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Oerlikon is a quarter in the northern part of the
city of Zürich Zurich (; ) is the 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 urban area was home to 1.45 mi ...
,
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 ...
. A formerly independent municipality, Oerlikon was merged with Zürich in 1934 and forms today, together with Affoltern and Seebach, the city district 11.


History

The name Oerlikon goes back to the
Alemanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic peoples, Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE ...
c settlement founder Orilo. Oerlikon was mentioned for the first time in the year 946 (other source: 942) as ''Orlinchowa''. At that time the town consisted of no more than one dozen houses. Later on it was part of the municipality of
Schwamendingen Schwamendingen is a district in the Switzerland, Swiss city of Zürich. Formerly an independent community, it was incorporated into Zurich in 1934 to build district number 12. The district comprises the quarters Schwamendingen Mitte, Saatlen a ...
, where the inhabitants of Oerlikon went to school and attended church. In 1855 the line from Oerlikon to
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 ...
via
Wallisellen Wallisellen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Bülach (district), Bülach in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, and belongs to the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal''). ...
was established by the '' Schweizerische Nordostbahn'' (NOB). The following year the line was extended to
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 ...
through the Wipkingen Tunnel. Lines from Wallisellen 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 ...
(1856) and Oerlikon to
Bülach Bülach () is a historic town and a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Zürich. It is the administrative capital of Bülach district. It is situated in the Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal'') to the east of the small river Glatt and ab ...
via Glattbrugg (1865) followed. The opening of these lines triggered the industrialisation of Oerlikon, and a massive population growth. In particular the large works of ''
Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon was a Swiss engineering company based in the Zürich district of Oerlikon (Zürich), Oerlikon known for the early development of electric locomotives. It was founded in 1876 as the ''Werkzeug- und Maschinen-Fabrik Oer ...
'' was established immediately to the west of the station. In 1872 Oerlikon was separated from Schwamendingen and became its own municipality. In 1897, the from Zürich to Oerlikon was built, with branches to Seebach, Glattbrugg and Schwamendingen. The tramway was linked to, and became part of, Zürich's city trams in 1931, at which time the lines to Glattbrugg and Schwamendingen were closed. In 1934, Oerlikon was merged into an expanded
city of Zürich Zurich (; ) is the 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 urban area was home to 1.45 mi ...
. In the early 1950s,
Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...
opened less than to the north of Oerlikon. In 1969 the Käferberg Tunnel was opened, providing a second railway route between Oerlikon and Zürich Hauptbahnhof, whilst in 1979 a new line was constructed from Oerlikon to Winterthur via
Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...
. With Oerlikon now only minutes away from the airport by direct train, it became a desirable location for offices and hotels. The rail link to the airport was complemented between 2006 and 2010 by the opening of the
Glattalbahn The Glattalbahn, originally known as the Stadtbahn Glattal, was a project that was ultimately successful in introducing a modern rapid-transit system to the Glattal area of Switzerland, to the north of the city of Zürich. Stadtbahn Glattal ...
, providing a fast tram connection from Oerlikon to the airport and surrounding
Glattal The Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal'' or ''Glatttal'') is a region and a river valley in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography The Glatt is a tributary to the Rhine in the Zürcher Unterland area of the canton of Zurich. It is lon ...
region. In 2014, the Weinberg Tunnel opened, providing Oerlikon with its third railway route to Hauptbahnhof.


Places of interest

South of the railway line the Oerlikon town centre with the shopping centres ''Neumarkt'' and ''züri 11 shopping'', the luxury hotel
Swissôtel Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts, commonly known as Swissôtel, is a Swiss chain of luxury hotels owned by Accor, which acquired FRHI Hotels & Resorts in 2015. The corporate offices for Swissôtel are located in the Prioria Business Centre on the pro ...
and the market place are located. Also in this area is the intersection known as ''Sternen Oerlikon'' (''Oerlikon Star''). This name was given because of the arrangement of streets in the tram stop area, which form a five-pointed star. The streets which comprise the star are: ''Schaffhauserstrasse'', ''Ohmstrasse'', ''Wallisellenstrasse'', and ''Querstrasse''. North of the station, a new quarter called '' Neu-Oerlikon'' (New Oerlikon) is being built. In the former industrial area new living and working area is created. This urban architecture is lightened up by generous parks. In the last few years, four very outstanding new parks were built: The '' Oerliker Park'' with a look-out tower, the '' MFO-Park'' on the area of the earlier engine factory ''Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon'', the ''Traugott Wahlen-Park'' and the Louis-Häfliger-Park. In the same are, the older ''Gustav-Ammann-Park'' was originally created for the workforce of a former machine tool factory, but with the closure of the factory it has become a public park. In the 1930s, the ''Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon'' produced, among else, weapons for Germany’s Nazi regime during World War II. It has been suggested that this is why in 1995, in an effort to come to terms with Switzerland’s role in World War II, a streetnaming-committee decided to name some of Neu-Oerlikon’s streets after humanitarian activists, Jewish immigrants and others who opposed Germany’s Nazi regime.


