Winterthur: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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During [[ |
During the [[Switzerland in the Roman era|Roman]] era, from 70 AD to around 400 AD, there was a roman settlement in what would become Oberwinterthur. This settlement, known as ''Vitudurum'', was initially a [[Vicus (Rome)|Vicus]] that later included a [[Castra|fort]]. |
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The first buildings, in what would become the old city of Winterthur, date to around 600-700. Around 1000 the town became the capitol of the [[House of Kyburg|counts of Kyburg]]. They built walls, a moat and towers around the town. In 1264 the [[Habsburg]] family inherited Winterthur when the last male of the counts of Kyburg died. In the same year Winterthur gained [[city rights]] from the new owners.<ref>Ernst Theodor Gaupp: ''Deutsche Stadtrechte im Mittelalter, mit rechtsgeschichtlichen Erläuterungen''. Erster Band: ''Die Stadtrechte von Straßburg, Hagenau, Molsheim, Colmar, Annweiler, Winterthur, Landshut in Bayern, Regensburg, Nürnberg, Eger, Eisenach und Altenburg''. Breslau 1851, S. 129-147, [http://books.google.de/books?id=sFEUAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA129 online] {{de icon}}</ref> From 1415 until 1442 Winterthur became ''[[Imperial immediacy|reichsfrei]]'' or subject only to the [[ Holy Roman Emperor]]. However, in the [[Old Zürich War]] they lost this freedom and came back under the control of the Austrian Habsburgs. Needing money, in 1467, the Habsburgs sold Winterthur to the city of [[Zurich]]. |
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In the time under the leadership of Zurich, Winterthur's economic freedom was restricted. They lost many of their market rights and the right to trade in some goods. This ended in 1798 when [[Napoleon]]ic troops liberated the town. |
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In the time under the leadership Winterthur economic was restricted by Zurich (e.g. market rights and the trade with some goods). The time ended 1798 with the troops of Napoleon who liberate the town. In the following time in the 19th century Winterthur became the industrytown, companys like [[Sulzer (manufacturer)|Sulzer]], [[Rieter]] and [[Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik|SLM]] builded great industry areal. The [[Great Depression]] in the 1930s hit Winterthur extremly hard with 60% of the employees in the machine industry and in the following the justification changed to the [[Tertiary sector of the economy|Tertiary sector]]. In 2008 Winterthur hit the border of 100'000 inhabitants after the counting of the city itself. |
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In the 19th century Winterthur became an industrial town, when companys like [[Sulzer (manufacturer)|Sulzer]], [[Rieter]] and [[Schweizerische Lokomotiv- und Maschinenfabrik|SLM]] built large industrial plants. The [[Great Depression]] in the 1930s hit Winterthur extremly hard. As nearly 60% of the total employees in town working in the machine industry, jobs became extremely hard to find. However, with the outbreak of [[World War II]], industry grew again in the city. |
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In 2008 Winterthur reached 100,000 inhabitants in the city. |
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==Geography== |
==Geography== |
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Revision as of 21:22, 14 January 2010
Winterthur | |
|---|---|
 Old Town | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Winterthur  | |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Canton | Zurich |
| District | Winterthur |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Stadtpräsident (list) Ernst Wohlwend SPS/PSS (as of 2008) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 68.07 km2 (26.28 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 439 m (1,440 ft) |
| Highest elevation (Hulmen) | 687 m (2,254 ft) |
| Lowest elevation (Kläranlage Hard) | 393 m (1,289 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2018)[2] | |
| • Total | 111,840 |
| • Density | 1,600/km2 (4,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (Central European Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (Central European Summer Time) |
| Postal code(s) | 8400 |
| SFOS number | 0230 |
| ISO 3166 code | CH-ZH |
| Localities | Stadt (city), Mattenbach, Oberwinterthur, Seen, Töss, Veltheim and Wülflingen |
| Surrounded by | Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell |
| Twin towns | Hall in Tirol (Austria), La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland), Pilsen (Czech Republic), Yverdon-les-Bains (Switzerland) |
| Website | www SFSO statistics |
Winterthur (pronounced: Ger. /vɪntərtur/, Eng. /vɪntərtʊər/) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti. Today Winterthur is a service and high tech industry centre, but many people make use of its proximity to Zürich, which lies approximately 19 miles (31 km) to the south-east, and only 18 minutes by train.
Winterthur is connected to Germany and Italy by direct trains and enjoys excellent links to Zurich Airport. It is also a regional transportation hub: the A1 motorway from Geneva through to St. Margrethen connects in Winterthur with the A4 motorway heading north toward Schaffhausen and the A7 motorway heading close to the Swiss-German border at Kreuzlingen. There are also roads leading to other places such as Turbenthal. The Station of Winterthur is one of the highest frequented Stations of Switzerland. FC Winterthur is the local football side.
