lindenstrasse'' was redesigned by the landscape architect Willi Neukom. The park was designed with pools, hills and sandstone blocks, and smooth transitions to the private property in the present Seefeld district. The curved routing at the ''Utoquai'' roadway, one of the busiest in Zürich, has been set in deliberate contrast to the orthogonal orientation of the paths towards
Zürichhorn and
Blatterwiese, and was paved with period-typical hexagonal stones. The trees have been integrated into the new design and supplemented with unusual flora, such as beech and hanging pyramidal elms,
rhododendrons and
azaleas, additional shrub and rose plantings, irises, grasses, and bamboo. In 1999, it was replaced by a more transparent planting, and in 2007, the park area was again upgraded with rose plants.
Utoquai
The Utoquai is situated between the effluence of the river Limmat and
Bellevueplatz
Bellevueplatz ("Bellevue Square", from the French ''bellevue'' meaning "beautiful sight") is a town square in Zürich, Switzerland built in 1856. Named after the former Grandhotel Bellevue on its north side, it is one of the nodal points for r ...
(respectively the
Sechseläutenplatz (''
Kleiner Hafner
Kleiner Hafner is one of the 111 serial sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', of which are 56 located in Switzerland.
Geography
Kleiner Hafner was located on the then swamp land between the ri ...
'') squares), with the
Seefeldquai adjoining to the southeast. The promenade was built in 1887 and planted with
chestnut trees as a lawn towards the
Seebad Utoquai. It was formed as a high seawall with a wrought iron railing, and small stairs leading to the lake's shore. Traffic planners urged a masterplan be developed in the 1960s, which called for the adjacent ''Bellerivestrasse'' to be broadened due to the rapidly growing road traffic. The historic lakeside promenade was to be shifted, and construction implemented in 1971 effected a new promenade on concrete piles directly above the water level. However, the project plans were not fully realized, and the waterside path of the 1970s became an additional part of the existing promenades, preserving the chestnut trees of 1887 and resulting in the present, wide promenade. In 2006, the historic seawall was renewed, and the Utoquai's design is now of different time periods. As the old bathhouse had to make place for the construction, the then-independent municipality
Riesbach
Riesbach is a district in the Swiss city of Zürich. It is District number 8.
History
The district comprises the quarters Seefeld, Mühlebach and Weinegg. Riesbach was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zürich i ...
built two new bathing facilities:
Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen (1886) and
Seebad Utoquai (1890).
The latter was a "bathing palace" on stilts with delicate, tower-like structures in the Moorish style. For the first time in Zürich, it was permitted for men and women to bathe in the same place. In 1942, the towering domes were enhanced by the construction of wooden sun terraces, and the basic structure of the original bathing room is still preserved. The Utoquai figures in ''Inventar der schützenswerten Gärten und Anlagen von kommunaler Bedeutung'', being the inventory of estimable gardens and grounds of local importance that was established in 1989.
History
![Spelterini Zürich City](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Spelterini_Z%C3%BCrich_City.jpg)
The site of the former ''
Kratzquartier'' accommodation and ''Bauhaus'' district at the
Bauschänzli (today's
Stadthausanlage) was extended in 1833 by landfill with rubble of the baroque city fortification along the lake shore. This also marked the end of the medieval ''Kratzquartier'' as the distinctive urban axis, extending from ''Zentralhof'', ''Kappelerhof'', and
Münsterhof
Münsterhof (literally: Fraumünster abbey courtyard) is a town square situated in the Lindenhof quarter in the historical center of Zürich, Switzerland. Münsterhof is the largest town square within the ''Altstadt'' (old town) of Zürich, and i ...
towards the
Bürkliterrasse, once home to the underprivileged citizens of Zürich. The medieval quarter had been thoroughly overhauled between 1836 and 1900, and was entirely demolished for the purpose of building a modern lakeshore city.
The population welcomed the decision of the city of Zürich and the independent
municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of Enge and Riesbach to construct the planned lakeside promenades on 4 September 1881. The project, which comprised the whole lower lake basin by the
Zürichhorn close to the Enge port, was a considerable financial risk for the three communities that were involved. Smart financing models and the "unwavering optimism of the early years brilliantly mastered this challenge".
The large-scale
land reclamation works began in the area of Utoquai in the 1860s, requiring a total of 24.1 million cubic meters (850 million cu ft) of stone material and lake mud for an area of about . This was brought in by ship and introduced by machines specially designed for this purpose. The typical procedure was to construct a breakwater and then backfill it with less-stable lake marl.
Railway construction and excavations of tunnels and cuts in Riesbach also provided material, and municipalities and private organizations were invited to deposit rubble, being compensated for large quantities.
Arnold Bürkli-Ziegler gave up his position as city engineer to be the chief engineer and coordinator of the project. The construction work began in late 1881, with plans to present parts of the quays at the Swiss national exhibition of 1883. But the whole coastal zone had to be transformed in a time-consuming and costly process in public ownership. Previously, nearly the entire lake area was inaccessible to the public, as the shore land belonged to private owners. A comtemorary commented: "Zürich had a lake, but it
he citydid not see it, and his position
or the publicwas almost a secret."
The inauguration was held in July 1887, and ''
Quaibrücke'' became the link between the left (Limmat downstream or southerly) and right side of the lake. The elegant promenade of
Utoquai,
Bürkliterrasse (Alpenquai), and the
General-Guisan-Quai lined up on the right side of the lake. The
Arboretum, as a spacious park facility,
became the southerly connection towards
Mythenquai and present Wollishofen.
The Swiss National Exhibition in 1939 initiated the further extensions of the existing plan. A monorail was built between the two shores of the lake, but was taken down shortly after the exhibition. At
Zürichhorn, the popular tourist restaurant ''Casino Zürichhorn'' was removed temporarily to provide space for the buildings of the exhibition, one of which was preserved as the Fischerstube restaurant. In the 1950s, on the fallow area between the railway station Tiefenbrunnen and Zürichhorn, the ''Seebad Tiefenbrunnen'' lido was erected; in the 1960s, the new building of the restaurant ''Lakeside'' and the
Centre Le Corbusier
The Pavillon Le Corbusier is a Swiss art museum in Zürich-Seefeld at Zürichhorn dedicated to the work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier. In 1960 Heidi Weber had the vision to establish a museum designed by Le Corbusier – this building shou ...
were built. As part of the horticultural exhibition 1959 (G59), Seefeldquai underwent important changes: the present natural embankment design in the English landscape style between Riesbach harbour and Zürichhorn, the removal of nearly century-old trees, and the replacement of all embankments with sandstone slabs and stones. In the mid-1960s, at the height of the Riesbachstrasse harbour area, some owners sold their property at Seefeldquai; in its place emerged several corporate offices and the private clinic ''Seepyramyde''.
The last extension was the
Chinagarten Zürich at ''Zürichhorn''.
Literature
* ''Gartenbiografien: Orte erzählen''. vdf Hochschulverlag AG, ETH Zürich, Zürich 2013, .
* Roman G. Schönauer: ''Von der Stadt am Fluss zur Stadt am See. 100 Jahre Zürcher Quaianlagen''. Verlag Matthieu (Zürcher Heimatschutz), published by Stadtrat, Zürich 1987/2006, ISBN .
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Quaianlagen (Zurich)
1887 establishments in Switzerland
Geography of Zürich
Lake Zurich
Parks in Zürich
Tourist attractions in Switzerland