Altstadt (Zürich)

Coordinates: 47°22′12″N 8°32′31″E / 47.370°N 8.542°E / 47.370; 8.542
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Altstadt
Kreis 1
District 1
District
City

The Altstadt (German for "old town") in the Swiss city of Zürich 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

City. Lindenhof and Rathaus correspond to the parts of the medieval city left (west) and right (east) of the Limmat
, respectively, while City and Hochschulen include the area of the Early Modern city west and east of the medieval walls, respectively.

PlatzspitzZürich Main StationBahnhofplatzBahnhofquaiBauschänzliWasserkircheMünsterbrückeZürich Town HallRathausbrückeRudolf-Brun-BrückeBahnhofbrückePapierwerdGedecktes BrüggliMühlesteigOld Botanical GardenLimmatLimmatquaiLake ZurichSihlSchanzengrabenPredigerkircheNeumarktNiederdorfCentralGrossmünsterBarfüsserklosterOberdorfFraumünsterMünsterhofZeughausLindenhofSt. PeterOetenbach nunneryAugustinerklosterRennwegBahnhofstrasseLöwenplatzLöwenstrasseEidgenössisches PolytechnikumBellevueSeilergrabenHirschengrabenPfauenKantonsschule RämibühlRämistrasseStadelhofenTalackerParadeplatzBürkliplatzSelnauEngeWiedikonHottingenFlunternAussersihlKasernenareal
The city of Zürich on the 1881 Siegfriedkarte (city area highlighted), after the construction of the Limmatquai and the train station, but before the construction of Uraniastrasse, and of the lakeside quais with Quaibrücke (hover mouse over map for labels).


Map of Zürich in 1705 (north is left). Altstadt corresponds to the fortified area and immediately adjacent parts.

Lindenhof

Main articles: Lindenhof hill and Oppidum Zürich-Lindenhof
Altstadt: St. Peter church

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 (

Vicus Turicum
, a Roman customs station with a surrounding civilian settlement, in the final decades of the 1st century BC.

The

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

The

Fröschengraben
moat, Bahnhofstrasse as of today.

Zunfthaus zur Meisen at Münsterhof plaza near Fraumünster church houses the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss National Museum. Lindenhof also contains the former Augustinian abbey, and formerly the Oetenbach nunnery 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.

Fraumünster

Main articles: Fraumünster and Münsterhof

The

Reformation.[2]

Rathaus

Limmatquai with guild houses and Grossmünster
Neumarkt and Grimmenturm
Guild house «Haue» at Limmatquai, Rathaus at the left side (2008)
Niederdorf: Stüssihofstatt, guild house «zur Schneidern» (tailors) at the left side, and Restaurant Johanniter (right side)

The Rathaus quarter is named for the town hall, 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

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

Main article: Limmatquai

The

Zunfthaus zum Rüden and Zunfthaus zur Saffran
.
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:

north of Limmatquai:

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.[citation needed]

So defined,[clarification needed] 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) 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 former Franciscan abbey) as well as a number of alleys leaving Münstergasse: Marktgasse, Spiegelgasse, Krebsgasse, Ankengasse, Römergasse and Kirchgasse.[citation needed]

Grossmünster

Main article: Grossmünster

Predigerkirche

Main article: Predigerkirche Zürich

Initially the church of the Predigerkloster (Dominican monastery), it became after the Reformation in Switzerland the parish church of Niederdorf respectively Neumarkt, and owns since 1900 the tallest church tower of Zürich.[3]

Oberdorf

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

Hochschulen

University main building, with the Predigerkirche, the Niederdorf and the Limmat in the background.
Utoquai alongside Sechseläutenplatz
.
Aerial view (1961)
Central square, seen from Lindenhof hill, Limmatquai to the right.

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

District 8 (Mühlebach and Seefeld
) to the south.

Hochschulen in its southern end also includes the

Polybahn funicular connects Central and the ETH Zurich
main building.

Central

The Central square at the northern border between Rathaus and Hochschulen quarters is a major junction of the

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 and the art museum Kunsthaus Zürich.

Bellevue

Main article: Bellevueplatz

The

General-Guisan-Quai
.

Stadelhofen

South of Bellevue are the squares

Sechseläutenplatz takes its name from the Sechseläuten
, a traditional Zürich festival that is celebrated there.

Forchbahn (S18) line serving Zumikon and Esslingen. The Zürich Opera House
is situated at the southern end of the Sechseläutenplatz.

City

City is the area west of the

5 (Aussersihl
) to the northwest.

Platzspitz

Main article: Platzspitz park
1724 view of the northern end of town, with the Platzspitz in the foreground, at the time a shooting-range.

Platzspitz (formerly Platzpromenade, Limmatspitz) is a park at the confluence of the two rivers of Zürich; the Limmat and the Sihl.

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, Schützenfeste were held there. A remnant of these can be found in the contemporary Knabenschiessen 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

Main article: Zürich Hauptbahnhof
The Limmat, Bahnhofbrücke, Bahnhofquai and Hauptbahnhof seen from Walche-Brücke looking upstream

Bahnhofstrasse

Main articles: Bahnhofstrasse and Paradeplatz
Paradeplatz
Bürkliplatz, St. Peter and Fraumünster church towers in the background

Bürkliplatz

Main article:
Bürkliplatz

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

Schanzengraben

Main article:
Schanzengraben

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

Main article:
Schanzengraben

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

SWX Swiss Exchange building is located in Selnau. The museum Haus Konstruktiv
is located in a former power station near Selnau train station.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rathaus (Quarter Zürich).

Literature

  • Heimatkunde der Stadt Zürich. Zürich: Büromaterialverwaltung, 1977.
  • Hochbaudepartement der Stadt Zürich, Amt für Städtebau: Stadtzentrum – Altstadt / City. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zürich 2008 (Baukultur in Zürich, Band VI),
    ISBN 978-3-03823-343-5

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ Meinrad Sutter (ed.). "Kleine Zürcher Verfassungsgeschichte 1218–2000" (PDF) (in German). Staatsarchiv Zürich. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2014-12-29.
  3. ^ Dölf Wild; Urs Jäggin; Felix Wyss (2006-12-31). "Die Zürcher Predigerkirche – Wichtige Etappen der Baugeschichte. Auf dem Murerplan beschönigt? – Untersuchungen an der Westfassade der Predigerkirche" (in German). Amt für Städtebau der Stadt Zürich. Archived from the original on 2014-12-19. Retrieved 2014-12-27.
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