Winterthur (pronounced:
Ger. /vɪn:tər,tur/,
Eng. /,tʊər/) is a city in the
cantonThe 26 cantons of Switzerland are the member states of the federal state of Switzerland. Each canton was a fully sovereign state with its own borders, army and currency from the Treaty of Westphalia until the establishment of the Swiss federal state in 1848...
of Zurich in northern
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. 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 Zurich, which is 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
motorwayThe OECD has defined a motorway as:Motorways are identical to freeways as a road type, and comparable to the United States's Interstate Highways as a classification....
from
GenevaGeneva, is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie...
through to
St. MargrethenSt. Margrethen is a municipality in the Wahlkreis of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland.It has 5300 inhabitants....
connects in Winterthur with the A4 motorway heading north toward
SchaffhausenSchaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 33,693 ....
and the A7 motorway heading close to the Swiss-German border at
KreuzlingenKreuzlingen is a municipality in the district of Kreuzlingen in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. It is the seat of the district.It is the second largest city of the canton, after Frauenfeld, with a population of over 18,000....
. There are also roads leading to other places such as
TurbenthalTurbenthal is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.-Geography:Turbenthal has an area of . Of this area, 34.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 57.6% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 7.1% is settled and the remainder is non-productive...
. The Station of Winterthur is one of the highest frequented Stations of Switzerland.
FC WinterthurFC Winterthur is a Swiss football club based in Winterthur, Canton of Zürich.- History :The club plays in the Swiss Challenge League, the second highest tier of Swiss football, and was founded in 1896...
is the local football side.
History
During
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
times the city was known as
Vitudurum. The
counts of KyburgThe House of Kyburg was family of Grafen or counts from Zürich in Switzerland. The family was one of the three most powerful noble family in the Swiss plateau beside the Habsburg and the House of Savoy during the 11th and 12th Centuries...
founded the city in 1175. The charter included extensive privileges for the town. In 1264 the
HabsburgThe House of Habsburg or Hapsburg was an important royal house of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian and Spanish Empire and several other countries...
family inherited Winterthur. They sold it to the city of
ZurichZürich or Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. The city is Switzerland's main commercial and cultural centre and sometimes called the Cultural Capital of Switzerland, the political capital of Switzerland being Berne...
in 1467.
Topography
Winterthur is located at an elevation of . 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 . 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). housing and buildings made up 21.9% of the total area, while transportation infrastucture made up the rest (9%). Of the total unproductive area, water (streams and lakes) made up 0.6% of the area. , 27.6% of the total municipal area was undergoing some type of construction.
Demographics
the population of Winterthur is 100,000. the population was 96,462, of which 23.1% are foreign nationals. 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 speaks German (83.0%), with Italian being second most common ( 4.9%) and Albanian being third ( 2.0%).
The age distribution of the population 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%. There are 42028 households in Winterthur.
there were 26,134
CatholicsThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and 36,557
ProtestantsThe Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
in Winterthur. In the 2000 census, religion was broken down into several smaller categories. From the , 44.4% were some type of Protestant, with 41.1% belonging to the
Swiss Reformed ChurchThe Reformed branch of Protestantism in Switzerland was started in Zürich by Huldrych Zwingli and spread within a few years to Basel , Berne , St...
and 3.3% belonging to other protestant churchs. 28.5% of the population were Catholic. Of the rest of the population, 7.3% were Muslim, 10.2% belonged to another religion (not listed), 4.8% did not give a religion, and 11.3% were atheist or agnostic.
Politics
The "Stadtrat", the local executive conseil, covers 7 members. Actually are three of them out of the
Social Democratic Party (SP)The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland.It was founded on October 21, 1888, and is currently the second largest of the four leading coalition political parties in Switzerland. It is the left-most party with representatives in the Swiss Federal Council...
, including the townpresident, and one member per party of the
GreensThe Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
,
EVPThe Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland.In questions of redistribution, education, environmentalism, immigration policy, the EVP stands rather center-left. In questions of euthanasia, abortion, and registered partnership and other typically Christian...
,
FDPThe Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, with official name FDP.The Liberals , is a political party in Switzerland that was formed on February 28, 2009, after two parties, the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland , and the Liberal Party of Switzerland united. Its youth organisation is Young...
and
CVPThe Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a centrist political party in Switzerland and the smallest member of the four-party coalition government...
.
In the 2006 local election the most popular party was the
Social Democratic Party (SP)The Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland.It was founded on October 21, 1888, and is currently the second largest of the four leading coalition political parties in Switzerland. It is the left-most party with representatives in the Swiss Federal Council...
which got 19 out of 60 seats. The other parties who got into the legislative were:
SVPThe Swiss People's Party also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre is a populist, national conservative political party in Switzerland....
(11 seats),
FDPThe Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, with official name FDP.The Liberals , is a political party in Switzerland that was formed on February 28, 2009, after two parties, the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland , and the Liberal Party of Switzerland united. Its youth organisation is Young...
(9),
CVPThe Christian Democratic People's Party of Switzerland is a centrist political party in Switzerland and the smallest member of the four-party coalition government...
(6),
Green PartyThe Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(5),
EVPThe Evangelical People's Party of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland.In questions of redistribution, education, environmentalism, immigration policy, the EVP stands rather center-left. In questions of euthanasia, abortion, and registered partnership and other typically Christian...