History
During the Roman era, from 70 AD to around 400 AD, there was a roman settlement in what would become Oberwinterthur. This settlement, known as Vitudurum, was initially a Vicus that later included a fort.
The first buildings, in what would become the old city of Winterthur, date to around 600-700. Around 1000 the town became the capitol of the counts of Kyburg. They built walls, a moat and towers around the town. In 1264 the Habsburg family inherited Winterthur when the last male of the counts of Kyburg died. In the same year Winterthur gained city rights from the new owners.[3] From 1415 until 1442 Winterthur became reichsfrei or subject only to the Holy Roman Emperor. However, in the Old Zürich War they lost this freedom and came back under the control of the Austrian Habsburgs. Needing money, in 1467, the Habsburgs sold Winterthur to the city of Zurich.
In the time under the leadership of Zurich, Winterthur's economic freedom was restricted. They lost many of their market rights and the right to trade in some goods. This ended in 1798 when Napoleonic troops liberated the town.
In the 19th century Winterthur became an industrial town, when companys like Sulzer, Rieter and SLM built large industrial plants. The Great Depression in the 1930s hit Winterthur extremly hard. As nearly 60% of the total employees in town working in the machine industry, jobs became extremely hard to find. However, with the outbreak of World War II, industry grew again in the city.
In 2008 Winterthur reached 100,000 inhabitants in the city.
Geography
Topography
Winterthur is located at an elevation of Template:M to ft. The city is located in a basin south and east of the Töss river. The Eulach, a little river, flows in the middle by the city, because of this the town is called "Eulach-City". Zurich lies about twenty miles southwest of Winterthur.
Winterthur has an area of Template:Km2 to mi2. Of this area, 27% is used for agricultural purposes, while 41.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 30.8% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (0.8%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).[4] In 1996[update] housing and buildings made up 21.9% of the total area, while transportation infrastructure made up the rest (9%).[5] Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.6% of the area. As of 2007[update], 27.6% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.[5]
Demographics
As of July 2008[update] the population of Winterthur is 100,000[6]. By the end of the same year[update] the population was 100,978, of which 23.6% are foreign nationals.[7] As of 2008[update] the gender distribution of the population was 48.6% male and 51.4% female. Over the last 10 years the population has grown at a rate of 10.4%. Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (83.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 4.9%) and Albanian being third ( 2.0%).
The age distribution of the population (as of 2000[update]) is children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 20.9% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) make up 62.6% and seniors (over 64 years old) make up 16.5%.[4] There are 42028 households in Winterthur.[5]
As of 2008[update] there were 26,995 Catholics (26.7% of the population) and 37,327 Swiss Reformed Church members in Winterthur. Of the other Christian faiths, 326 (0.3%) were Lutheran, 203 (0.2%) were Christian Catholic, 3141 (3.1%) are some type of Christian Orthodox and 3,132 (3.1%) are another Christian faith. Of the rest of the population, 11,608 (11.5%) were Muslim, 108 (0.1%) were Jewish, 1,359 (1.3%) belonged to another non-Christian faith and 16,779 (16.6%) were atheist or agnostic or did not belong to any organized faith.[7]
Politics
The "Stadtrat", the local executive conseil, covers 7 members. Actually are three of them out of the Social Democratic Party (SP), including the townpresident, and one member per party of the Greens, EVP, FDP and CVP.
In the 2006 local election the most popular party was the Social Democratic Party (SP) which got 19 out of 60 seats. The other parties who got into the legislative were: SVP (11 seats), FDP (9), CVP (6), Green Party (5), EVP (5), glp (2), EDU (1), AL (1), SD (1). Next local elections are in 2010.
In the 2007 federal election the most popular party was the SVP which received 27.7% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the SPS (23.2%) and the Green Party (14.4%).[8]
Economy
Economically, Winterthur was one of the homes of Switzerland's rail industry and an industrial centre. The rail industry and other heavy industry have largely disappeared. Amongst the most significant companies was Sulzer Brothers, today's Sulzer Ltd., Sulzer AG, commonly abbreviated to Sulzer. Textile production declined even earlier on. Also the Rieter company come from Winterthur.
Switzerland's largest bank, and one of the world's large banks, Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), since 1998 UBS AG, was also founded in Winterthur.
Among other commercial organizations, Winterthur was home to Switzerland's largest insurance business "Winterthur Insurance". Until 2006, the company was the largest in Switzerland and was in Europe's top 10. On January 1, 2007 the Winterthur company was officially acquired by the French AXA group and is now known as AXA Winterthur.
Winterthur has an unemployment rate of 3.13%. As of 2005[update], there were 594 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 97 businesses involved in this sector. 11603 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 717 businesses in this sector. 39982 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 3570 businesses in this sector.[4] As of 2007[update] 47.9% of the working population were employed full-time, and 52.1% were employed part-time.[5]
Education
The entire Swiss population is generally well educated. In Winterthur about 70.7% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).[4]
The town is renowned for its institute of higher education Technikum, which is the largest school of technology in Switzerland. The institute has recently teamed up with schools from Zurich and is now known as Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW).
