Here are some highlights of two days for a walk in Zurich, once in 2012, and the other one in this year of 2016.
I propose you here only views trying to translate the relation of Zurich with the modernity.
Indeed this city is one of more dynamic of Switzerland at the same time by its industries and by its relation in the art. As many European cities, it is full of traces of a history which remains very present through its monuments, while showing a very modern face by its architecture which goes alongside with a young and dynamic spirit.
ZURICH, Tigurum, a pretty town in Switzerland, industrious and commercial, capital of the canton of the same name, and, alternately with Bern and Lucerne, the seat of the Diet.
It is built on hills on both banks of the Limmat, where the river flows out of Lake Zurich. The part on the right bank is the largest and oldest; its streets are narrow and winding, but there are some beautiful neighbourhoods, as in the other part of the city.
The main public buildings are: the Munster or cathedral, an old building dating from the seventh century, the Frauen-Munster, St. Peter's Church, the town hall, the prison, the observatory, the insane asylum, the casino, the arsenal, the orphanage, the institute for the blind and deaf-mute, the new customs house, the new corn exchange, the Hôtel-Dieu, a superb building recently constructed according to the plans of the learned Dr Schœnlein, with a pretty amphitheatre; the post office, the beautiful cantonal church building and numerous hotels, among which the Lac and the Baur hotels are the most magnificent.
In the middle of the waters of the Limmat stands the square tower of Wellenberg, where the intrepid Waldmann was imprisoned; it is still a state prison; but the most beautiful adornment of the city is its fountains and promenades; travellers should especially visit the Schützenplatz, adorned with charming groves, secluded paths and vast lawns, in the middle of which stands the Gessner monument, a site well worthy of the memory of this great man
Zurich, which can be regarded as the German Athens of Switzerland, has a large number of institutions, among which the following are particularly noteworthy: the Carolin Academy or College, which, together with the magnificent Institute of Medicine and Surgery, forms a complete university; the seminary with its anatomical amphitheatre, the school of arts, the school of singing, the institute for the deaf and dumb, the political institute, where young people destined for public office are educated, the seminary for school teachers, the physical and economic society, with a botanical garden, a magnificent natural history museum and a library; the Swiss Society for the Public Good, the National History Society, the Medical and Surgical Society, the Reading Society, which has several thousand volumes, the Mathematical and Military Society, and the General Music Society; the Natural History and Artists' Society, the city library, the libraries of the Caroline Academy, the Technological Institute or School of Arts, and the Physical and Economic Society, where the herbarium of the famous Haller is kept.
We cannot fail to mention Muller's relief map, which is superior to that of Pfyffer and covers the whole of Switzerland. The city library is housed in the former chapel known as Wasser-kurch, which Waldmann had converted into a temple dedicated to victory in the fifteenth century. It is extensive and well chosen; Among other precious manuscripts, it contains part of the Codex Vaticanus and Latin letters from Joan Grey to the theologian Ballinger, a large collection of portraits of prominent Zurich figures, and a considerable collection of Chinese allegorical paintings brought back by the traveller Horner.
Zurich, which owed its great importance in the Middle Ages to its industry, still retains some of the elements that were the source of that importance. It has numerous factories producing muslin, silk, gauze and cotton fabrics, vinegar, etc. Its trade is considerable and is carried on by 12 banking houses and 7 shipping and commission houses. Its 15,000 inhabitants live in general comfort, although they are keen to preserve the simplicity of their ancient customs.
To this day, Zurich has always been the most fortified city in Switzerland and the one that has been captured most often. The fortifications are currently being demolished and the ramparts converted into beautiful promenades. Occupied by French troops on 27 April 1798, it was recaptured by the Austrians on 6 June 1799 and by the Russians on 18 August of the same year, but the French took it back on 26 September under the command of General Masséna after a terrible battle.
Zurich is the birthplace of naturalist Conrad Gessner, who died in 1565; of the orientalist Horringer, who died in 1667; of the poet Salomon Gessner, who died in 1788; of Jean-Gaspard Lavater, theologian and physiognomist, who died in 1801; of the philosopher Jean-Gaspard Hirtzel, who died in 1805; and of the famous educator Pestalozzi, who died in 1825.
