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 ...
has been continuously inhabited since
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
times. The vicus of ''
Turicum'' was established in AD 90, at the site of an existing Gaulish (
Helvetic) settlement.
Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...
culture appears to have persisted beyond the collapse of the Western empire in the 5th century, and it is not until the
Carolingian period. A royal castle was built at the site of the
Lindenhof, and monasteries are established at
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
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 ...
.
Political power lay with these abbeys during medieval times, until the
guild revolt in the 14th century which led to the joining of the
Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...
. Zurich was the focus of the
Swiss Reformation
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 ...
led by
Huldrych 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 Swis ...
, and it came to riches with
silk
Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
industry in Early Modern times.
Early history
Numerous lake-side settlements from the
Neolithic
The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
and
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
have been found, such as those in the Zürich Pressehaus and Zürich Mozartstrasse. The settlements were found in the 1800s, submerged in
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 ...
. Located on the then swamp land between the Limmat and
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 ...
around
Sechseläutzenplatz on small islands and
peninsula
A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Etymology
The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...
s in Zurich,
Prehistoric pile dwellings around Lake Zurich were set on piles to protect against occasional flooding by the
Linth
The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Switzerland, Swiss river that rises near the Linthal, Glarus, village of Linthal in the mountains of the cantons of Switzerland, canton of canton of Glarus, Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee (Züri ...
and
Jona.
Zurich–Enge Alpenquai is located on
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 ...
lakeshore in
Enge, a locality of the
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' ...
of Zurich. It was neighbored by the settlements at
Kleiner Hafner and
Grosser Hafner on a then peninsula respectively island in the effluence of the Limmat, within an area of about in the city of Zurich. As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site ''Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps'', the settlement is also listed in the
as a ''Class object''.
In 2004, traces of a previously unknown pre-Roman Celtic (
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture (; ) was a Iron Age Europe, European Iron Age culture. It developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from about 450 BC to the Roman Republic, Roman conquest in the 1st century BC), succeeding the early Iron Age ...
) settlement were discovered, the center of which lay on 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 ...
respectively the area around 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 ...
square besides 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 ...
. The
Celt
The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...
ic
Helvetians
The Helvetii (, , Gaulish: *''Heluētī''), anglicized as Helvetians, were a Celtic tribe or tribal confederation occupying most of the Swiss plateau at the time of their contact with the Roman Republic in the 1st century BC. According to Jul ...
had a settlement when they were succeeded by the
Romans, who established a custom station here for goods going to and coming from Italy. At the later Vicus ''Turicum'', probably in the first 1st century BC or even much earlier, the Celts settled at the
Lindenhof Oppidium. In 1890, so-called ''
Potin
Potin is a base metal alloy used in coins. It is typically a mixture of copper, tin and lead (in varying proportions) and does not typically contain significant precious metals. Potin is usually used in reference to Celtic coinage.
In Celtic co ...
lumps'' were found, whose largest weights at the
Prehistoric pile dwelling settlement ''
Alpenquai''. The pieces consist of a large number of fused
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foot ...
coins, which are mixed with charcoal remnants. Some of the 18,000 coins originate from the ''Eastern Gaul'', others are of the ''Zurich'' type, that were assigned to the local ''Helvetii'', which date to around 100 BC.
[''Keltisches Geld in Zürich: Der spektakuläre «Potinklumpen»''. Amt für Städtebau der Stadt Zürich, Stadtarchäologie, Zurich October 2007.] There's also an island sanctuary of the Helvetii in connection with the settlement at the preceding Oppidi Uetliberg on the former ''
Grosser Hafner'' island. at the
''Sechseläutenplatz'' on the effluence of the Limmat on
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 ...
lake shore.
A female who died in about 200 BC found buried in a carved tree trunk during a construction project at the Kern school complex in March 2017 in Aussersihl. Archaeologists revealed that she was approximately 40 years old when she died and likely carried out little physical labor when she was alive. A sheepskin coat, a belt chain, a fancy wool dress, a scarf and a pendant made of glass and amber beads were also discovered with the woman.
