The Altstadt (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "old town") in the

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city of

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

encompasses the area of the entire historical city before 1893, before the incorporation of what are now districts 2 to 12 into the municipality, over the period 1893 to 1934. ''Die Altstadt'' approximately corresponds to the area enclosed by the former city ramparts, and is today within the administrative area of the city called Kreis 1 (District 1). With a population of 5,617 (as of 2015), it houses about 1.4% of the city's total population. Administratively, District 1 is divided into four parts or quarters by the

statistical office, Rathaus (town hall), Hochschulen (universities), Lindenhof ("lime trees courtyard") and City. ''Lindenhof'' and ''Rathaus'' correspond to the parts of the medieval city left (west) and right (east) of the

Limmat The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, continuing a further 35 km until it reaches the river A ...

, respectively, while ''City'' and ''Hochschulen'' include the area of the Early Modern city west and east of the medieval walls, respectively. Zuerich1705

Lindenhof

Der Lindenhof ("The lime trees courtyard") quarter corresponds to the ''mindere Stadt'', the smaller but more prestigious half of the medieval town left of the river. This is the oldest core of the city, with settlement traces dating to pre-Roman ( La Tène) times, and fortified as the Roman Vicus ''Turicum'', a Roman customs station with a surrounding civilian settlement, in the final decades of the 1st century BC. The ''

Lindenhof hill The Lindenhof (''"Tilia, linden yard"'') is a moraine hill and public square in the historic center of Zurich, Switzerland. It is the site of the Switzerland in the Roman era, Roman and Carolingian era Kaiserpfalz around which the city has histor ...

'' itself is the site of the Roman castle at the location of the Celtic ''

Oppidum Zurich-Lindenhof Lindenhof is the present name of the large fortified settlement, or oppidum, likely founded by the Helvetii on the Lindenhof hill on the western shore of the Limmat in Zurich, Switzerland. Geography The Lindenhof is a moraine hill that since th ...

'', rebuilt in

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

times but derelict by the 13th century, when it was used as a source for building stone for the first stone houses of rich burghers of the recently ''

reichsfrei In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...

'' city. The ''

Schipfe Schipfe is a residential district in Zurich, Switzerland, located on the eastern slope of the Lindenhof, one of the oldest parts of the Helvetii Oppidum Zurich-Lindenhof, by the river Limmat. Historians and the '' Weinplatz'' suggest that the dist ...

'' quarter at the

below the Lindenhof is the site of the Roman vicus, with traces of a

hypocaustum A hypocaust () is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm the upper floors a ...

nearby the

Münsterhof Münsterhof (literally: Fraumünster abbey courtyard) is a town square situated in the Lindenhof hill, Lindenhof quarter in the historical center of Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest town square within the Altstadt (old town) of Zurich and i ...

excavated. St. Peter church was the parish church of the medieval city, built on the site of an earlier temple to

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

. The '' Rennweg'' street below the Lindenhof hill was the main street of the medieval city, entering by the Rennweg gate through the western city wall which is now marked by the course of ''

Bahnhofstrasse Bahnhofstrasse (, ), in the Swiss city of Zurich, is the city's main downtown street and one of the world's most expensive and exclusive shopping avenues. In 2011, a study named Bahnhofstrasse the most expensive street for retail property in Eur ...

''. ''

Augustinergasse ''Augustinergasse'' is a medieval lane that today is part of the innercity pedestrian zone of Zürich, Switzerland. It is named after the former Augustinian Abbey that is now Augustinerkirche, the former church of the convent that was disestabl ...

'' is a small street leading from ''St. Peterhofstatt'' situated at the St. Peter church, passing the former

Augustinians Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

monastery below the Lindenhof hill, towards the ''Kecinstürlin'' gate at the southern ''

Fröschengraben Schanzengraben is a moat and a section of the northwestern extension of the ''Quaianlagen (Zürich), Seeuferanlage'' promenades that were built between 1881 and 1887 in Zurich, Switzerland. Schanzengraben is, among the adjoint Bollwerk zur Katz, ...

'' moat, ''Bahnhofstrasse'' as of today.

