, neighboring_municipalities =
Brütten
Brütten is a municipality in the district of Winterthur, in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland.
History
Brütten is first mentioned in 876 as ''Pritta''.
Geography
Brütten has an area of . Of this area, 58.9% is used for agricultural purpo ...
,
Dinhard
Dinhard is a municipality in the district of Winterthur, which is located in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Dinhard is first mentioned in 1275 as ''Thynart''.
Geography
Dinhard has an area of . Of this area, 70.1% is used for ...
,
Elsau
Elsau is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Elsau is first mentioned in 1043 as ''Elnesouva''. On 23 April 1398 Count '' Donat von Toggenburg, Herr zu Brettengow und Tavas'' donated the ...
,
Hettlingen
Hettlingen is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Hettlingen is first mentioned in 886 as ''Hetelinga''.
Geography
Hettlingen has an area of . Of this area, 61.3% is used for agricultu ...
,
Illnau-Effretikon
Illnau-Effretikon is a municipality in the district of Pfäffikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It includes the villages of Illnau, Effretikon, Ottikon and Bisikon. On 1 January 2016 Kyburg and Illnau-Effretikon merged to form the m ...
,
Kyburg,
Lindau
Lindau (german: Lindau (Bodensee), ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Ge ...
,
Neftenbach
Neftenbach is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Besides the village of Neftenbach itself, the municipality includes the settlements of Hünikon, Aesch, Riet and Irchelhöfen.
History
Neftenbach ...
,
Oberembrach
Oberembrach is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Oberembrach is first mentioned in 1274 as ''Obern-Emmerach''. However, the village was not an independent municipality until 1809. Before t ...
,
Pfungen
Pfungen is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Pfungen is first mentioned in 993 as ''Funginga''.
Geography
Pfungen has an area of . Of this area, 32.3% is used for agricultural purpose ...
,
Rickenbach,
Schlatt,
Seuzach
Seuzach is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
Geography
Seuzach has an area of . 44.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 24.3% is forested, 30.1% is settled (buildings or roads), and the ...
,
Wiesendangen,
Zell Zell may refer to:
Places Austria
* Zell am See, in Salzburg state
* Zell am Ziller, in Tyrol
* Zell, Carinthia, in Carinthia
* in Upper Austria:
** Bad Zell
** Zell am Moos
** Zell an der Pram
** Zell am Pettenfirst
Germany
* Zell im Fichtelgebi ...
, twintowns =
Hall in Tirol
Hall in Tyrol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km (3 mi) east of the state's capital Innsbruck in the Inn valley, it has a population of about 13,000 (Jan 2013).
History ...
(Austria),
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...
(Switzerland),
Pilsen (Czech Republic),
Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...
(Switzerland)
, website = stadt.winterthur.ch
Winterthur (; french: Winterthour, lang) is a
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in the
canton of Zürich
The canton of Zürich (german: Kanton Zürich ; rm, Chantun Turitg; french: Canton de Zurich; it, Canton Zurigo) is a Swiss canton in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton in the ...
in northern Switzerland. With over 110,000 residents it is the country's
sixth-largest city by population, and is the ninth-largest
agglomeration
Agglomeration may refer to:
* Urban agglomeration, in standard English
* Megalopolis, in Chinese English, as defined in China's ''Standard for basic terminology of urban planning'' (GB/T 50280—98). Also known as "city cluster".
* Economies of agg ...
with about 140,000 inhabitants. Located about northeast 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 ...
, Winterthur is a service and high-tech industrial
satellite city
Satellite cities or satellite towns are smaller municipalities that are adjacent to a principal city which is the core of a metropolitan area. They differ from mere suburbs, subdivisions and especially bedroom communities in that they have mun ...
within
Greater Zürich.
The official language of Winterthur is
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
,
[The official language in any municipality in German-speaking Switzerland is always German. In this context, the term 'German' is used as an umbrella term for any variety of German. So, according to law, you are allowed to communicate with the authorities by using any kind of German, in written or oral form. However, the authorities will always use ]Swiss Standard German
Swiss Standard German (german: Schweizer Standarddeutsch), or Swiss High German (german: Schweizer Hochdeutsch or ''Schweizerhochdeutsch''), referred to by the Swiss as ''Schriftdeutsch'', or ''Hochdeutsch'', is the written form of one of four o ...
(aka the Swiss variety of Standard German
Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (not to be confused with High German dialects, more precisely Upper German dialects) (german: Standardhochdeutsch, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the standardized variety ...
) in documents, or any written form. And orally, it is either ''Hochdeutsch'' (i.e., Swiss Standard German or what the particular speaker considers as ''High German''), or then it depends on the speaker's origin, which dialectal variant (s)he is using. but the main spoken language is the local variant of the
Alemannic Alemannic (''Alamannic'') or Alamanni may refer to:
* Alemannic German, a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German languages and its speakers
* Alemanni, a confederation of Suebian Germanic tribes in the Roman period
* Alamanni (surna ...
Swiss German
Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...
dialect,
Zürich German
Zürich German (German: ''Zürichdeutsch'', natively ''Züritüütsch'' ) is the High Alemannic dialect spoken in the Canton of Zürich, Switzerland.
Its area covers most of the canton, with the exception of the parts north of the Thur and th ...
. Winterthur is usually abbreviated as ''Winti'' in the local dialect and by its inhabitants.
Winterthur is connected to Germany by direct trains and has links to
Zurich Airport
Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switze ...
. It is also a regional transport hub: the A1 motorway from
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
through to
St. Margrethen
St. Margrethen (Saint Margrethen/Sankt Margrethen) is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.
Geography
St. Margrethen has an area, , of . Of this area, 28.3% is used for agric ...
connects in Winterthur with the A4 motorway heading north toward
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
and the A7 motorway heading close to the Swiss-German border at
Kreuzlingen
Kreuzlingen is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in north-eastern Switzerland. It is the seat of the district and is the second-largest city of the canton, after Frauenfeld, with a population of about 22,000. ...
