The ''

Rathaus 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 ...

'' 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 Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

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 ...

is Zurich's Town Hall. The Rathaus was built from 1694–1698. It served as the seat of government and administration of the Republic of Zurich until 1798. The

canton of Zurich 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 ...

owns it since 1803, and it houses both legislative chambers, the cantonal parliament () as well as the City Parliament (). It must be distinguished from the ''Stadthaus'' (City Hall), which is the seat of the city's executive government, the City Council () and its administration.

History

It is built on a ''fundament'' (foundation) anchored in the river

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 ...

and faces 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 ...

(pedestrian area) at a pedestrian bridge, or the Rathausbrücke. The 17th-century building replaces an earlier Rathaus (city council chambers) built in 1397, which in turn replaced a 13th-century court house (''Richthus''). Rathaus is also the name of a quarter within the

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...

district. It is an integral part of the medieval town on the right side of the Limmat, separated by the ''Hirschengraben'' from the '' Hochschulen'' quarter uphill 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.

Literature

* Christian Renfer: Schweizerische Kunstführer GSK, Band 637/638: ''Das Rathaus in Zürich'', Bern 1998, * Konrad Escher: ''Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich. Bd. IV: Die Stadt Zürich, Erster Teil''. Birkhäuser: Basel 1939, S. 319–360.

Gallery

File:Rathaus Zuerich1780.jpg, Early 18th century depiction, north-eastern side (etching by David Herrliberger, ca. 1740) File:Rathaussaal Zuerich.jpg, Depiction of the ceremony and conjuration of the alliance between the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

and the Republics of Berne and Zurich on 22 January 1706 (copper engraving by Johann Melchior Füssli, 1718) File:Zürich - Lindenhof - Limmat - rechtsseitige Altstadt.jpg,

and the

as seen from

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 ...

File:Rathaus Portal Detail.jpg, Portal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurich Town Hall Altstadt (Zurich) City and town halls in Switzerland

History

Literature

Gallery

See also

References