Zunfthaus zur Meisen The Zunfthaus zur Meisen is the guild house of the Zunft zur Meisen. It is one of the many historically valuable buildings in the Lindenhof quarter in Zürich, Switzerland, and also housed the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss Nation ...

at ''

'' plaza near

Fraumünster The Fraumünster (; lit. in ) is a church in Zürich which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the Benedictine convent with the l ...

church houses the porcelain and faience collection of the

Swiss National Museum The Swiss National Museum () is a museum in Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, adjacent to Central Station and the '' Platzspitz'' park. It is part of the ''Musée Suisse Group'', which is itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture ...

. Lindenhof also contains the former Augustinian abbey, and formerly the

Oetenbach nunnery Oetenbach was a Dominican Order, Dominican nunnery in the medieval Municipalities of the canton of Zürich, municipality of Zürich in Switzerland. Oetenbach was named after the small stream of the same name at its first location at Zürichhorn, s ...

north of the Lindenhof hill, demolished in 1903 to make way for the ''Uraniastrasse'' as part the partially built «Urania-axis» Sihlporte–Uraniastrasse–Zähringerplatz by Gustav Gull, and the

Urania Sternwarte Urania Sternwarte is a public observatory in the Lindenhof quarter of Zurich, Switzerland. Its name ''Urania'' refers to the muse of astronomy in Greek mythology. It features a restaurant (main building) and a bar with panoramic view (tower). ...

Fraumünster

The

("women's minster") abbey ruled the town until the 1336 "guild revolution" of

Rudolf Brun Rudolf Brun (1290s – 17 September 1360) was the leader of the Zürich guilds' revolution of 1336, and the city's first independent mayor. Biography Since 1234, Zürich had been governed by an aristocratic council. One third of the council's ...

and which remained highly influential until

Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swi ...

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

Rathaus

The ''Rathaus'' quarter is named for the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

, built in the 1690s. It is the part of the medieval town on the right side of the Limmat, separated by the ''Hirschengraben'' from the ''Hochschulen'' quarter to the east, and delimited by the

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

and Central squares to the south and north, respectively. As such, it includes the Limmatquai as well as the Niederdorf (downstream of the Kirchgasse) and the Oberdorf (upstream of the Kirchgasse). The historical name of this eastern half of the medieval town was "greater town" (''mehrere Stadt''), contrasting with the "lesser town" (''mindere Stadt''), the western half along the left river bank.

Limmatquai

The

Limmatquai ''Limmatquai'' () is a street in the Switzerland, Swiss city of Zurich. It is named after the Limmat, and it follows the right-hand (eastern) bank of that river for about through the ''Altstadt (Zürich), Altstadt'', or historical core, of the c ...

was built along the right side of the Limmat, running from ''Central'' to ''Bellevue''. It was built in the 19th century, connecting various earlier quais built into the Limmat. The current right bank is some 28 m west of the medieval river's. The quai was constructed from 1823–1859 from ''Bellevue'' to the ''Rathaus'', in 1835–1836 from the Rathaus to the

Wasserkirche The ''Wasserkirche'' () in Zurich, first mentioned as (in the ablative) around 1250 and as ''wazzirkilcha'' in 1256, is a church built on a small island in the river Limmat, situated between the two main churches of medieval Zürich, the Gros ...

and 1835–1839 the portion from the Wasserkirche to Bellevue, formerly called ''Sonnenquai''. At the Limmatquai are located some guild houses, as

Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten The Zunfthaus zur Zimmerleuten at the Limmatquai Zürich, Limmatquai promenade in Zürich, Switzerland, situated between Münsterbrücke Zürich, Münsterbrücke and Rathausbrücke Zürich, Rathausbrücke, is the Zünfte of Zürich, guild house of ...

Zunfthaus zur Haue The Zunfthaus zur Haue or Haus zur Haue is situated at the Limmatquai promenade between Münsterbrücke and Rathausbrücke. It is the guild house of the Zunft zum Kämbel, meaning the guild of the merchants and traders. Neighbored by the Saffra ...

, Zunfthaus zum Rüden and

Zunfthaus zur Saffran Zunfthaus Zur Saffran (the guild house of the spice traders; ''Saffran'' means saffron) is a historically significant building in Zürich, Switzerland. It is located along the Limmatquai promenade between Münsterbrücke and Rathausbrücke. It ...