. There are also roads leading to other places such as
Turbenthal
Turbenthal is a municipality in the district of Winterthur located in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
Geography
Turbenthal has an area of . Of this area, 34.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 57.6% is forested. Of the rest of t ...
. The
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
is the fourth busiest railway station in Switzerland, and is 20 minutes away by train from Zürich.
History
''
Vitudurum
Vitudurum (sometimes Vitodorum) is the name of a Roman ''vicus'', those remains are located in Oberwinterthur, a locality of the municipality of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.
Geography
The majority of the remains of com ...
'' was a ''
vicus
In Ancient Rome, the Latin term (plural ) designated a village within a rural area () or the neighbourhood of a larger settlement. During the Republican era, the four of the city of Rome were subdivided into . In the 1st century BC, Augustus r ...
'' in what is now
Oberwinterthur
Oberwinterthur is a district in the Swiss city of Winterthur. It is district number 2.
The district comprises the quarters Talacker, Guggenbühl, Zinzikon, Reutlingen, Stadel, Grüze, Hegmatten and Hegi.
Oberwinterthur was formerly a munic ...
during the
Roman era
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
(first century BC to third century AD). It was fortified into a ''
castrum
In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...
'' at the end of the third century, apparently in reaction to the incipient
Alamannic invasion.
There was an
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni, were a confederation of Germanic tribes
*
*
*
on the Upper Rhine River. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Caracalla of 213, the Alemanni captured the in 260, and later expanded into pres ...
c settlement on the site in the seventh century.
In a
battle near Winterthur in 919,
Burchard II of Swabia
Burchard II (883/88429 April 926) was the Hunfriding Duke of Swabia (from 917) and Count of Raetia. He was the son of Burchard I of Swabia and Liutgard of Saxony.
Burchard took part in the early wars over Swabia. His family being from Franconi ...
asserted his control over the
Thurgau
Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is part ...
within the
Duchy of Swabia
The Duchy of Swabia (German: ''Herzogtum Schwaben'') was one of the five stem duchies of the medieval German Kingdom. It arose in the 10th century in the southwestern area that had been settled by Alemanni tribes in Late Antiquity.
While the ...
against the claims of
Rudolph II of Burgundy
Rudolph II (c. 11 July 880 – 11 July 937), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 912 until his death. He initially succeeded in Upper Burgundy and also ruled as King of Italy from 922 to 926. In 933 Rudolph acquired the ...
.
The
counts of Winterthur
The Counts of Winterthur were a Swabian noble family, a branch of the Udalrichinger dynasty, who ruled parts of Thurgau in the 10th and 11th centuries.
They are named for the Alemannic settlement at '' Vitudurum'', but their rule predates the foun ...
, a cadet branch of the family of the
counts of Bregenz
The county of Bregenz is recorded as part of the Holy Roman Empire between 1043 and 1160. It was in possession of the Udalriching family, who took the titles of counts of Bregenz.
After 1160, Bregenz fell to the counts of Montfort-Bregenz (1160 ...
, built
Kyburg castle
Kyburg Castle (german: Schloss Kyburg) is a castle in Switzerland, overlooking the Töss river some 3 km south-east of Winterthur, in Kyburg municipality, canton of Zürich. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
Histo ...
in the tenth century. With the extinction of the counts of Winterthur in 1053, the castle passed to the
counts of Dillingen
The Counts of Dillingen were a Swabian comital family of the Hupaldinger (Hucpaldinger) dynasty during AD 955–1286.
History
The family originate in Wittislingen, with archaeological evidence of grave goods suggesting the presence of Alaman ...
. Winterthur as a city (presumably on the site of a pre-existing village) was founded by Hartmann III of Dillingen in 1180, shortly before his death in the same year. From 1180 to 1263, Winterthur was ruled by the cadet line of the
House of Kyburg
The Kyburg family (; ; also Kiburg) was a noble family of ''grafen'' (counts) in the Duchy of Swabia, a cadet line of the counts of Dillingen, who in the late 12th and early 13th centuries ruled the County of Kyburg, corresponding to much of wha ...
.
When the counts of Kyburg became extinct in the male line in 1263, Winterthur passed to the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, who established a
comital
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
line of ''Neu-Kyburg'' in 1264 and granted
city rights
Town privileges or borough rights were important features of European towns during most of the second millennium. The city law customary in Central Europe probably dates back to Italian models, which in turn were oriented towards the tradition ...
to Winterthur in the same year. From 1415 until 1442 Winterthur was ''
reichsfrei
Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular prin ...
'' (subject only to the
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
). However, in the
Old Zürich War
The Old Zurich War (german: Alter Zürichkrieg), 1440–46, was a conflict between the canton of Zurich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg.
In 1436, Count Friedrich VII of ...
they lost this freedom and came back under the control of the Austrian Habsburgs. Needing money, in 1467, the Habsburgs sold Winterthur to 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 ...
.
![Merian Winterthur 1642](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Merian_Winterthur_1642.jpg)
While it was under the leadership of Zürich, Winterthur's economic freedom was restricted. It lost many of its market rights and the right to trade in some goods. This ended in 1798, when
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
ic troops took the town. On 27 May 1799, it was the site of the
Battle of Winterthur
The Battle of Winterthur (27 May 1799) was an important action between elements of the Army of the Danube and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the War of the Second Coalition, part of the French ...
between elements of the
French Army of the Danube
The Army of the Danube (french: Armée du Danube, links=no) was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army ...
and elements of the Habsburg army, commanded by
Friedrich, Baron von Hotze during the
War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
, in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
. Because Winterthur lies near Zürich and at the junction of seven roads, the army that held the town held the access to most of Switzerland and points crossing the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
into southern Germany. Although the forces involved were small, the ability of the Austrians to sustain an 11-hour assault against the French line, on the plateau north of Zürich, resulted in the consolidation of three Austrian forces. This led to the French
defeat a few days later.
