History
The city of Zürich started life as a Roman customs post by the name of
Turicum. Expansion thereafter was slow, but merchants trading in textiles
gradually increased the financial clout of the town, and in 1218 it graduated
to the status of a free city under the Holy Roman Empire. In 1336 the
increasingly powerful merchants and artisans formed guilds that took over
the governing of the city. Zürich's reputation as a cultural and intellectual
center began after it joined the Swiss Confederation in 1351. From 1519
Huldrych Zwingli helped things along with his teachings during the Reformation,
and he became a key figure in the running of the city, until his death
on the battlefield in 1531. Zürich's intellectual and artistic tradition
continued during WWI with the influx of luminaries such as Lenin, Trotsky,
Tristan Tzara, Hans Arp and James Joyce (Joyce's grave can be seen in
the Fluntern cemetery). In 1916 the Dada art movement was born in Zürich,
with the creation of the 'artist tavern' known as Cabaret Voltaire by
Hugo Ball. Around the same time, Carl Jung was honing his psychoanalytical
theories in the city. On the financial side, Zürich's international status
as an industrial and business center is thanks in no small part to the
efforts of the energetic administrator and railway magnate Alfred Escher
(1819-1882); throughout his life, he was also a strong force in politics.
In 1877 Zürich's stock exchange was founded, and it is still the most
important in the country. In recent years, the Social Democrats have been
at the helm of Zürich's administration, but the guilds retain a powerful,
if behind-closed-doors, voice in the running of the city.
Population:
363,000
Introduction
Money does indeed make the world go round, and Zürich is here to prove
it. It's a sober, responsible, business-oriented town but, despite rumors
to the contrary, is not just for the boringly wealthy. It's Switzerland's
most populous city and offers plenty of cultural diversions. Chocolate
bars will battle gold bars for your attention, the town boasts free bicycle
loans, and a varied cycle of festivals keeps the people hopping. Visitors
- not all of them wearing neckties - can explore galleries, the pedestrian
streets of the old town and Zürich's lakeside setting. Goethe described
Switzerland as a combination of 'the colossal and the well-ordered,' and
Zürich, like the country's other towns and cities, runs on minute-perfect
time. That doesn't mean it's predictable: Its people did, after all, spawn
Dadaism, that anti-art art movement, which goes to show that even cities
bubbling over with affluence hold some unexpected surprises.
The Museum of Fine Arts is one of the most important of Zürich's many museums. The large permanent collection ranges from 15th-century religious art to the various schools of modern art. The work of big names such as Dali, Arp, Man Ray, Hockney, Bacon, Cézanne, Renoir, Manet, Monet and Gauguin is on display. There's a fair sprinkling of Picassos, a whole room devoted to Marc Chagall and the largest Edvard Munch collection outside Scandinavia.
Swiss National Museum
Housed in a pseudo-castle built in 1898, the Swiss National Museum gives the ultimate rundown on Swiss life and times from the prehistoric to the present. It exhibits a good selection of church art, plus weapons, coins, room interiors, costumes and utensils. The fresco in the Hall of Arms, the Retreat of the Swiss Confederates at Marignano, is by Ferdinand Hodler. In the basement there's an interesting section on book-inscribing in the Middle Ages (you'll discover that the color purple was extracted from snails), including some fine facsimiles of 14th-century books to leaf through.
The elegant Bahnhofstrasse was built on the site of the city walls, which were torn down 150 years ago. Underfoot are bank vaults full of gold and silver. Zürich is one of the world's premier precious metals markets, but the vaults (for some reason) aren't open to the public. However, the famous street's large department stores and specialty shops are happy to offer you a peek at their goods.
Fraumünster Church
Dating from the 13th century, the Fraumünster Church nearby is noted for the distinctive stained-glass windows in its choir section that were created by Marc Chagall in 1970 and completed when he was 83 years old. The building itself dates from the 13th century. It's closed at lunchtime.
Zoo Dolder
On the Zürichberg, this is Switzerland's largest zoo and one of its most
important. There are 350 animal species from all around the world, in
all about 2500 animals. Two of the more famous residents are Asian elephant
Ceyla-Himali and her son, whose birth in June 2000 was broadcast live
on the Internet. The pleasant zoo backs on to Zürichberg woods, ideal
for walks away from the noise of the city.
Buerkliplatz Flohmarkt
This established flea market is the perfect place to hunt for that cuckoo
clock for the folks back home. The stalls offer a range of goods, mostly
antiques, and the variety of food stalls will keep you energized for shopping.
The market is open 6am-4pm every Saturday, May to October; it's near the
northwest bank of Lake Zürich, off the bottom end of Bahnhofstrasse.
When to Go
You can visit Switzerland any time throughout the year. Summer lasts roughly
from June to September and offers the most pleasant climate for outdoor
pursuits. Unfortunately, you won't be the only tourist during this period,
so prices can be high and accommodation hard to find. You'll find much
better deals and fewer crowds in the shoulder seasons of April to May
and late-September to October. In the winter months, Zürich receives little
snow and few tourists, but it's a pleasant stop-off point for relaxing
or shopping after a trip to mountain resorts.