. Zurich tram routes 4 and 15 run along the Limmatquai, serving the stops ''Helmhaus'', ''Rathaus'' and ''Rudolf-Brun-Brücke''. The quai was one of the main routes through the old town before it was freed from traffic in 2004. The bridges passed by the Limmatquai, south to north, are: *'' Quaibrücke'', connecting ''Bellevue'' and '' Bürkliplatz'', *'' Münsterbrücke'' between

Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great minster") is a Romanesque-style Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche, and St. Peterskirche). Its congregation ...

and

, *'' Rathausbrücke'' just north of the town hall, *'' Rudolf-Brun-Brücke'', between ''Mühlegasse'' and ''Uraniastrasse'', *the '' Mühlesteg'' footbridge *'' Bahnhofbrücke'', between '' Central'' and

Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof, often shortened to Zürich HB or just HB, and known in English as Zurich Main Station, is the largest railway station in Switzerland and one of the busiest in Europe. It is a major railway hub, with services to and from a ...

. north of Limmatquai: *'' Walche-Brücke'' *the '' Drahtschmidlisteg'', a footbridge to

Platzspitz Platzspitz, officially Platzpromenade, is a park in District 1 of the city of Zurich, Switzerland. It is located next to the Swiss National Museum () and Central Station and bound by the rivers Sihl to the west and Limmat to the east. The conflu ...

Niederdorf

The Niederdorf (''lit.'': "low village") was the least developed part of the medieval city. It properly includes just the north-eastern corner, between ''Mühlegasse'' and ''Central'', but the term was extended to the whole part of the ''mehrere Stadt'' north of the town hall, i.e. for the entire length of the ''Niederdorfstrasse'', or even including the parts north of the ''Kirchgasse''. So defined, the Niederdorf includes ''Rindermarkt'' and '' Neumarkt'', ''Froschaugasse'' and the area of the medieval Jewish quarter, the Predigerkirche (the former Blackfriars' monastery) at ''Zähringerplatz'' (historically the city hospital, now housing the

city library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

) and the ''Zähringerstrasse''.

Münstergasse

The ''mehrere Stadt'' between the Niederdorf and the Oberdorf (between Rathaus and ''Kirchgasse'') includes the ''Münstergasse'', ''Obere Zäune'', ''Untere Zäune'' and the

Barfüsserkloster The ''Barfüsserkloster'' in the Zurich old town, old town of Zurich is a former Franciscan Order, Franciscan friary. It was first attested in the 1240s and was dissolved during the Swiss Reformation, Reformation, in 1524. The friary was situ ...

(the former Franciscan abbey) as well as a number of alleys leaving ''Münstergasse'': ''Marktgasse'', ''Spiegelgasse'', ''Krebsgasse'', ''Ankengasse'', ''Römergasse'' and ''Kirchgasse''.

Grossmünster

Predigerkirche

Initially the church of the

Predigerkloster The Predigerkloster was a monastery of the Dominican Order, established around 1234 and abolished in 1524, in the imperial city of Zurich, Switzerland. Its church, the Predigerkirche, is one of the four main churches in Zurich and was first built ...

(Dominican monastery), it became after the

Reformation in Switzerland The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate, Mark Reust, and the population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in civil life and state matte ...

the parish church of Niederdorf respectively Neumarkt, and owns since 1900 the tallest church tower of Zurich.

Oberdorf

The Oberdorf (''lit.'': "upper village") proper is the ''mehrere Stadt'' south of the Grossmünster, along the ''Oberdorfstrasse'', between ''Kirchgasse'' and ''Rämistrasse''.

Hochschulen

''Hochschulen'' (universities) is wedged between ''Hirschengraben'' (the historical course of the eastern moat) and ''Rämistrasse'', corresponding to the area taken up by the eastern fortifications of the 17th century ramparts (destroyed following the 1839

Züriputsch The Züriputsch of 6 September 1839 was a putsch of the rural conservative population against the liberal rule of the city of Zurich on the eve of the formation of the Swiss federal state. The reason for the putsch was the appointment of the ...

), the hillside now holding the main buildings of both

ETH Zurich ETH Zurich (; ) is a public university in Zurich, Switzerland. Founded in 1854 with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists, the university focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. ETH Zurich ran ...