![Winterthur aus der Vogelschau 1850](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Winterthur_aus_der_Vogelschau_1850.jpg)
In the 19th century, Winterthur became an industrial town when companies, like
Sulzer,
Rieter
Rieter is a producer of textile machinery based in Winterthur, Switzerland.
History
Founded in 1795 by Johann Jacob Rieter (1762–1826), the company initially produced textile products. In 1806, as Napoleon imposed the Continental Blockade to ...
and
SLM, built large industrial plants. Winterthur suffered severely from its investments in and guarantee of loans to the National Railway of Switzerland (a private enterprise). In 1878, Winterthur had to sell its shares in the line, and from 1881 to 1885 it was in great difficulties due to a loan of nine million francs guaranteed in 1874 by the town, together with three others in Aargau, to the enterprise. As the three co-guarantor towns were unable to pay their shares, the whole burden fell on Winterthur, which struggled to meet its liabilities. But it was assisted by large loans from the cantonal and federal governments.
The
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, in the 1930s, hit Winterthur extremely hard. Sixty percent of the total employees in town worked in the
machine industry
The machine industry or machinery industry is a subsector of the industry, that produces and maintains machines for consumers, the industry, and most other companies in the economy.
This machine industry traditionally belongs to the heavy industr ...
. Jobs became extremely hard to find. However, with the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, industry grew again in the city.
In 2008, Winterthur reached 100,000 inhabitants.
Geography
Topography
Winterthur is located at an elevation of . The city is located in a basin south and east of the river
Töss
Töss is a district in the Swiss city of Winterthur. It is district number 4. The district comprises the quarters Schlosstal, Dättnau, Eichliacker and Rossberg. It is named after the river Töss which flows through the district.
In the Middle Ag ...
before it meets the
High Rhine
The High Rhine (german: Hochrhein) is the name used for the part of the Rhine that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel. The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine ...
after 10 kilometers. The
Eulach, a small river, flows from the town's east end through the middle of the town to meet the Töss at the west exit of the city. Because of this the town is colloquially also called "Eulachstadt". Zürich lies about southwest of Winterthur.
Area
, Winterthur has an area of ; 24.8% is used for agricultural purposes, 40.4% is forested, 33.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and 1.1% is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).
[ housing and buildings made up 21.9% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (9%).] Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.6% of the area. , 27.6% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.
Politics
Subdivisions
Winterthur has seven city districts (german: Stadtkreise):
1 – Winterthur-Stadt, 2 – Oberwinterthur, 3 – Seen, 4 – Töss, 5 – Veltheim, 6 – Wülflingen, 7 – Mattenbach
Government
The City Council (Stadtrat) constitutes the executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dire ...
government of the City of Winterthur and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of seven councilors (german: Stadtrat/ Stadträtin), each presiding over a department. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the Large Municipal Council are carried by the City Council. In the mandate period 2018–2022 (''Legislatur'') the City Council is presided by ''Stadtpräsident'' Michael Künzle
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
. The regular election of the City Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of Winterthur allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The mayor is elected as such by public election by means of a system of Majorz, while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The delegates are elected by means of a system of Majorz.
, Winterthur's City Council is made up of three representatives of the SP (Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
For ...
), one member of the FDP (FDP.The Liberals
french: PLR.Les Libéraux-Radicaux it, PLR.I Liberali Radicali rm, PLD.Ils Liberals
, logo =
, caption = Logo of the party in French, German, and Italian
, leader1_title = President
, leader1_name = Thierry Burkart
...
), one of the GPS (Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
), one of the GLP ( Green Liberal Party), and one of the CVP ( Christian Democratic People's Party, who is also the mayor), giving the left parties a combined four out of seven seats. The last regular election was held on 5 March and 15 April 2018,[ the last special election on 23 August 2020.
Ansgar Simon is Town Chancellor (''Stadtschreiber'') since and Marcel Wendelspiess is Legal Counsel (''Rechtskonsulent'') since 2013 for the City Council.
]
Parliament
The Large Municipal Council (Grosser Gemeinderat) holds legislative power
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as p ...
. It is made up of 60 members, with elections held every four years. The Large Municipal Council decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the City Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
(Proporz).
The sessions of the Large Municipal Council are public. Unlike members of the City Council, members of the Large Municipal Council are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of Winterthur allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Large Municipal Council. The parliament holds its meetings in the ''Rathaus'' once a month on Mondays.
The last regular election of the Large Municipal Council was held on 8 March 2018 for the mandate period (german: Legislatur) from May 2018 to April 2022. Currently the Large Municipal Council consists of 18 members of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS), 10 Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 8 The Liberals (FDP/PLR), 7 Green Liberal Party (GLP/PVL), 5 Green Party (GPS/PES), 4 Evangelical People's Party (EVP), 3 Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), 2 Alternative List (AL), one representative each of the Conservative Democratic Party (BDP/PBD), Federal Democratic Union (EDU/UDF), and the Pirate Party
Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...
.
National Elections
National Council
In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council
The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the ...
the most popular party was the PS which received 22.6% (−3.4) of the vote. The next six most popular parties were the SVP (17.8%, -5.6), the Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
(17.8%, +9), the glp (14.3%, +5.5), FDP (10.6%, -1.5), the EVP (5.0%, 0), and the CVP (4.2%, +0.2). In the federal election a total of 32,907 votes were cast, and the voter turnout
In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This can be the percentage of registered voters, eligible voters, or all voting-age people. According to Stanford Unive ...
was 47.0%.
In the 2015 election for the Swiss National Council
The National Council (german: Nationalrat; french: Conseil national; it, Consiglio nazionale; rm, Cussegl naziunal) is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the upper house being the Council of States. With 200 seats, the ...
the most popular party was the SPS
SPS may refer to:
Law and government
* Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the WTO
* NATO Science for Peace and Security
* Single Payment Scheme, an EU agricultural subsidy
* The Standard Procurement System, fo ...
which received 26.1% of the vote. The next most popular parties were the SVP (23.4%), the FDP (12.1%), the Green Party
A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence.
Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
(8.8%), the glp (8.8%), the EVP (5.0%), the CVP (4.0%), and BDP (3.5%). In the federal election, a total of 33,426 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 49.3%.
In the 2011, federal election the most popular party was the SP which received 22.5% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the SVP (21.8%), the Green Liberals (11.1%) and the Green Party (10.1%).
International relations
Twin towns
Winterthur is twinned with two Swiss and two international towns and coordinates its international relations together with the Swiss towns Frauenfeld
Frauenfeld (Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.
The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Sw ...
, St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
, and Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
:
* Yverdon-les-Bains
Yverdon-les-Bains () (called Eburodunum and Ebredunum during the Roman era) is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district. The population of Yverdon-les-Bains, , was ...
, Switzerland
* La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds () is a Swiss city in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometers south of the French border. After Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, it is the fourth largest city loc ...
, Switzerland
* Pilsen, Czech Republic
* Hall in Tirol
Hall in Tyrol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km (3 mi) east of the state's capital Innsbruck in the Inn valley, it has a population of about 13,000 (Jan 2013).
History ...
, Austria
Namesake
The community of Winterthur
, neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell
, twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...
in Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
, USA, is named after the city.
Demographics
the population of Winterthur is 100,000. More recently (as of ) the population was . 23.6% of the population was made up of foreign nationals.[''Winterthur In Zahlen'' 2009]
Retrieved 8 December 2009 the gender distribution of the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 10.4%. Most of the population () speaks German (83.0%), with Italian being second-most common (4.9%) and Albanian being third (2.0%).
The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 19.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 63.9% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.2%.[ There are 42,028 households in Winterthur.]
there were 37,327 members of the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
(37.1% of the population) and 26,995 Catholics (26.7% of the population) in Winterthur. Of the other Christian faiths, 326 (0.3%) were Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
, 203 (0.2%) were Christian Catholic, 3141 (3.1%) are some type of Christian Orthodox and 3,132 (3.1%) are another Christian faith. Of the rest of the population, 11,608 (11.5%) were Muslim, 108 (0.1%) were Jewish, 1,359 (1.3%) belonged to another non-Christian faith and 16,779 (16.6%) were atheist or agnostic or did not belong to any organized faith.[
]
Economy
Historically, Winterthur was one of the homes of Switzerland's rail industry and an industrial centre, however the rail industry and other heavy industry have mostly shut down. Amongst the most significant companies was Sulzer Brothers, today's Sulzer Ltd., ''Sulzer AG'', commonly abbreviated to Sulzer. Textile production declined even earlier on. The Rieter
Rieter is a producer of textile machinery based in Winterthur, Switzerland.
History
Founded in 1795 by Johann Jacob Rieter (1762–1826), the company initially produced textile products. In 1806, as Napoleon imposed the Continental Blockade to ...
textile machinery company is based in Winterthur.
Switzerland's largest bank, and one of the world's large banks, Union Bank of Switzerland
Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) was a Swiss Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. The bank, which at the time was the second largest bank in Switzerland, merged with Swiss Bank Corporation in ...
(UBS, since 1998 UBS AG
UBS Group AG is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company founded and based in Switzerland. Co-headquartered in the cities of Zürich and Basel, it maintains a presence in all major financial centres ...
), was founded in Winterthur.
The ''Landbote
''Der Landbote'', commonly shortened to ''Landbote'', is a Switzerland, Swiss, German language, German-language daily newspaper, published in Winterthur, Switzerland.
History and profile
''Der Landbote'' was founded in 1836 in Winterthur as a ...
'' newspaper is situated in Winterthur, and also serves as ''Winterthurer Stadtanzeiger'', the official publication organ of the city of Winterthur.
Peraves
Peraves AG was a Swiss manufacturer of high-end aerodynamically-enhanced cabin motorcycles. It won the Automotive X Prize for its entirely electric X-Tracer in 2010. By 2019 it had declared bankruptcy.
History
Peraves AG was founded in 1972 by ...
, the manufacturer of the fully enclosed "cabin motorcycle" named the Monotracer, predated by an earlier model named the Ecomobile
The Ecomobile is a cabin motorcycle produced by Peraves AG, manufactured in Winterthur, Switzerland since 1984.
History
Arnold Wagner of Switzerland received a patent in 1983 for a support device for a single-track vehicle, a requirement f ...
, has been manufacturing these vehicles since the early 1980s. In 2010, Peraves won the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize with an electric powered version of the Monotracer.
Among other commercial organizations, Winterthur was home to Switzerland's largest insurance business Winterthur Insurance. Until its acquisition, the company was the largest in Switzerland and was in Europe's top 10. On 1 January 2007 the Winterthur company was acquired by the French AXA
Axa S.A. (styled as ''AXA'' or GIG in the Middle East) is a French multinational insurance company. The head office is in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. It also provides investment management and other financial services.
The Ax ...
group and is now known as AXA Winterthur.
, Winterthur had an unemployment rate of 3.53%.[ , there were 185 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 60 businesses involved in this sector; 11,880 people are employed in the ]secondary sector
In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in construction. ...
and there are 884 businesses in this sector; 59,767 people are employed in the tertiary sector
The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
, with 6,983 businesses in this sector.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
Retrieved 25 August 2020 47.9% of the working population were employed full-time, and 52.1% were employed part-time.
Retrieved 4 August 2009
Education
In Winterthur, about 70.7% of the population (between ages 25 and 64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''Fachhochschule
A ''Fachhochschule'' (; plural ''Fachhochschulen''), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts ...