The Roman
Vicus ''Turicum'' first belonged to the province of
Gallia Belgica
Gallia Belgica ("Belgic Gaul") was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire located in the north-eastern part of Roman Gaul, in what is today primarily northern France, Belgium, and Luxembourg, along with parts of the Netherlands and German ...
, and to
Germania superior
Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...
from AD 90. Following Constantine's reform of the Empire in 318, the border between the
praetorian prefectures of Gaul and Italy was just east of Turicum crossing the
Linth
The Linth (pronounced "lint") is a Switzerland, Swiss river that rises near the Linthal, Glarus, village of Linthal in the mountains of the cantons of Switzerland, canton of canton of Glarus, Glarus, and eventually flows into the Obersee (Züri ...
between
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 ...
and
Walensee
Lake Walen, also known as Lake Walenstadt or (), is one of the larger lakes in Switzerland. Located in the east of the country, about two thirds of its area are in the canton of St. Gallen and about one third in the canton of Glarus.
Its na ...
. Roman Turicum was not fortified, but there was a small garrison at the tax-collecting point, set up not exactly on the border, but downstream of Lake Zurich, where the goods entering Gaul were loaded onto larger ships. South of the castle, at the location of the St. Peter church, there was a 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 earliest record of the town's name is preserved on a 2nd-century tombstone found in the 18th century on Lindenhof, referring to the Roman castle as "STA(tio) TUR(i)CEN(sis)".
The area was
Christianised along with the rest of the Roman Empire, during the 4th century. According to legend, saints
Felix and Regula were executed at the location of 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 ...
in 286.
The
Alamanni
The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of 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, the Alemanni c ...
settled in the
Swiss plateau from the 5th century, but the Roman castle persisted into the 7th century. The earliest manuscript mention of the settlement, as ''castellum turegum'', describes the mission of
Columban in 610. An 8th-century list of toponyms from
Ravenna
Ravenna ( ; , also ; ) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century until its Fall of Rome, collapse in 476, after which ...
mentions ''Ziurichi''. There is a legendary account of an Alamannic duke ''Uotila'' residing on, and giving his name 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 ...
.
Holy Roman Empire
Zurich was part of
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties
* Francia, a post-Roman ...
-ruled
Alemannia from 746, following the
blood court at Cannstatt, lying in the ''
Turgowe'' (
Thurgau
Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
) dominated by
Konstanz
Konstanz ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...
.
A
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 ...
castle, built on the site of the now ruined Roman castle by the grandson of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
,
Louis the German
Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...
, is mentioned in 835 (''"in castro Turicino iuxta fluvium Lindemaci"''). Louis also founded the
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 ...
abbey on 21 July 853 for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
convent with the lands of Zurich,
Uri
Uri may refer to:
Places
* Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland
* Úri, a village and commune in Hungary
* Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India
* Uri (island), off Malakula Island in V ...
, and the
Albis forest, and granted the convent immunity, placing it under his direct authority.
In the wake of this, during the 9th century, Zurich gradually acquired the characteristics of a medieval city. It was now the center of the separate county of
Zürichgau
The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit ( 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'' capital of the c ...
, detached from the older county of
Thurgau
Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
. The early city was dominated by the Fraumünster convent. In 1045, King
Henry III granted the convent the right to hold markets, collect tolls, and mint coins, and thus effectively made the abbess the ruler of the city.
The
Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages, a group of Low Germanic languages also commonly referred to as "Frankish" varieties
* Francia, a post-Roman ...
kings had special rights over their tenants, were the protectors of the two churches, and had jurisdiction over the free community. In 870 the
sovereign
''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...
placed his powers over all four in the hands of a single official (the
Reichsvogt), and the union was still further strengthened by the wall built round the four settlements in the 10th century as a safeguard against Saracen marauders and feudal barons.