(built 1861 to 1864 under

Gustav Zeuner Gustav Anton Zeuner (30 November 1828 – 17 October 1907) was a German physicist, engineer and epistemologist, considered the founder of technical thermodynamics and of the Dresden School of Thermodynamics. Life University and Revolution Z ...

) and

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

(built 1914 under Karl Moser), at the sites of the ''Kronen Bollwerk'' and ''Schönenberg Bollwerk'' ramparts, respectively. ''Hochschulen'' borders on

District 6 District Six is a place in Cape Town, South Africa. District Six may also refer to: :Government divisions * District 6, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam * District 6 (New York City Council), in the United States * VI District, Turku, in Finland * Dist ...

(

Unterstrass Unterstrass is a quarter in the district 6 in Zurich. It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zurich in 1893. The quarter has a population of 19,921, in an area of . In 1962, the faculty of science of the Unive ...

and

Oberstrass Oberstrass is a quarter in the district 6 in Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lak ...

) to the north, on

District 7 District 7 could refer to: *District 7, Ho Chi Minh City District 7 () is an Districts of Vietnam, urban district of Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city in Vietnam. As of 2024, the district had a population of 456,789 and an area of 36 km². ...

(

Fluntern Fluntern is a quarter in the district 7 in Zürich, Switzerland. It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Zürich in 1893. The quarter has a population of 7,325 distributed on an area of 2.84 km2. Notable fe ...

and Hottingen) to the east and on

District 8 District 8 can refer to: *District 8 Jakarta, in Indonesia * District 8 (Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam *VIII District, Turku, in Finland * VIII District, Budapest, in Hungary * Riesbach, also known as District 8, in Zürich, Switzerland * District ...

( Mühlebach and Seefeld) to the south. ''Hochschulen'' in its southern end also includes the ''

'' and ''

Sechseläuten The ''Sechseläuten'' ( Zürich German: ''Sächsilüüte'', "The six o'clock ringing of the bells") is a traditional spring holiday in the Swiss city of Zürich celebrated in its current form, usually on the 3rd Monday of April, since the early ...

'' squares as well as the

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

at Stadelhoferplatz and the

Stadelhofen Stadelhofen is a municipality in the Upper Franconian (German: ''Oberfranken'') district of Bamberg and a member of the administrative community (''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'') of Steinfeld. Geography The community lies on the edge of the “Fra ...

train station. Stops of the Zurich tram system in the ''Hochschulen'' quarter are: ''Central'', ''ETH/ Universitätsspital'', ''Kantonsschule'', ''Kunsthaus'', '' Neumarkt'', ''Bellevue'', ''Opernhaus'' and ''Stadelhofen''. Line 9 follows ''Rämistrasse'' which separates ''Hochschulen'' from

, line 3 follows ''Hirschengraben'' and ''Seilergraben'' (the historical eastern moat), which separates it from the ''Rathaus'' quarter. The Polybahn funicular connects ''Central'' and the

main building.

Central

The ''Central'' square at the northern border between ''Rathaus'' and ''Hochschulen'' quarters is a major junction of the Zurich tram system, served by lines 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 and 15 besides buses 31 and 46. Formerly called ''Leonhardsplatz'', it was renamed after the ''Hotel Central'' built in 1883.

Pfauen

Situated at ''Heimplatz'', vernacularly called the ''Pfauen'', are the theatre

Schauspielhaus Zürich The Schauspielhaus Zürich () is one of the most prominent and important theatres in the history of German-speaking theater. It is also known as "Pfauenbühne" (Peacock Stage). The large theatre has 750 seats. The also operates three stages ...

and the art museum

Kunsthaus Zürich The Kunsthaus Zürich is an art museum in Zurich. It is the biggest art museum in Switzerland by area and houses one of the most important art collections in Switzerland, assembled over time by the Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, a nonprofit art soc ...

Bellevue

The

Bellevueplatz Bellevueplatz (, from the French language, French , meaning "beautiful sight") is a town square in the city of Zurich, Switzerland built in 1856. Named after the former on its north side, it is one of the nodal points for roads and public tra ...