Economy

Beside the head office of
Oerlikon Contraves Rheinmetall Air Defence AG is a division of German armament manufacturer Rheinmetall, created when the company's Oerlikon Contraves unit was renamed on 1 January 2009 and integrated with Rheinmetall's other air-defence products. Oerlikon Contr ...
, the buildings of the Zürich fair ''Messe Zürich'' as well as the stadium Hallenstadion are located in Oerlikon. Also
Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon was a Swiss engineering company based in the Zürich district of Oerlikon (Zürich), Oerlikon known for the early development of electric locomotives. It was founded in 1876 as the ''Werkzeug- und Maschinen-Fabrik Oer ...
, founded in 1876, resided here. Further industrial enterprises settled in Oerlikon are
OC Oerlikon OC Oerlikon is a listed technology group headquartered in Pfäffikon, Schwyz, Pfäffikon (Canton of Schwyz, Schwyz), Switzerland. The name "Oerlikon" (or "œrlikon", as the company styles itself according to its corporate identity) comes from ...
(former ''Unaxis'') and
ABB ABB Group is a Swedish-Swiss multinational electrical engineering corporation. Incorporated in Switzerland as ABB Ltd., and headquartered in Zurich, it is dual-listed on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange in Stockholm, Sweden, and the SIX Swiss Excha ...
. The Swissôtel Zürich, one of the city's largest hotels, is located opposite Oerlikon railway station.


Transportation

Zürich Oerlikon railway station Zürich Oerlikon railway station () is a railway station located in District 11 of Zürich. It is one of the two major nodes for local and regional public transportation in the northern part of Zürich, the other being the railway station at Zur ...
is, as an important junction of the
Zürich 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, ...
network, a bottleneck for public traffic. Oerlikon is a nodal point where the lines S2, S5, S6, S7, S8, S14 and S16 of the
Zürich 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, ...
, the Stadtbahn Glattal and Zürich trams in the
Glatt Valley The Glatt Valley (German: ''Glattal'' or ''Glatttal'') is a region and a river valley in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography The Glatt (Rhine), Glatt is a tributary to the Rhine in the Zürcher Unterland area of the canton of Zuric ...
interconnect. Train connections to Oerlikon from
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 ...
are very frequent, and the ride takes only about six minutes. The Zürich Oerlikon railway station has been expanded and modernized by December 2015. This was one of the key deliverables in the Zürich Cross-City Link Project, one of the biggest constructions on the Swiss railway systems in order to significantly increase its S-bahn service capacity for the anticipated increase in demand for public transportation.


Education

''Schule Im Birch'' is located in Neu-Oerlikon. ''Schulhaus Kügelliloo'' is located in Oerlikon. '' Kantonsschule Zürich Nord'', an upper secondary school, is located in Oerlikon. It was formed by the merger of ' and ', and opened in 2012.Porträt der Kantonsschule Zürich Nord

Archive
. '' Kantonsschule Zürich Nord''. Retrieved on April 23, 2015. "Die Kantonsschule Zürich Nord (KZN) entstand aus der Zusammenführung der früheren Kantonsschulen Oerlikon und Zürich Birch." The school is one of the biggest grammar schools in Switzerland.


Cultural references

''
Usfahrt Oerlike ''Usfahrt Oerlike'' () is a 2015 Swiss German-language film. It was filmed and produced at locations in Zürich in Switzerland, and is the second last film starring Mathias Gnädinger, and Jörg Schneider (actor), Jörg Schneider's last movie film. ...
'' is a 2015 Swiss German film starring
Mathias Gnädinger Mathias Gnädinger (25 March 1941 – 3 April 2015) was a Swiss stage and film actor. Career Initially a typesetter and typographer, Gnädinger began his acting training at the ''Bühnenstudio Zürich'' (now part of the Zurich University of ...
and
Jörg Schneider Jörg Schneider may refer to: * Jörg Schneider (actor) (1935–2015), Swiss actor * Jörg Schneider (politician) Jörg Schneider (born 14 May 1964) is a German politician for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and since 2017 member of the Bunde ...
.


Gallery

File:Zuerich Neu Oerlikon MFO-Park innen.jpg, MFO-Park File:Zürich - Oerlikon - Nord IMG 1730.JPG, Oerliker-Park File:Zürich - Oerlikon - Reformierte Kirche IMG 4469 ShiftN.jpg, Reformed church File:Zürich - Oerlikon - Dorflinde IMG 4897 ShiftN.jpg, ''Dorflinde'', district administration buildings at ''Schwamendingenstrasse'' File:Zürich - Oerlikon IMG 3931.jpg, Sunset in Zürich Nord (Regina-Kägi-Hof) File:Zürich - Seebach - Oerlikon IMG 1722.JPG, Oerlikon and Zürich-Nord as seen from Seebach File:Zürich - Oerlikon IMG 3912.jpg, Tram station ''Sternen Oerlikon''


References


External links


Website des Quartiervereins Oerlikon - in German

AG Industriegeschichte(n) Oerlikon - in German

''z'Oerlike gits alles!'' - in German




{{DEFAULTSORT:Oerlikon (Zurich) District 11 of Zurich Former municipalities of the canton of Zürich