Zurich became ''
reichsunmittelbar'' (direct control of the emperor) in 1218 with the extinction of the main line of the
Zähringer family. A city wall was built during the 1230s, enclosing 38 hectares (about 94 acres). The ''Bahnhofstrasse'' marks the course of the western moat, ''Hirschengraben'' marks the eastern moat.
The earliest citizens' stone houses at the Rennweg date to this period, using the dilapidated Carolingian castle as a quarry.
Emperor
Frederick II promoted the abbess of the Fraumünster to the rank of a duchess in 1234. The abbess assigned the
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
, and she frequently delegated the minting of coins to citizens of the city.
The Reichsvogtei passed to the
counts of Lenzburg (1063–1173), and then to the
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
s of
Zahringen (extinct 1218). Meanwhile, the
abbess
An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey.
Description
In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...
of the
Benedictine
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
Frau Münster had been acquiring extensive rights and privileges over all the inhabitants, though she never obtained the criminal jurisdiction. The town flourished greatly in the 12th and 13th centuries, the silk trade being introduced from Italy.
In 1218 the Reichsvogtei passed back into the hands of the king, who appointed one of the burghers as his deputy, the town thus becoming a
free imperial city under the nominal rule of a distant sovereign. The abbess in 1234 became a
princess of the empire, but power rapidly passed from her to the council which she had originally named to look after police, but which came to be elected by the
burghers, though the abbess was still the lady of Zurich.
This council (all powerful since 1304) was made up of the representatives of certain knightly and rich mercantile families (the
patricians
The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...
), who excluded the craftsmen from all share in the government, though it was to these last that the town was largely indebted for its rising wealth and importance.
Predigerkirche was built in 1231 AD as a Romanesque church of the then
Dominican ''Predigerkloster'' nearby the
Neumarkt and the city's hospital.
As the other convents in Zurich, it was abolished 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 ...
.
In October 1291 the town made an alliance with
Uri
Uri may refer to:
Places
* Canton of Uri, a canton in Switzerland
* Úri, a village and commune in Hungary
* Uri, Iran, a village in East Azerbaijan Province
* Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, a town in India
* Uri (island), off Malakula Island in V ...
and
Schwyz
Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''.
The of ...
, and in 1292 failed in a desperate attempt to seize the
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
town of
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 ...
. After that Zurich began to display strong Austrian leanings, which characterize much of its later history. In 1315 the men of Zurich fought against the
Swiss Confederates at the
Battle of Morgarten
The Battle of Morgarten took place on 15 November 1315, when troops of Schwyz, supported by their allies of Uri and Unterwalden, ambushed an Austrian army under the command of Leopold I, Duke of Austria on the shores of Lake Ägeri, in the ...
.
The
Codex Manesse
The Codex Manesse (also or Pariser Handschrift) is a (a German term for a manuscript containing songs) which is the single most comprehensive source of Middle High German ''Minnesang'' poetry. It was written and illustrated manuscript, illustr ...
, a major source of medieval German poetry, was written and illustrated in the early 14th century in Zurich. Among the collection are poems by
Süsskind von Trimberg. Very little is known about Süsskind, but scholars speculate that he was a Jew, as the name “Süsskind” was only given to Jews at the time. The first official mention of Jews in Zurich was in 1273. The existence of a synagogue in the 13th century testifies to an active Jewish community. When the
Black Death
The Black Death was a bubonic plague pandemic that occurred in Europe from 1346 to 1353. It was one of the list of epidemics, most fatal pandemics in human history; as many as people perished, perhaps 50% of Europe's 14th century population. ...
epidemic came to Switzerland in 1348/49, the Jews were widely accused of having poisoned wells. On the 24th of February 1349, the city's Jews were tortured, burned and driven out of Zurich.
From 1354, Jews began to re-settle in Zurich, but from 1400, the legal situation of Jews in Zurich began to deteriorate. A 1404 law forbade them from testifying against Christians in court, and in 1423 they were indefinitely expelled from the city.
In the later medieval period, the political power of the convent slowly waned. The beginning of self-government came with the establishment of the ''Zunftordnung'' (
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
laws) in 1336 by
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 ...