'').[Regional portraits 2012: key data of all communes – Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
Retrieved 25 August 2020
The town is renowned for its institute of higher education ''Technikum'', which is the largest school of technology in Switzerland. The institute has recently teamed up with schools from Zürich and is now known as Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften
The Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW; german: Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften) located in the city of Winterthur, with facilities in Zurich and Wädenswil, is one of the largest University of Applied Sciences in Swit ...
(ZHAW).
The headquarters of the Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy. It consists ...
are located in Winterthur.
SIS Swiss International School
The SIS Swiss International Schools are a group of 17 private day schools in Switzerland, Germany and Brazil offering continuous education from kindergarten through to college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational inst ...
maintains a campus in Winterthur. International School Winterthur
International School Winterthur (ISW) was an international school in Winterthur, Switzerland, serving ages 3 through 18. It was established in 2001, but closed suddenly on 22 May 2015 after declaring insolvency. ()
ISW's Kindergarten and primar ...
, formerly located in Winterthur, closed in 2015.
Transport
Bahnhof Winterthur, the central station, is one of the busiest stations on the Swiss Railway Network with 105,000 passengers a day. As the town is close to 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 ...
, it is served by many trains on the local 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, ...
network. EuroCity
EuroCity, abbreviated as EC, is a cross-border train category within the European inter-city rail network. In contrast to trains allocated to the lower-level "IC" (InterCity) category, EC trains are international services that meet 20 criteri ...
services to Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
and regional trains to St. Gallen
, neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach
, twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic)
, website ...
, Konstanz
Konstanz (, , locally: ; also written as Constance in English) is a university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south of Germany. The city houses the University of Konstanz and was th ...
or Romanshorn
Romanshorn is a municipality in the district of Arbon in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.
History
Romanshorn was probably settled in the 7th century, and is first mentioned in 779 as ''Rumanishorn'' in a land grant from Waldrata to the Abbe ...
also serve the station. As well as the Hauptbahnhof, there are nine more stations within the city, called ''Oberwinterthur'', ''Seen'', ''Grüze'', ''Töss'', ''Hegi'', ''Reutlingen'', ''Wülflingen'', ''Wallrüti'' and ''Sennhof-Kyburg''.
The local public transport is run by STADTBUS Winterthur with twelve town bus lines, including the Winterthur trolleybus system, and five regional bus lines.
There are two airports: Winterthur Hegmatten (LSPH) and Speck (LSZK).
Tourism
Winterthur is not high on the list of tourist destinations in Switzerland. As a result, it does not offer a wide range of hotels to choose from. As it is relatively easy to reach from Zürich by public transport, tourists who do visit Winterthur often stay in Zürich.
Nevertheless, Winterthur is mentioned in most tourist guides for its numerous museums, many of which offer world class art, among them of the Gottfried Keller-Stiftung
Gottfried Keller-Stiftung (Gottfried Keller Foundation, french: la fondation Gottfried-Keller), commonly abbreviated to GKS, is an arts foundation focused on cultural heritage of Switzerland. It was named by its founder Lydia Welti-Escher (1858– ...
. The most famous are:
# Oskar Reinhart Collection 'Am Römerholz
The Reinhart Collection formed by Oskar Reinhart is now held in a museum in his old house, "Am Römerholz" in Winterthur, Zurich Canton, Switzerland, as well as the Museum Oskar Reinhart in the centre of Winterthur. It belongs to the Swiss Con ...
'
# Oskar Reinhart Collection
am Stadtgarten
'
# Kunstmuseum Winterthur
The Kunst Museum Winterthur (English: The Winterthur Museum of Art) is an art museum in Winterthur, Switzerland run by the local ''Kunstverein''. From its beginnings, the activities of the Kunstverein Winterthur were focused on contemporary art - ...
# Villa Flora (closed in 2016)
# Fotomuseum Winterthur
Fotomuseum Winterthur is a museum of photography in Winterthur, Switzerland.
History
The museum was founded in 1993 and is dedicated to photography as art form and document, and as a representation of reality. Fotomuseum Winterthur is an art g ...
# Swiss Science Center Technorama
The Swiss Science Center Technorama (Swiss German native name: Technorama) is a science museum in the municipality of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland.
History
In 1947 an association for the establishment of a technical museum in ...
Culture
Music
Winterthur's chamber orchestra Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur
The Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is a Swiss symphony orchestra based in Winterthur, Switzerland at its namesake venue, the Musikkollegium Winterthur. The orchestra performs around 60 concerts a year, and in addition to orchestra concerts, p ...
is the oldest orchestra in Switzerland, and also plays at the Zurich Opera. Between 1922 and 1950, the philanthropist Werner Reinhart Werner Reinhart (19 March 1884 – 29 August 1951) was a Swiss merchant, philanthropist, amateur clarinetist, and patron of composers and writers, particularly Igor Stravinsky and Rainer Maria Rilke. Reinhart knew and corresponded with many artist ...
and the conductor Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor.
Life
Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...
played a leading role in shaping the musical life of Winterthur, with numerous premiere performances emphasizing contemporary music.Musikkollegium website
The city hall ''Stadthaus
Stadthaus is a nine-storey residential building in Hackney, London. At nine stories (30 meters/98 feet), it is thought to be the second tallest timber residential structure in the world, after the Forte apartment complex in Melbourne, Austral ...
'', in which the concerts of the Musikkollegium take place, was built by Gottfried Semper
Gottfried Semper (; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in ...
.
Musikfestwochen, in late August and early September, sees Winterthur's Old Town taken over for live music of all kinds, in the street and bars as well as in concert venues.
The "Albanifest", the largest annual festival in a historic town in Switzerland, is named after Saint Alban
Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...
, one of the city's four saints, is held here, over three days in late June every year. Although a recent creation, the festival celebrates the granting of a charter to the town in 1264 by Rudolf of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
on 22 June of that year, which happened to be the saint's day.
The church of ''St. Laurenz'' in the city centre dates from 1264, the town hall was built in 1781, the assembly hall in 1865.
In 1989, Winterthur received the Wakker Prize
The Wakker Prize (German: ''Wakkerpreis'', French: ''Prix Wakker'', Italian: ''Premio Wakker'') is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural herita ...
for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.
The Swiss folk metal
Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for exampl ...
band Eluveitie
Eluveitie ( ; )Chrigel Glanzmann: "...According to current research, it is pronounced in Bernese German as, i.e. ''"Elvèyti"''. But I don't know if this is correct. The gods know that.:: Metalist Magazine :: Interviews :: Eluveitie is a Swiss f ...
was formed in Winterthur and the Punkabilly
Psychobilly is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It's been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional countrified rock style known as rockabilly, ram ...
band The Peacocks comes from here.
Arts
Open Doors
Open Doors is an artist supported platform for artists with art studios in Winterthur, Switzerland. The platform was established to bridge arts and the community as well as provide the artists with means to independently promote their art in any way they choose. Open Doors takes place annually during the last weekend of September. Participating artists open their studios to the public and present their art to the public. Oftentimes it is possible to view the artists while they are working. Among the approximate 60 artists who participate there are local, international, autodidacts and art academy graduates. Open Doors Winterthur was founded in 2008 by San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
-born artist Michelle Bird and resident of Winterthur. Open Doors Winterthur publishes the annual MAP Magazine Artist Professionals which is available on line and in print form. ''MAP Magazine'' features articles about local art initiatives and profiles local artists and their art studios. The event is supported by a map that indicates the location of each artist's studio on a map.
Sport
EHC Winterthur
EHC Winterthur is a Swiss professional ice hockey team who play in Winterthur in the canton of Zurich. They have played in the Swiss League (SL) since the 2015–16 season, the second tier of the main professional ice hockey leagues in Switzerlan ...
is the city's main hockey team which currently plays in the Swiss League
The Swiss League is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League. The winners of the league each season plays a best-of-seven series against the bottom team of the NL, and if they win, th ...
, the second-highest ice hockey league in Switzerland. Their arena is the 3,000-seat Deutweg Arena. The arena held in April 2011 the 2011 IIHF Women's World Championship
The 2011 IIHF World Women's Championships was held in April 2011 in Zürich and Winterthur, Switzerland, and took place at Hallenstadion and Deutweg rink.
Leading goaltenders
Only the top five goaltenders, based on save percentage, who have play ...
top division, sharing the hosting with the Hallenstadion
The Hallenstadion (german: , ''Zürich Indoor Stadium'') is a multi-purpose facility located in the quarter of Oerlikon in northern Zürich. It is home to the ZSC Lions of the National League (NL) and has a capacity of 11,200 spectators. Design ...
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 Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
.
FC Winterthur
FC Winterthur is a Swiss football club based in Winterthur, Canton of Zürich. They play in the Swiss Super League, the first tier of Swiss football, and appeared regularly in the Nationalliga A during the 20th century. Their home is the Stad ...
are the city's football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club and currently play in the Swiss Challenge League
The Challenge League is the second-highest tier of the Swiss football league system and lower of two professional leagues in the country. Ten teams play in the Challenge League; the winners of the league are promoted to the Super League, while the ...
. They play at the Stadion Schützenwiese
Stadion Schützenwiese is a football stadium in Winterthur, Switzerland. It has been the home ground of FC Winterthur
FC Winterthur is a Swiss football club based in Winterthur, Canton of Zürich. They play in the Swiss Super League, the firs ...
.
Pfadi Winterthur
Pfadi Winterthur is a team handball club from Switzerland. Currently, Pfadi Winterthur competes in the Swiss First League of Handball.
The club developed out of an informal handball team which won the competitions during the national jambo ...
is the professional handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
club, former multiple national champions and still playing in the Swiss First League of Handball
The Swiss Handball League (SHL) is the name of the professional team handball, handball league of Switzerland. It is divided into two divisions:
* Nationalliga A (handball), Nationalliga A
* Nationalliga B (handball), Nationalliga B
Current seas ...
. They play at the Winterthur Central Sports Hall which they share with top floorball
Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. Men and women play indoors with sticks and a plastic ball with holes. Matches are played in three twenty-minute periods. The sport of bandy also played a role ...
club HC Rychenberg Winterthur.
Winterthur Lions AFC, founded in 2017, have been playing Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
in the AFL Switzerland
AFL Switzerland is an Australian rules football league in Switzerland. Founded in 2019, it is an official affiliation of AFL Europe. For the 2022 season, there are four clubs, plus a combined team, the Northern Bears. Teams are composed of males ...
league since 2019.
Notable people
1800–1850
* Jonas Furrer
Jonas Furrer (3 March 1805 – 25 July 1861) was a Swiss lawyer and politician who served as member of the Federal Council, from 1848 to 1861, and as the first president of the Swiss Confederation from 1848 to 1849, and again in 1852, 1855 and 18 ...
(1805–1861), politician, first Federal President of Switzerland
* David Eduard Steiner
David Eduard Steiner (7 April 1811, Winterthur – 5 April 1860 also in Winterthur) was a Swiss painter.
Biography
He began studying painting under his father and continued his studies in 1829 at the Munich Academy. He returned to Winterthur in ...
(1811–1860), painter, eraser and lithographer
* Henrik Haggenmacher
Henrik Haggenmacher (November 6, 1827 – June 5, 1917) was a Swiss-born Hungarian industrialist, business magnate, philanthropist and investor. According to Forbes he was the 6th richest person in Hungary on the turn of the 19th century with a ...
(1827–1917), Swiss-born Hungarian industrialist, business magnate, philanthropist and investor
* Konrad Grob
Konrad Grob (3 September 1828 – 9 January 1904) was a Swiss painter.
He was born in Andelfingen in the Canton of Zurich and learned lithography in the 1840s in Winterthur. He travelled to Italy, where he worked in Verona and Naples.
In 1865 ...