, a square at the southern border between the ''Rathaus'' quarter and the southern end of the ''Hochschulen'' quarter, right next to the lake outflow, is a major junction of the Zurich tram system, served by lines 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11 and 15 besides buses 912 and 916. It is situated at the lakeside, just north of

Sechseläutenplatz Sechseläutenplatz (literally: ''Sechseläuten'' square) is the largest town square situated in Zurich, Switzerland. Its name derives from the '' Sechseläuten'' (the city's traditional spring holiday), which is celebrated on the square in April. ...

. It is named for the ''Grandhotel Bellevue'' built in 1856, and is the nodal point of the quaysides that were built between 1881 and 1887 crossing the Quaibrücke towards Bürkliplatz and

General-Guisan-Quai Quaianalagen (German, plural; ; from ) or Seeuferanlagen (German, plural for lakeshore sites) on Lake Zurich is a series of lakefronts in Zurich, Switzerland. Inaugurated in 1887, the quaysides are considered an important milestone in the developm ...

Stadelhofen

South of ''Bellevue'' are the squares ''

'' and ''Stadelhofenplatz''. ''Stadelhofen'' was an estate just south of the southeasternmost bastion, the ''Stadelhofen Bollwerk'', whilst

takes its name from the ''

'', a traditional Zurich festival that is celebrated there. Stadelhofen station, on ''Stadelhoferplatz'', is an important stop of the

Zurich S-Bahn 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 (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...

lines to

Uster Uster (; , ) is a town and the capital of the Uster District in the Swiss canton of Zürich. The importance of the town of Uster has grown considerably with the construction of the S-Bahn network of the Zürich Transport Network. With over 36,0 ...

Rapperswil-Jona Rapperswil-Jona is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Besides Rapperswil and Jona, which were separate municipalities until 2006, Rapperswil-Jona also includes Bollinge ...

and

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

as well as the terminal of the

Forchbahn The Forch railway (, ''FB'', nicknamed ''Förchler'', ''Frieda'', ''Frieda Bünzli'' by locals) is a local mixed tramway / railway line in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Zürich. It is owned and operated by the Forchbahn AG, and is branded as ...

(S18) line serving

Zumikon Zumikon is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Meilen (district), Meilen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. It is located in the Pfannenstiel (Zürich), Pfannenstiel regio ...

and Esslingen. The

Zurich Opera House The Zurich Opera House () is an opera house in the Swiss city of Zurich. Located at the Sechseläutenplatz, it has been the home of the Zurich Opera since 1891, and also houses the Bernhard-Theater Zürich. It is also home to Ballett Zürich. I ...

is situated at the southern end of the ''Sechseläutenplatz''.

City

''City'' is the area west of the

, delimited by the

Sihl The Sihl is a Switzerland, Swiss river that rises near the Druesberg mountain in the canton of Schwyz, and eventually flows into the Limmat in the centre of the Zürich, city of Zürich, after crossing the Zürich–Winterthur railway at . It has ...

and the ''

Schanzengraben Schanzengraben is a moat and a section of the northwestern extension of the '' Seeuferanlage'' promenades that were built between 1881 and 1887 in Zurich, Switzerland. Schanzengraben is, among the adjoint ''Katz'' bastion at the Old Botanical G ...

'', the moat of the 17th century ramparts. It includes the

Paradeplatz Paradeplatz () is a square on Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zurich, Switzerland. It is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Switzerland and has become synonymous with wealth and the Swiss banks, being the location of the headquart ...

, the

and the ''Platzspitz'' park (formerly ''Limmatspitz''). It comprises the tram stops '' Bürkliplatz'', ''Paradeplatz'', ''Rennweg'', ''Bahnhofstrasse'' / ''Bahnhofplatz'' / ''Bahnhofquai'', ''Löwenplatz'', ''Sihlstrasse'' and ''Bahnhof Selnau''. ''City'' borders on District 2 ( Enge) to the southwest, and on Districts 4 and 5 (

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

) to the northwest.