, who also became the first independent mayor, i.e. not assigned by the abbess.
From this time, the city increasingly came under the domination of the ''
Zünfte'', a process only fully completed in the 16th century with the suspension of the monasteries following the
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 ...
. Jews were excluded from the guilds, which were based on the concept of Christian brotherhood.
Under the new constitution (the main features of which lasted till 1798) the Little Council was made up of the burgomaster and thirteen members from the ''Constafel'' (which included the old patricians and the wealthiest burghers) and the thirteen masters of the craft guilds, each of the twenty-six holding office for six months.
The Great Council of 200 (really 212) members consisted of the Little Council, plus 78 representatives each of the Constafel and of the guilds, besides 3 members named by the burgomaster. The office of burgomaster was created and given to Brun for life. Out of this change arose a quarrel with one of the branches of the Habsburg family, in consequence of which Brun was induced to throw in the lot of Zurich with the Swiss Confederation (May 1351).
The double position of Zurich as a free imperial city and as a member of the
Everlasting League was soon found to be embarrassing to both parties. In 1373 and again in 1393 the powers of the Constafel were limited and the majority in the executive secured to the craftsmen, who could then aspire to the burgomastership.
Meanwhile, the town had been extending its rule far beyond its walls, a process which began in the 14th, and attained its height in the 15th century (1362–1467).
Old Swiss Confederacy

Zurich joined the
Swiss confederation
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. Switzerlan ...
(which at that point was a loose confederation of ''de facto''
independent states) as the fifth member in 1351. Zurich was expelled from the confederation in 1440 due to a war with the other member states over the territory of
Toggenburg
Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the River Thur (Switzerland), Thur and that of the Necker (river), Necker, one of its afluents. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis ...
(the
Old Zurich War). Zurich was defeated in 1446, and re-admitted to the confederation in 1450.
During the later half of the 15th century, Zurich managed to substantially increase the territory under its control, gaining the
Thurgau
Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
(1460),
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 ...
(1467),
Stein am Rhein
Stein am Rhein (abbreviated as Stein a. R.) is a historic town and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland. It is located at the outfall of Lower Lake Constance on the High Rhine river, about halfway between the town of Scha ...
(1459/84) and
Eglisau (1496). Zurich's position in the Confederacy was improved further with its role in the
Burgundy Wars under
Hans Waldmann. From 1468 to 1519, Zurich was the ''Vorort'' of the
Federal Diet.
This thirst for territorial aggrandizement brought about the first civil war in the Confederation (the "Old Zurich War," 1436-50), in which, at the
Battle of St. Jakob an der Sihl (1443), under the walls of Zurich, the men of Zurich were completely beaten and their burgomaster Stissi slain. The purchase of the town of Winterthur from the Habsburgs (1467) marks the culmination of the territorial power of the city.
It was to the men of Zurich and their leader
Hans Waldmann that the victory of
Morat (1476) was due in the
Burgundian War; and Zurich took a leading part in the Italian campaign of 1512–15, the burgomaster Schmid naming the new duke of
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
(1512). No doubt her trade connections with Italy led her to pursue a southern policy, traces of which are seen as early as 1331 in an attack on the Valle Leventina and in 1478, when Zurich men were in the van at the fight of
Giornico, won by a handful of Confederates over 12,000 Milanese troops.
In 1400 the town obtained from the King
Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Slavic names#In Slovakia and Czech_Republic, Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are , , , , , , among others. It origina ...
the Reichsvogtei, which carried with it complete immunity from the empire and the right of criminal jurisdiction. As early as 1393 the chief power had practically fallen into the hands of the Great Council, and in 1498 this change was formally recognized. (Derived from Free Public Domain:
Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...
)

This transfer of all power to the guilds had been one of the aims of the burgomaster
Hans Waldmann (1483–89), who wished to make Zurich a great commercial centre. He also introduced many financial and moral reforms, and subordinated the interests of the country districts to those of the town. He practically ruled the
Swiss Confederation
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. Switzerlan ...