Transport
Winterthur is a node of the Swiss train-net and also of the S-Bahn Zurich. All express trains who drive in the direction to St.Gallen, Konstanz or Romanshorn pass the mainstation. There is also a EuroCity to Munich which stops in Winterthur. Additionally 11 S-Bahn-lines and 5 nightlines stop there. 122'000 passenger are frequenting the place each day. Beside the mainstation there are nine more trainstations in Winterthur. The local public transport is runned by Stadtbus Winterthur with twelve town bus lines and five regional bus lines,
Culture
Winterthur's chamber orchestra, Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur, which also plays at the Zurich Opera is exceptional. Between 1922 and 1950, the philanthropist Werner Reinhart and the conductor Hermann Scherchen played a leading role in shaping the musical life of Winterthur, with numerous premiere performances emphasizing contemporary music.[9]
The city hall Stadthaus, in which the concerts of the Musikkollegium take place, was built by Gottfried Semper.
Musikfestwochen, in late August and early September, sees Winterthur’s Old Town taken over for live music of all kinds, in the street and bars as well as in concert venues.
The "Albanifest", the largest annual festival in a historic town in Switzerland, is named after St Alban, one of the city's four saints, is held here, over three days in late June every year. Although a recent creation, the festival celebrates the granting of a charter to the town in 1264 by Rudolf of Habsburgh on the 22 June of that year, which happened to be the saint's day.
The church of St. Laurenz in the city centre dates from 1264, the town hall was built in 1781, the assembly hall in 1865.
In 1989, Winterthur received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.
Tourism
Winterthur is not known as a classic tourist hotspot, as other destinations in Switzerland. As a result Winterthur does not offer a wide range of hotels to choose from. Also, it's so easy to reach from Zürich that the tourists who do come to Winterthur are often simply staying in Zürich.
Nevertheless Winterthur is mentioned in most tourist guides for its numerous museums, many of which offer world class art. The most famous are:
- Oskar Reinhart Collection 'Am Römerholz'
- Oskar Reinhart Collection am Stadtgarten
- Kunstmuseum Winterthur
- Villa Flora
- Fotomuseum Winterthur
- Technorama
Gastronomy
Winterthur's gastronomical scene has evolved significantly over the past 10 years. Following the trend of the locals to dine out more frequently and the rising desire for exotic food, Winterthur offers a wide range of restaurant types. Although the classic cool restaurant type, very popular in other destination, has not yet caught on, some restaurants as the “National”, the vegetarian “Tibits” or Switzerland’s first “Wagamama”, try to fill the void.
A very distinctive venue is the “Club zur Geduld”, unfortunately for tourists, a members only restaurant/bar modeled after the classic English gentlemen clubs, located in the heart of the old town. Just a few steps away you will find another Winterthur classic, the wine club “Meinweinkeller”, which invites everybody to wine and dine on Thursdays in a beautiful 17th century townhouse.
On the outskirts of the city you will find arguably the best restaurant, “Taggenberg”, offering modern cuisine. Not far from it is the 16th century “Schloss Wülflingen” which is currently being renovated.
References
- ^ a b "Arealstatistik Standard - Gemeinden nach 4 Hauptbereichen". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "Ständige Wohnbevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeitskategorie Geschlecht und Gemeinde; Provisorische Jahresergebnisse; 2018". Federal Statistical Office. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2019.
- ^ Ernst Theodor Gaupp: Deutsche Stadtrechte im Mittelalter, mit rechtsgeschichtlichen Erläuterungen. Erster Band: Die Stadtrechte von Straßburg, Hagenau, Molsheim, Colmar, Annweiler, Winterthur, Landshut in Bayern, Regensburg, Nürnberg, Eger, Eisenach und Altenburg. Breslau 1851, S. 129-147, online Template:De icon
- ^ a b c d Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 14-Aug-2009
- ^ a b c d Statistics Zurich Template:De icon accessed 4 August 2009
- ^ Neu Zuricher Zeitung 4 July 2008 edition Template:De icon accessed 14 August 2009
- ^ a b Winterthur In Zahlen 2009 Template:De icon accessed 8 December 2009
- ^ Swiss Federal Statistical Office Template:De icon accessed 4 September 2009. The english page incorrectly identifies local center parties as CSP.
- ^ Musikkollegium website
External links
- http://www.winterthur-city.ch – Official Webpage of Winterthur
- http://www.standort-winterthur.ch – Official Webpage Economic Development Region of Winterthur
- http://www.musikkollegium.ch – Musikkollegium Winterthur
- http://www.stadtmusik-winterthur.ch - Homepage of Winterthur's city Orchestra
- http://www.meinweinkeller.ch - Homepage of Winterthur's wine club
Municipalities in Winterthur District, Switzerland | ||
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