(5),
glpThe Green Liberal Party of Switzerland is a Swiss political party founded on 19 July 2007 by four cantonal parties of the same name from Baselland, Berne, St. Gallen and Zurich...
(2),
EDUThe Federal Democratic Union of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland. It was founded in 1975 as a split of the Nationale Aktion, and in 1991 it entered the Swiss National Council...
(1),
AL[The Alternative List is a left-wing political party in Switzerland.The AL exists since 1990 as a loose coalition of left-wing activists. At the beginning of 2007, the AL Zurich was transformed into a political union...
(1),
SDThe Swiss Democrats are a right-wing political party in Switzerland. In the 2003 federal elections, the party won 1.0% of the popular vote and 1 out of 200 seats. This seat was lost in the 2007 elections, where the SD fell to 0.5% of the popular vote...
(1). Next local elections are in 2010.
In the 2007
federal electionElections to the Swiss Federal Assembly, the federal parliament of Switzerland, were held on Sunday, October 21, 2007. In a few cantons, a second round of the elections to the Council of States was held on 11 November, 18 November, or 25 November 2007...
the most popular party was the
SVPThe Swiss People's Party also known as the Democratic Union of the Centre is a populist, national conservative political party in Switzerland....
which received 27.7% of the vote. The next two most popular parties were the
SPSThe Social Democratic Party of Switzerland is a political party in Switzerland.It was founded on October 21, 1888, and is currently the second largest of the four leading coalition political parties in Switzerland. It is the left-most party with representatives in the Swiss Federal Council...
(23.2%) and the
Green PartyThe Green Party of Switzerland is the fifth-largest party in the National Council of Switzerland, and the largest not represented on the Federal Council.-History:...
(14.4%).
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
SulzerSulzer may refer to:* 16505 Sulzer, an asteroid belt* Conrad Sulzer Regional Library* Sulzer , a Swiss manufacturerSulzer is a German surname meaning "from Sulz" and may refer to:* Alexander Sulzer , German ice hockey player...
. Textile production declined even earlier on. Also the
RieterRieter is a producer of textile machinery and automobile components, based in Winterthur, Switzerland.-History:Founded in 1795 by Johann Jacob Rieter , the company initially produced textile products...
company come from Winterthur.
Switzerland's largest bank, and one of the world's large banks,
Union Bank of SwitzerlandUnion Bank of Switzerland was located in Switzerland. It merged with Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998, to become UBS AG.The company was formed in 1912 when the Bank in Winterthur merged with Toggenburger Bank...
(UBS), since 1998
UBS AGUBS AG is a diversified global financial services company, with its main headquarters in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland. It is the world's largest manager of private wealth assets, "the world's biggest manager of other people's money" and is also the second-largest bank in Europe, by both market...
, was also founded in Winterthur.
Among other commercial organizations, Winterthur was home to Switzerland's largest
insuranceInsurance, in law and economics, is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium, and can be thought of as a guaranteed and known...
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
AXAAXA is a French global insurance companies group headquartered in Paris. AXA is not the name of a single company but a group of companies independently organized and operated according to the regulations of many different countries....
group and is now known as AXA Winterthur.
Winterthur has an unemployment rate of 3.13%. , 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. 47.9% of the working population were employed full-time, and 52.1% were employed part-time.
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
FachhochschuleA Fachhochschule or University of Applied Sciences is a German type of university, sometimes specialized in certain topical areas . Fachhochschulen were founded in Germany and later adopted by Austria, Liechtenstein and Switzerland...
).
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 ZurichThe Zürich S-Bahn system is a network of rail lines within the ZVV area The Zürich S-Bahn system is a network of rail lines within the ZVV area The Zürich S-Bahn system is a network of rail lines within the ZVV area (geographically, within the entire canton of Zürich, portions of the cantons...
. All express trains who drive in the direction to St.Gallen, Konstanz or Romanshorn pass the mainstation. There is also an EC to Munich who stopp 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 twelthe town bus lines and five regional bus lines,
Culture
Winterthur's chamber orchestra,
Orchester Musikkollegium WinterthurThe Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur is a symphony orchestra based in Winterthur, Switzerland. The oldest orchestra in Switzerland, it was founded in 1875 as the Stadtorchester Winterthur...
, which also plays at the
Zurich OperaOper Zürich is an opera company based in Zürich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
is exceptional. Between 1922 and 1950, the philanthropist
Werner ReinhartWerner Reinhart was a Swiss industrialist, philanthropist, amateur clarinettist, and patron of composers and writers, particularly Igor Stravinsky and Rainer Maria Rilke...
and the conductor
Hermann ScherchenHermann Scherchen was a German conductor.Born in Berlin, he was originally a violist and played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga from 1914 to 1916 and in Königsberg from 1928 to 1933, after which he left Germany in protest at the...
played a leading role in shaping the musical life of Winterthur, with numerous premiere performances emphasizing contemporary music.
The city hall
Stadthaus, in which the concerts of the Musikkollegium take place, was built by
Gottfried SemperGottfried Semper was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture, who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in Dresden and was put on the government's wanted list. Semper fled first to Zürich and later...
.
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 PrizeThe Wakker Prize is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage....
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.
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.
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