, and under him Zurich became the real capital of the League. But such great changes excited opposition, and he was overthrown and executed. His main ideas were embodied, however, in the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
of 1498, by which the patricians became the first of the guilds, and which remained in force till 1798; some special rights were also given to the subjects in country districts. It was the prominent part taken by Zurich in adopting and propagating (against the strenuous opposition of the Constafel) the principles of the
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 ...
(the Fraumünster Abbey being suppressed in 1524) which finally secured for it the lead in the Confederation. The
Augustiner and
Prediger monasteries and
Oetenbach nunnery and
Rüti Monastery nearby
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 ...
were also disestablished in 1524. The aftermath of the
Reformation in Zurich resulted also in the abolishment of the Zurich convent, the worship in the churches were discontinued, and the buildings and income of the monasteries were assigned to an according ''Amt'', a bailiwick of administratively function of the city's government (''Rat'').
Reformation
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 ...
started the
Swiss reformation
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 ...
at the time when he was the main preacher in Zurich at the
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 ...
. He started his preaching there by preaching systematically through Matthew which was a huge difference from almost every other priest that preached through the liturgical cycle of readings issued by the Church.
He lived and preached in Zurich from 1484 until his death in 1531 at the defeat of Zurich in the
second war of Kappel
The Second War of Kappel () was an armed conflict in 1531 between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy during the Reformation in Switzerland.
Background
The peace concluded after the First War of Kappel two yea ...
.
Zwingli's
Zurich Bible first appeared in 1531 and continued to be revised until the present day.
Katharina von Zimmern
Katharina von Zimmern (1478 – 17 August 1547), also known as the imperial abbess of Zürich and Katharina von Reischach, was the last abbess of the Fraumünster Abbey in Zürich.
Early life
Katharina von Zimmern was born in 1478 in Mes ...
(1478-1547), the last abbess of the
Fraumünster Abbey, supported the peaceful introduction of the reformation in Zurich.
Early Modern history

An important source for Zurich under
Heinrich Bullinger
Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Re ...
is the ''
Wickiana'', a collection of curious documents from 1560 to 1587.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the patriciate and council of Zurich adopted an increasingly aristocratic and isolationist attitude.
A sign of this was the second ring of impressive city ramparts was built in 1642 under the impression of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
.
The funds required for this ambitious project were imposed on the subject territories without consultation, resulting in revolts that were crushed by force. From 1648, the city changed its official status from ''
Reichsstadt'' to ''Republik'', thus likening itself to city republics like
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and
Genova
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitants ...
.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, a distinct tendency becomes observable in the town government to limit power to the actual holders. Thus the country districts were consulted for the last time in 1620 and 1640; and a similar breach of the charters of 1489 and 1531 (by which the consent of these districts was required for the conclusion of important alliances, war and peace, and might be asked for as to other matters) occasioned disturbances in 1777.
The council of 200 came to be largely chosen by a small committee of the members of the guilds actually sitting in the council by the constitution of 1713 it consisted of 50 members of the Little Council (named for a fixed term by the Great Council), 18 members named by the Constafel, and 144 selected by the 12 guilds, these 162 (forming the majority) being co-opted for life by those members of the two councils who belonged to the gild to which the deceased member himself had belonged.
Early in the 18th century a determined effort was made to crush by means of heavy duties the flourishing rival silk trade in Winterthur. It was reckoned that about 1650 the number of privileged burghers was 9000, while their rule extended over 170,000 persons. The first symptoms of active discontent appeared later among the dwellers by the lake, who founded in 1794 a club at Stäfa and claimed the restoration of the liberties of 1489 and 1531, a movement which was put down by force of arms in 1795.
The old system of government perished in Zurich, as elsewhere in Switzerland, with the
French invasion in the spring of 1798, and under the
Helvetic constitution the country districts obtained political liberty.
Modern history
Napoleonic era

Zurich lost much of its power in the
Helvetic Republic
The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...
, with territory lost to the
Aargau
Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau.
