Zürich

Zürich or Zurich (/ˈzjʊərɪk/, Swiss Standard German Zürich [ˈtsʏrɪç], German Standard German Zürich [ˈtsyːʁɪç], Swiss German: Züri [ˈtsyɾi], French: Zurich [zyʁik], Italian: Zurigo [dzuˈriːɡo], Romansh: Turitg [tuˈritɕ]) is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. The municipality has approximately 400,028 inhabitants, the urban agglomeration 1.315 million, and the Zurich metropolitan area 1.83 million. Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zürich Airport and railway station are the largest and busiest in the country.

Permanently settled for around 2000 years, Zürich has a history that goes back to its founding by the Romans, who, in 15 BC, called it Turicum. However, early settlements have been found dating back more than 6400 years ago. During the Middle Ages Zürich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe under the leadership of Ulrich Zwingli.

Zürich District

Coordinates: 47°23′N 8°32′E / 47.383°N 8.533°E / 47.383; 8.533

Zürich District is a district (German: Bezirk) of the Swiss canton of Zürich in Switzerland.

History

In 1814, the former district of Zürich has been established including the municipalities – «Landgemeinden des Bezirks Zürich» (country municipalities) – surrounding the old city of Zurich, the so-called Altstadt. The district of Zürich as it exists today, was created on 1 July 1989, by splitting the former district of Zürich into three parts:

Therefore, since 1 July 1989, the district of Zürich (SFOS number 0112) shares the same area as the city of Zurich (0261) with its subdivisions totalling 390,474 (as of 31 December 2014) inhabitants on an area of 87.78 km² (33.89 sq mi).

Municipalities (subdivisions) of the district of Zürich

Canton of Zürich

The Canton of Zürich (German: Kanton  Zürich ) has a population (as of 31 December 2014) of 1,443,436. The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zürich is its capital. The official language is German. The local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch is commonly spoken. In English the name of the canton is often written without an umlaut.

History

The Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee comprises 11 of total 56 Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps in Switzerland, that are located around Zürichsee in the cantons of Schwyz, St. Gallen and Zürich. Located on Zürichsee lakeshore, there are Freienbach–Hurden Rosshorn, Freienbach–Hurden Seefeld, Rapperswil-Jona/Hombrechtikon–Feldbach, Rapperswil-Jona–Technikum, Erlenbach–Winkel, Meilen–Rorenhaab, Wädenswil–Vorder Au, Zürich–Enge Alpenquai, Grosser Hafner and Kleiner Hafner. Because the lake has grown in size over time, the original piles are now around 4 metres (13 ft) to 7 metres (23 ft) under the water level of 406 metres (1,332 ft). Also on the small area of about 40 square kilometres (15 sq mi) around Zürichsee, there also the settlements Greifensee–Storen/Wildsberg on Greifensee and Wetzikon–Robenhausen on Pfäffikersee lakeshore. As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, each of these 11 prehistoric pile dwellings is also listed as a Class object in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance.