Küsnacht () is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
in the district of
Meilen
Meilen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Meilen (district), Meilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland.
History
Archaeological finds in Meilen date back more than ...
in the
canton of Zürich
The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
.
History
Küsnacht is first mentioned in 1188 as ''de Cussenacho''.
[
Earliest findings of settlement date back to the Stone Age. There are also findings from the Bronze Age. During Roman times, a mansion was located on the commons. It was called ''fundus Cossiniacus'' which is probably the origin of the name of Küsnacht. In the 7th century the name was recorded as ''Chussenacho''. The coat of arms shows a golden cushion on a red background. It is probably a derivate of the coat of arms of the aristocrats of Küssnacht am Rigi.
In the Middle Ages, the land was governed by the House of Regensberg who lived in the castle of Wulp in Küsnacht. After 1531 Küsnacht was governed by ]Zürich
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 ...
.
Like most other municipalities along Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...
, Küsnacht started to become a suburb of the city of Zürich
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 ...
with the development of the railway link in 1896.
The psychiatrist Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
had his clinic in Küsnacht, which attracted patients from all over the world. Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
lived in Küsnacht between 1933 and 1939, after he was forced to leave Germany by the Nazis. Recently, the town's most famous resident was Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
, who lived there until her death in 2023.
Geography
Küsnacht has an area of . Of this area, 34.5% is used for agriculture, while 32.1% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 32.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.5%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[ , housing and buildings made up 25.6% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (7%).][ Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.4% of the area. 33% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.][
It is located on the north-east bank (also known as ''Goldküste'') of ]Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...
in the Pfannenstiel region.Kanton Zürich, Statistisches Amt: Region Pfannenstiel
The local dialect is called ''Züridütsch''.
Demographics
Küsnacht has a population (as of ) of . , 19.7% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. the gender distribution of the population was 47.4% male and 52.6% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 6.6%. Most of the population () speaks German (86.1%), with English being second most common (3.6%) and Italian being third (2.5%).
In the 2007 election the most popular party was the SVP which received 32.8% of the vote. The next three most popular parties were the FDP (30.5%), the SPS (12.4%) and the CSP (8.9%).
The age distribution of the population () is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 17.7% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 59.1% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 23.2%. In Küsnacht about 84.6% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either university or a ''Fachhochschule
A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...
''). There are 5843 households in Küsnacht.[
Küsnacht has an unemployment rate of 1.51%. , there were 167 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 43 businesses involved in this sector. 849 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 91 businesses in this sector. 3794 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 ...
, with 664 businesses in this sector.[Swiss Federal Statistical Office]
accessed 10-Aug-2009 40% of the working population were employed full-time, and 60% were employed part-time.
accessed 4 August 2009
there were 3578 Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and 5417 Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
in Küsnacht. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 49.5% were some type of Protestant, with 48% belonging to the Swiss Reformed Church
The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...
and 1.5% belonging to other Protestant churches. 26.6% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 2% were Muslim, 4.4% belonged to another religion (not listed), 3.7% did not give a religion, and 15.2% were atheist or agnostic.[
The historical population is given in the following table:]
Weather
Küsnacht has an average of 136 days of rain per year and on average receives of precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...
. The wettest month is August during which time Küsnacht receives of precipitation. During that month, there is precipitation for an average of 12.3 days. The month with the most precipitation days is June, with an average of 13.3 days, and of precipitation.[, the weather station elevation is 412 meters above sea level.]
Transport
There are four railway stations within the municipality of Küsnacht. Küsnacht ZH and Küsnacht Goldbach stations are both on the Lake Zürich right-bank line, and are served by S-Bahn Zürich
The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Canton of Aargau, Aargau, Canton of Gla ...
services S6 and S16. Neue Forch and Forch stations are on the inland Forchbahn line, and are served by service S18.
In the summer there are regular boats to Zürich as well as along the lake to Rapperswil
Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...
, run by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
The Lake Zurich Navigation Company (, ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zurich () and the river Limmat in Zurich.The company's services connect lake-side towns between Zurich and Rapperswil/ Schmerikon, i ...
(ZSG).
Sports
The ZSC Lions' affiliates, the GCK Lions, play in the Swiss League
The Swiss League, also known as the Sky Swiss League for sponsorship reasons, is the second tier of the main professional ice hockey league in Switzerland, behind the National League (ice hockey), National League. The winners of the league each ...
(SL). Their home arena is the 2,200-seat Eishalle Küsnacht.
Sites of interest
Apart from Lake Zurich, popular sites to visit include
* C. G. Jung Institute
* the Cistercian abbey of Kappel am Albis
Kappel am Albis is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Affoltern (district), Affoltern in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland.
Its name of Kappel () is specified by "on the Al ...
* Küsnachter Tobel with hiking trails among glacial moraine
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...
with rare flora and fauna
* Johanniterkomturei building (today housing the Kantonsschule)
* Oberen Mühle, a mill that now houses the local museum
* Seeclub Küsnacht boathouse dating from at least 1290
* the dating from the 12th century
* Ruins of Wulp Castle
* Küsnachter Horn, a park close to the lake and the Küsnacht ship stop, run by the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft
The Lake Zurich Navigation Company (, ZSG) is a public Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zurich () and the river Limmat in Zurich.The company's services connect lake-side towns between Zurich and Rapperswil/ Schmerikon, i ...
(ZSG)
Notable people
19th century
* Eugen Sutermeister (1862–1931), graveur and writer, founded the Sonos
Sonos, Inc. is an American audio equipment manufacturer headquartered in Santa Barbara, California. The company was founded in 2002 by John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen, and Trung Mai.
Sonos has partnered with over 100 companies th ...
Society
* Paul Sutermeister (1864–1905), theologian, pastor and editor
* Meinrad Lienert (1865–1933), writer, poet and journalist; died here
* Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
(1875–1955), writer, lived here 1933–1939
* Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
(1875–1961), psychiatrist and founder of Analytical psychology
Analytical psychology (, sometimes translated as analytic psychology; also Jungian analysis) is a term referring to the psychological practices of Carl Jung. It was designed to distinguish it from Freud's psychoanalytic theories as their ...
; lived and died here
* Emma Jung
Emma Jung (born Emma Marie Rauschenbach, 30 March 1882 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss Jungian analyst and author. She married Carl Jung, financing and helping him to become the prominent psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, and ...
(1882–1955), heiress, psychoanalyst and writer; lived and died here
* Albin Zollinger (1895–1941), writer; educated here
20th century
* Albert Frey-Wyssling (1900–1988), botanist
* Bernard von Brentano (1901–1964), German writer, poet and playwright; lived here 1933–1949
* Hermann Haller, (1914–2002) composer; taught here
* Marie-Louise von Franz (1915–1998), Jungian psychologist and scholar; lived and died here
* Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...
(1939–2023), American-born singer and entertainer, lived here from 1994 and died here
* Ursula Biemann (born 1955), video artist, curator and art theorist
* Rolf Dörig (born 1957), entrepreneur; lives here
* Mario Fehr (born 1958), politician
* Monisha Kaltenborn (born 1971), the former team principal of the Sauber Formula One team; lives here
Sports
* Severino Minelli (1909–1994), footballer
* Martin Studach (1944–2007), rower
* Karl Grob (born 1946), footballer
References
External links
*
Official page
(German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kusnacht
Cities in Switzerland
Municipalities of the canton of Zürich
Populated places on Lake Zurich