Aargau is one of the most nort ...
, the
Thurgau
Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...
and the
Canton of Linth. In 1799, the city became even a battlefield of the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
of the
Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition () (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war targeting revolutionary France by many European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, ...
, at the
First Battle of Zurich in June and the
Second Battle of Zurich
The Second Battle of Zurich (25–26 September 1799) was a key victory by the Republican French army in Switzerland led by André Masséna over a Russian force commanded by Alexander Korsakov near Zürich. It broke the stalemate that had ...
in September.
Gottfried Keller
Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called '' Seldwyla Folks'' (''Die Leute von Se ...
became an intellectual influence on the Radical "
free-thinking" side in the formation of
Switzerland as a federal state
The rise of Switzerland as a federal state began on 12 September 1848, with the creation of a federal constitution in response to a 27-day civil war, the ''Sonderbundskrieg''. The constitution, which was heavily influenced by the United State ...
.
The environs of Zurich are famous in military history on account of the two battles of 1799 (French Revolutionary Wars). In the first battle (4 June) the French under General
André Masséna
André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...
, on the defensive, were attacked by the Austrians under the
Archduke Charles, Massena retiring behind 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 ...
before the engagement had reached a decisive stage. The second and far more important battle took place on 25 and 26 September. Massena, having forced the passage of the Limmat, attacked and totally defeated the Russians and their Austrian allies under
Korsakov's command.
19th century
In 1839, the city had to yield to the demands of its rural subjects, following the
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 ...
of 6 September. Most of the ramparts built in the 17th centuries were torn down, without ever having been sieged, to allay rural concerns over the city's hegemony. 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 in several stages between 1823 and 1859 along the right side of the Limmat. From 1847, the ''Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn'', the first railway on Swiss territory, connected Zurich with
Baden
Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine.
History
The margraves of Ba ...
, putting the
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 ...
at the origin of the Swiss rail network. The present building of the Hauptbahnhof dates to 1871. The emergence of the
Sechseläuten as the city's (more properly, the ''
Zünftes) most prominent traditional holiday dates to this period.
The
Ötenbach monastery, founded 1285, fell victim to the increasingly grand city planning in 1902, with the entire
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 ...
it was built on removed to make way for the new Uraniastrasse and administration buildings. It had been serving as a prison, and the inmates were moved to the newly completed cantonal prison in
Regensdorf
Regensdorf is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Dielsdorf District of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zürich (canton), Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest city in the Furttal region.
Katzensee is a lake that also i ...
. But under the cantonal constitution of 1814 matters were worse still, for the town (10,000 inhabitants) had 130 representatives in the Great Council, while the country districts (200,000 inhabitants) had only 82. A great meeting at
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 ...
on 22 November 1830 demanded that two-thirds of the members in the Great Council should be chosen by the country districts. In 1831 a new constitution was drawn up on these lines, the town getting 71 representatives as against 141 allotted to the country districts, though it was not till 1837-38 that the town finally lost the last relics of the privileges which it had so long enjoyed as compared with the country districts.
From 1803 to 1814 Zurich was one of the six
directorial cantons, its chief magistrate becoming for a year the chief magistrate of the Confederation, while in 1815 it was one of the three
cantons, the government of which acted for two years as the Federal government when the diet was not sitting. In 1833 Zurich tried hard to secure a revision of the Federal constitution and a strong central government.
The town was the Federal capital for 1839–40, and consequently the victory of the Conservative party there in 1839 (due to indignation at the nomination by the Radical government to a theological chair in the university of
David Strauss
David Friedrich Strauss (; ; 27 January 1808 – 8 February 1874) was a German liberal Protestant theologian and writer, who influenced Christian Europe with his portrayal of the "historical Jesus", whose divine nature he explored via myth. St ...
, the author of the famous Life of Jesus) caused a great stir throughout Switzerland. But when in 1845 the Radicals regained power at Zurich, which was again the Federal capital for 1845–46, that town took the lead in opposing the
Sonderbund cantons.
It of course voted in favor of the Federal constitutions of 1848 and of 1874, while the cantonal constitution of 1869 was remarkably advanced for the time. The enormous immigration from the country districts into the town from the "thirties" onwards created an industrial class which, though "settled" in the town, did not possess the privileges of burghership, and consequently had no share in the municipal government.
First of all in 1860 the town schools, opened to "settlers" only on paying high fees, were made accessible to all, next in 1875 ten years' residence ipso facto conferred the right of burghership.
In 1862, Jews were given full legal and political equality, and that same year, the
Israelitische Cultusgemeinde Zürich was founded. Jews had begun to re-settle in Zurich over the course of the 19th century, following 400 years of exclusion.
The
Quaianlagen and
Quaibrücke are important milestones in the development of the modern city of Zurich, as by the construction of the new lake front, Zurich was transformed from the medieval small town on 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 ...
and
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 ...
to an attractive modern city on the shore of Lake Zurich, unter the guidance of the city engineer
Arnold Bürkli.
The town and canton continued to be on the Liberal, or Radical, or even Socialistic side, while from 1848 to 1907 they claimed 7 of the 37 members of the Federal executive or
Bundesrat, these 7 having filled the presidential chair of the Confederation in twelve years, no canton surpassing this record. From 1833 onwards the walls and fortifications of Zurich were little by little pulled down, thus affording scope for the extension and beautification of the town.
In 1915 the tenant organization
Mieterverband
Mieterverband, meaning the association of the Leasehold estate, tenants and commonly shortened to ''MV'', is a Switzerland, Swiss nonprofit organization that was founded in 1915 in Zürich. Its full and political correct name is Mieterinnen- und ...
was founded in Zurich.
Merger of municipalities

In 1893, the city was extended (''grosse Eingemeindung'') to include the (former) villages of
Wollishofen,
Enge,
Leimbach,
Wiedikon,
Wipkingen,
Fluntern and
Hottingen, and the then-recently built-up areas of
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 ...
(formerly part of Wiedikon, a municipality since 1787),
Oberstrass,
Unterstrass,
Riesbach and
Hirslanden.
In 1934, the city borders were again extended, to the inclusion of the former villages, by that time de facto suburbs, of
Albisrieden,
Altstetten
Altstetten may refer to:
*Altstetten, Erdweg, Bavaria, Germany
*Altstetten, Rennertshofen, Bavaria, Germany
*Altstetten (Zürich), Canton of Zürich, Switzerland
{{Geodis ...
,
Höngg,
Affoltern,
Seebach,
Oerlikon,
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 ...
and
Witikon (''kleine Eingemeindung'').
There were no changes between 1934 and 2013, but occurred in all two further mergers (''Eingemeindungen'') of
municipalities in the canton of Zurich. As per 1 January 2014 ''
Bertschikon bei Attikon'' and ''
Wiesendangen
Wiesendangen is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Winterthur (district), Winterthur in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Bert ...
'' merged to Wiesendangen,
[ Bertschikon and ]Wiesendangen
Wiesendangen is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Winterthur (district), Winterthur in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. On 1 January 2014 the former municipality of Bert ...
merged to ''Wiesendangen'' on 1 January 2014. and on 1 January 2015 ''
Bauma'' and ''
Sternenberg'' merged to Bauma.
[ Bauma and Sternenberg merged to ''Bauma'' on 1 January 2015.] Therefore, 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 ...
comprises now of 169 municipalities.
1940s to present
Zurich was
accidentally bombed during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. With many Jews seeking refuge in Switzerland, funds were raised, not by Swiss authorities, but by the SIG (Israelite Community of Switzerland). The central committee for refugee aid, created in 1933, was located in Zurich.
An economic boom set in after World War II, lasting into the 1960s.
The further, for that time extremely high subventions, but lacking of alternative governmental cultural programs for the youth in Zurich, occurred in 1980 to the so-called ''
Opernhauskrawalle Opernhauskrawalle (Opera House riots) is the Swiss German term generally used for the youth protests at the end of May 1980 in the Switzerland, Swiss city of Zürich, a Municipalities of the canton of Zürich, municipality in the Canton of Zürich. ...