(1828–1904), lithographer and painter
* Jacob Weidenmann Jacob Weidenmann (August 22, 1829 – February 6, 1893) was an landscape architect from Switzerland known for his design of rural cemeteries and public parks.
Biography
Weidenmann was born in Winterthur, Switzerland on August 22, 1829. He was ...
(1829–1893), landscape architect
1851–1900
* Charles E. L. Brown (1863–1924), machine designer, co-founder (Brown, Boveri & Cie
Brown, Boveri & Cie. (Brown, Boveri & Company; BBC) was a Swiss group of electrical engineering companies.
It was founded in Zürich, in 1891 by Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown and Walter Boveri who worked at the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon. In 1 ...
)
* Heinrich Wölfflin
Heinrich Wölfflin (; 21 June 1864 – 19 July 1945) was a Swiss art historian, esthetician and educator, whose objective classifying principles ("painterly" vs. "linear" and the like) were influential in the development of formal analysis in a ...
(1864–1945), art historian
* John Henry Hintermeister
John Henry Hintermeister (1869-1945) was a Swiss-born American artist, a "well-known illustrator and a painter of American historical scenes," who created paintings for calendars and advertising illustration for the American Art Works company ...
(1869–1945), Zurich educated painter, commercially successful in the United States
* Alfred Ernst (1875–1968), botanist
* Hans Gamper
Hans Max Gamper-Haessig (; 22 November 1877 – 30 July 1930), commonly known as Joan Gamper (), was a Swiss-born football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably FC Barcelona and FC Z ...
(1877–1930), sportsman and founder of FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
* Joan Gamper
Hans Max Gamper-Haessig (; 22 November 1877 – 30 July 1930), commonly known as Joan Gamper (), was a Swiss-born Association football, football executive and versatile athlete. He founded football clubs in Switzerland and Spain, most notably FC ...
(1877–1930), Swiss football pioneer, versatile athlete and club president.
* Ernst Wetter (1877–1963), politician
* Alfred Büchi
Alfred Büchi (July 11, 1879 – October 27, 1959) was a Swiss engineer and inventor. He was best known as the inventor of turbocharging. Büchi was born July 11, 1879, in Winterthur, Switzerland, growing up there and in Ludwigshafen. He w ...
(1879–1959), inventor of the exhaust gas turbocharger
* Albert Thellung
Albert Thellung (12 May 1881 – 26 June 1928) was a Swiss botanist.
He was a professor at the University of Zürich. The Austrian botanist Otto Stapf named the plant genus ''Thellungia'' of the grass family, Poaceae, after him, and Otto E ...
(1881–1928), botanist
* Werner Reinhart Werner Reinhart (19 March 1884 – 29 August 1951) was a Swiss merchant, philanthropist, amateur clarinetist, and patron of composers and writers, particularly Igor Stravinsky and Rainer Maria Rilke. Reinhart knew and corresponded with many artist ...
(1884–1951), industrialist and patron
* Oskar Reinhart
Oskar Reinhart (11 June 1885 – 16 September 1965) was a Swiss arts patron and art collector, born in Winterthur. His collection now fills two museums, the Kunst Museum Winterthur , Reinhart am Stadtgarten in the centre of Winterthur, and the O ...
(1885–1965), art collectors and patrons
* Emil Brunner
Heinrich Emil Brunner (1889–1966) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Along with Karl Barth, he is commonly associated with neo-orthodoxy or the dialectical theology movement.
Biography
Brunner was born on 23 December 1889 in Winterthur, in th ...
(1889–1966), a reformed theologian
* Jakob Flach
Jakob Flach (1894–1982) was a Swiss painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but ...
(1894–1982), writer, puppeteer and painter
* Willy Bretscher Willy Bretscher (1897, Winterthur – 1992) was a Switzerland, Swiss newspaper writer and editing, editor.
Bretscher began his career as a secretary with the ''Neues Winterthurer Tagblatt'', subsequently having his work taking up by numerous public ...
(1897–1992), newspaper writer and editor
1901–1950
* Georges Miez
Georges Miez (2 October 1904 – 21 April 1999) was a Swiss gymnast. He competed at the 1924, 1928, 1932 and 1936 Summer Olympics, winning a total of four gold, three silver and one bronze medals. Miez was the most successful athlete of the 1 ...
(1904–1999), gymnast
* Willy Hess (composer)
Willy Hess (12 October 1906 – 9 May 1997) was a Swiss musicologist, composer, and famous Beethoven scholar. He achieved fame after compiling and publishing a catalogue of works of Beethoven that were not listed in the "complete" edition. He or ...
(1906–1997), musicologist and composer
* Albert Büchi
Albert Büchi (27 June 1907 – August 1988) was a Swiss professional road bicycle racer. He is mainly known for his bronze medal in the Elite race of the 1931 Road World Championships. He was also the Swiss National Road Race champion ...
(1907–1988), cyclist
* Max Bill
Max Bill (22 December 1908 – 9 December 1994) was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.
Early life and education
Bill was born in Winterthur. After an apprenticeship as a silversmith ...
(1908–1994), architect, artist and designer
* Warja Lavater
Warja Lavater (28 September 1913 – 3 May 2007) was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. She was a Swiss artist and illustrator noted primarily for working in the artist's books genre by creating accordion fold books that re-tell classic fairy tales ...
(1913–2007), graphic artist and illustrator
* Sigmund Widmer
Sigmund Widmer (born 30 July 1919 in Zürich, died 11 August 2003 in Visp) was a Swiss historian, writer and LdU politician who served as mayor of the city of Zürich.
Early life and education
Born in Zürich to Bertha Gizella, née Oechslin, ...
(1919–2003), Swiss politician, historian and writer, University of Zürich faculty
* Rudolf Friedrich
Rudolf Friedrich (4 July 1923 – 15 October 2013) was a Swiss politician, lawyer and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1982–1984). He was elected to the Swiss Federal Council on 8 December 1982 and, for health reason, resigned his of ...