Platzspitz

''Platzspitz'' (formerly ''Platzpromenade'', ''Limmatspitz'') is a park at the confluence of the two rivers of Zurich; the

and the

. In medieval times, the area situated north of the city was used as pasture. In the early 15th century it was made into a shooting-range, and in the 16th to 17th centuries,

Schützenfest A Schützenfest (, '' marksmen's festival'') is a traditional festival or fair featuring a target shooting competition in the cultures of Switzerland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. At a Schützenfest, contestants compete based on thei ...

e were held there. A remnant of these can be found in the contemporary

Knabenschiessen Knabenschiessen is a traditional target shooting competition in Zürich, held on the second weekend of September each year. The festival, officially held for the first time in 1889, is one of the oldest in Switzerland, dating back to the 17th c ...

shooting contest. During the 1990s, the long-practised official tolerance of drug users there from throughout Central Europe has been the subject of much worldwide media interest.

Hauptbahnhof

Bahnhofstrasse

Bürkliplatz

'' Bürkliplatz'' is a square and stop of the Zurich tram system (lines 2, 4, 8, 9, 11 and buses 161, 165), situated at the southern end of the

, and west of the

square, with which it is connected by the '' Quaibrücke''. The lakeshore quay connecting the square with

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 ...

is named ''

'', after

Henri Guisan Henri Guisan (; 21 October 1874 – 7 April 1960) was a Swiss military officer who held the office of General of the Swiss Armed Forces during the Second World War. He was the fourth and the most recent person to be appointed to the rarely u ...

. From the Bürkliplatz landing gate, ''

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 ...

'' boat services leave for

Thalwil Thalwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and town in the district of Horgen (district), Horgen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. The municipality includes two parts: Thalwil and Gatti ...

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 ...

Schmerikon Schmerikon is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of See-Gaster (Wahlkreis), See-Gaster in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland. In the local Swiss Germa ...

, Erlenbach and down the

Zürich Landesmuseum The Swiss National Museum () is a museum in Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, adjacent to Central Station and the '' Platzspitz'' park. It is part of the ''Musée Suisse Group'', which is itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture. ...

. ''Bürkliplatz'' is named for Arnold Bürkli (1833–1894), the engineer responsible for the construction of the city's quays.

Schanzengraben

On its remains at «zur Katz» ramparts, the Old Botanical Garden is located.

Selnau

Selnau (from earlier ''Sellnau'', ''Seldnau'') was historically an estate west of the city, which came to lie between the north-western moat (''Schanzengraben'') and the

. Together with the ''Gessnerallee'', ''Selnaustrasse'' and ''Sihlhölzlistrasse'' running along the right bank of the Sihl, it is part of the ''City'' quarter even though strictly situated outside the city ramparts. Today, Zürich Selnau railway station is a stop on the line of the

Uetlibergbahn The Uetliberg railway line () is a passenger railway line which runs from Zürich Hauptbahnhof ( underground platforms), the central station in the Swiss city of Zurich, through the city's western outskirts to near the summit of the Uetliberg, ...

, running from

to the

Sihltal Sihl Valley (German: ''Sihltal'') is a river valley and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal region located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly ''Sihltal'' is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, i.e. the ar ...

( S4) and to the

Uetliberg __NOTOC__ The Uetliberg (also known as Üetliberg) is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to . The mountain offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zürich (to the northeast of its summit), Zürichberg and ...

(

S10 S10 may refer to: Automobiles * Chevrolet S-10, a pickup truck * Nissan Silvia (S10), a sports car * Toyota Crown (S10), a luxury car Aviation * Lake Chelan Airport, in Chelan County, Washington, United States * Letov Š-10, a Czech trainer a ...

). The

SWX Swiss Exchange SIX Swiss Exchange (formerly SWX Swiss Exchange), based in Zürich, is Switzerland's principal stock exchange (the other being BX Swiss). SIX Swiss Exchange also trades other securities such as Swiss government bonds and derivatives such as sto ...

building is located in Selnau. The museum

Haus Konstruktiv Haus Konstruktiv (English: ), or Museum Haus Konstruktiv, is an arts foundation founded by private individuals in 1986 in Zürich, Switzerland. From 1987 to spring 2001, it was located at Seefeldstrasse 317 in the outer Seefeld area of Zurich and ...

is located in a former power station near Selnau train station.

Literature

* ''Heimatkunde der Stadt Zürich''. Zürich: Büromaterialverwaltung, 1977. * Hochbaudepartement der Stadt Zürich, Amt für Städtebau: ''Stadtzentrum – Altstadt / City.'' Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 2008 (Baukultur in Zürich, Band VI),

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Altstadt (Zurich) 1