'' youth protests – ''Züri brännt'',
meaning ''Zurich is burning'', documented in the Swiss documentary film ''
Züri brännt (movie)''. The most prominent politician involved was Emilie Lieberherr, then member of the city's executive (''Stadtrat'') authorities. In 1982, communal elections resulted in the first conservative majority in 53 years (president Thomas Wagner 1982–1990), but in the early 1980s,
Emilie Lieberherr
Emilie Lieberherr (October 14, 1924 in Erstfeld – January 3, 2011 in Zollikerberg; place of origin in Zürich und Nesslau), was a Swiss politician (Social Democratic Party of Switzerland).
Early life and education
The second of three siste ...
and
Ursula Koch where the first female politicians in Zurich's executive authority ''Stadtrat'',
both representing the social-democratic ''SP'' political party.
From 1990, there has again been a leftist majority (presidents Josef Estermann 1990, Elmar Ledergerber 2002, Corine Mauch 2009, all of the Social Democratic Party).
The introduction of liberal laws (''Gastgewerbegesetz'' 1997) favoured the development of Zurich's role as
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
center of
nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
;
also during the 1990s, a liberalisation of zoning laws (''Bau- und Zonenordnung'' 1992; ''Stadtforum'' 1996) led to a renewal of construction activity (''Technopark'' 1991–93, ''Steinfels-Areal'' 1993, ''Zürich West'' 1998),
Growing
suburbanization
Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...
since the 1960s had resulted in congestions due to
commuting
Commuting is periodically recurring travel between a place of residence and place of work or study, where the traveler, referred to as a commuter, leaves the boundary of their home community. By extension, it can sometimes be any regular o ...
, partly eased with 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, ...
, introduced 1990.
Population declined during the 1980s to 1990s, but began to increase again in the 2000s, paired with significant
gentrification
Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
of central areas.
Demographic history
Zurich during its period of territorial expansion and prosperity during the late 14th to early 15th century increased in population to an estimated 7,000 inhabitants. This figure decreased rapidly as a result of the
Old Zurich War, to some 5,000, comparable to the population of Berne, Schaffhausen or Lucerne.
Population grew slowly but steadily during the 16th to 18th centuries, reaching 10,000 by 1800.
Population then increased rapidly during the 19th century, due to industrialization, and the increased availability of building space after the destruction of the city walls in the 1830s, reaching 28,000 by 1888.
Counting the population within the modern city borders, the figures are 17'200 in 1800, 56,700 in 1871, 150,700 in 1900, and 251,000 in 1930.
Population grew rapidly during 1945–1965, peaking at 440,000. After 1965, population declined due to
suburbanization
Suburbanization (American English), also spelled suburbanisation (British English), is a population shift from historic core cities or rural areas into suburbs. Most suburbs are built in a formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence ...
, to below 360,000 in the 1990s.
After 2000, there has again been population growth, surpassing the 400,000 mark in 2014.
[
1962: 440,180 (maximum);
1980: 370,618;
1989: 355,901 (minimum);
1990: 356,352;
1995: 360,826;
2000: 360,980;
2005: 366,809;
2010: 385,468;
January 2014: 400,028 (31.7% foreigners]
stadt-zuerich.ch
/ref>
See also
* History of the Jews in Zurich
* Fortifications of Zurich
* Reformation in Zurich
*Staatsarchiv Zürich
Staatsarchiv Zürich, formally the Staatsarchiv des Kantons Zürich, are the state archives of the Switzerland, Swiss Canton of Zürich and its legal predecessors, in particular the History of Zürich, former city republic of Zürich.
History
...
* Timeline of Zurich
*History of Switzerland
Since 1848, the Swiss Confederation has been a federal republic of relatively autonomous Cantons of Switzerland, cantons, some of which have a history of federation that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviv ...
References
Bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:History of Zurich
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 ...
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 ...