(1923–2013), lawyer and politician
* Georg Gerster
George Gerster (April 30, 1928 – February 8, 2019) was a Swiss journalist and a pioneer aerial photographer. Early life
Born in Winterthur, in 1950 Gerster earned a doctorate at the University of Zurich in Germanistik. Through 1956 he worked ...
(born 1928), journalist, pioneer of flight photography
* Bruno Hunziker
Bruno Hunziker (10 February 1930, in Winterthur – 27 March 2000, in Aarau) was a Swiss attorney, politician, and member of the Aargau canton and Swiss federal parliaments.
Early life
Bruno Hunziker was a citizen of Oberkulm and Aarau and was r ...
(1930–2000), politician, parliamentarian and economic attorney
* Richard R. Ernst
Richard Robert Ernst (14 August 1933 – 4 June 2021) was a Swiss physical chemist and Nobel Laureate.
Ernst was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1991 for his contributions towards the development of Fourier transform nuclear magnetic re ...
(1933–2021), chemist (Nobel Prize Laureate 1991)
* Ursula Bagdasarjanz
Ursula Bagdasarjanz (born 30 June 1934) is a Swiss violinist.
Early life
Ursula Bagdasarjanz was born in Winterthur, Switzerland, to a mother who was herself a violinist. The seeds of Ursula's musical talent were sown in the cradle, or, as s ...
(born 1934), violinist
* Hannes Keller
Hannes Keller (September 20, 1934 – ) was a Swiss physicist, mathematician, deep diving pioneer, and entrepreneur. In 1962, he reached a depth of in open ocean.
In the 1970s through the 1980s, Keller made himself a name as an entrepreneur in th ...
(born 1934), computer pioneer, entrepreneur, diving pioneer and amateur pianist
* Niklaus Wirth
Niklaus Emil Wirth (born 15 February 1934) is a Swiss computer scientist. He has designed several programming languages, including Pascal (programming language), Pascal, and pioneered several classic topics in software engineering. In 1984, he w ...
(born 1934), computer scientist
* Oscar Fritschi
Oscar Fritschi (25 February 1939 – 8 January 2016) was a Swiss politician (Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, FDP).
Fritschi grew up as the son of a liberal Superintendent of the textile industry on in Winterthur, Switzerland. He completed a ...
(1939–2016), politician
* Michael Gempart (born 1941), actor
* Markus Imhoof
Markus Imhoof (born 19 September 1941) is a Swiss film director, screenwriter, theatre and opera director.
Biography
He began his career as a documentary maker, focusing on controversial issues. His 1968 film ''Rondo'' was a critical look at ...
(born 1941), film director and screenwriter
* Hans-Ulrich Brunner (1943–2006), painter
* Beat Raaflaub
Beat Martin Raaflaub (born 19 August 1946 in Winterthur) is a Swiss conductor. He is the brother of Kurt Raaflaub, Professor of Classics and History at Brown University.
He grew up in Basel and Cameroon and studied German and history at the Univ ...
(born 1946), conductor
* Jürg Amann
Jürg Amann (born in Winterthur on July 2, 1947; died on May 5, 2013 in Zurich) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He has written radio plays, a biography of Robert Walser (writer), Robert Walser, and other works.
Awards
*1982 Ingeborg Bachmann Pr ...
(1947–2013), writer
1951–2000
* Viktor Giacobbo
Viktor Giacobbo (born February 6, 1952) is a Swiss writer, comedian and actor.
Life
After school in Winterthur, he made an apprenticeship as a typesetter. Afterwards, he was a corrector, reader and media documentalist.
Initially, he was auth ...
(born 1952), Swiss writer, comedian and actor
* Mirco Müller
Mirco Müller (also spelled Mirco Mueller; born 21 March 1995) is a Swiss people, Swiss professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently playing with HC Lugano of the National League (ice hockey), National League (NL). He previously played in ...
(born 1995), Swiss ice hockey player, currently playing for the New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
* Martin Buser
Martin Buser (born March 29, 1958) is a champion of sled dog racing.
Born in Winterthur, Switzerland, Buser began mushing at age seventeen in Switzerland. In 1979, he moved to Alaska to train and raise sled dogs full-time. His training opera ...
(born 1958), Swiss dog musher, 4-time Iditarod
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome, entirely within the US state of Alaska. Mushers and a team of between 12 a ...
champion
* Marlies Bänziger (born 1960), Swiss politician
* Chantal Galladé
Chantal Galladé (born 17 December 1972 in Winterthur) is a Swiss politician, represented the Canton of Zürich in the Swiss National Council as member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) from December 2003 until December 2018.
...
(born 1972), Swiss politician
* Chrigel Glanzmann
Christian Oliver Ivan Glanzmann (born 26 May 1975) is a Swiss musician, singer, songwriter and record producer, best known as the male lead vocalist of Swiss folk metal band Eluveitie. He also plays mandola, whistles, and bagpipes in Branâ Keter ...
(born 1975), Swiss musician, founder of Eluveitie
Eluveitie ( ; )Chrigel Glanzmann: "...According to current research, it is pronounced in Bernese German as, i.e. ''"Elvèyti"''. But I don't know if this is correct. The gods know that.:: Metalist Magazine :: Interviews :: Eluveitie is a Swiss f ...
* Steven Zuber
Steven Zuber (born 17 August 1991) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a winger for Greek Super League club AEK Athens and the Switzerland national team.
Early life
Steven Zuber was born on 17 August 1991 in Winterthur, Zürich, Sw ...
(born 1991), Swiss professional football player
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
Official Webpage of Winterthur
Official Webpage Economic Development Region of Winterthur
Tourismusbüro Winterthur
Musikkollegium Winterthur
Homepage of Winterthur's city Orchestra
Official Webpage Open Doors
{{Authority control
Cities in Switzerland
Municipalities of the canton of Zürich
Winterthur (1415-1442)