Map of Zurich :
Visit Zurich
The Grossmünster ("great minster") is a Romanesque-style church that played an important role in the history of the Protestant Reformation. It is one of the three major churches of Zürich (the others being the Fraumünster and St. Peterskirche). The core of the present building near the banks of the Limmat River was constructed on the site of a Carolingian church, according to legend originally commissioned by Charlemagne. Construction of the present structure commenced around 1100 and it was inaugurated around 1220.
The Fraumünster abbey of Zürich was founded in 853 by Louis the German for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the Benedictine convent with the lands of Zürich, Uri, and the Albis forest, and granted the convent immunity, placing it under his direct authority. The choir of the abbey includes 5 large stained glass windows designed by artist Marc Chagall and installed in 1970. Each of the 5 has a dominant color and depicts a Christian story.
The Kunsthaus Zürich houses one of the most important art museums in Switzerland and Europe, collected by the local Kunstverein, called Zürcher Kunstgesellschaft, and holdings running from the Middle Ages to contemporary art, with an emphasis on Swiss art. Kunsthaus is also the name of the tram stop next to the museum, properly on Pfauenplatz, between the museum building and the Schauspielhaus Zürich.The museum was planned by Karl Moser and Robert Curjel, and built and opened in 1910.
The Swiss National Museum — part of the Musée Suisse Group, itself affiliated with the Federal Office of Culture — is one of the most important art museums of cultural history in Europe and the world. The exhibition tour takes the visitor from prehistory through ancient times and the Middle Ages to the 20th century (classic modern art and art of the 16th, 17th and 18th century is settled mainly in the Kunsthaus Museum in a different part of the city of Zurich). There is a very rich section with gothic art, chivalry and a comprehensive collection of liturgical wooden sculptures, panel paintings and carved altars.
The Chinese Garden Zürich is located in Seefeld quarter. It is a gift from Zürich's Chinese partner town Kunming, dedicated to the «Three Friends in Winter». Zürich's Chinese garden is located between Blatterwiese and Bellerivestrasse nearby Zürichhorn on the right shore of Lake Zürich. The garden covers an exactly rectangular terrain, surrounded by a low wall. Its central element is a pond with a small island. Water is the central element, as a symbol of friendship between Kunming and Zurich. Entering the garden, the pond opens our view to all important elements of the garden.
Sihlcity is a shopping mall located in Zurich which was built on the ground of a former paper mill near the Sihl river in the Wiedikon district and opened on March 22 in 2007. This shopping and entertainment center is the first of its kind in Switzerland. It comprises some 100,000 sq metres of rental space with a diverse range of facilities, such as restaurants, a shopping center, a multiplex cinema, entertainment, health and fitness/wellness area, nightclub and even a chapel.
TO DOGo up Uetliberg, a hill overlooking Zurich. You can take a train from the main station. Enjoy the 360 degree view from a tall viewing tower. This is also the start of the planetenweg (planetary walk), an 8 mile walk along the ridge with models of the planets along the way. These are scaled down in true proportion to the solar system. |
St. Peter is one of the four main churches of the old town of Zürich, besides Grossmünster, Fraumünster and Predigerkirche. Located next to the Lindenhof hill, site of the former Roman castle, it was built on the site of a temple to Iuppiter. The steeple's clock face has a diameter of 8.7 m, the largest church clock face in Europe. The bells date to 1880. Peculiarly, the church's steeple is owned by the city of Zürich, while the nave is owned by the St. Peter parish of the Swiss Reformed Church.
The Museum of Design Zurich is a museum for design, visual communication, architecture and handicraft. It is located in Zurich's Kreis 5, close to Zürich Hauptbahnhof. In a building that once housed the School of Arts and Crafts the museum runs a large exhibition hall and the gallery, the foyer, the cafeteria and the shop as well as the vestibule to the lecture hall. The museum's other exhibition locations are the Museum Bellerive, which occupies a former villa on the shores of Lake Zurich, and the Plakatraum (poster room). The museum's four extensive collections (Poster Collection, Graphics Collection, Design Collection and Applied Art Collection) are of international importance and are open to the public on request.
The Paradeplatz is a square at the Bahnhofstrasse in downtown Zürich. It is one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Zürich and has become synonymous for wealth and Swiss Banks. Both major Swiss banks, UBS and Credit Suisse have their seats at the Paradeplatz. In the closest surroundings are several other notable banks. The site of the square lay without the medieval city walls, and was incorporated into the town with the construction of the new ramparts in 1642. During the 17th century, it served as a lifestock market, known as Säumärt ("pig market"), renamed to Neumarkt "new market" in 1819 and finally to its current name following the construction of Bahnhofstrasse (1865).