Winterthur
|
|
Winterthur is a city in the Canton of Zurich in Switzerland. Despite being the sixth largest city in Switzerland, Winterthur is relatively unknown to outsiders, perhaps because of its close proximity to Zurich. In the local dialect it is sometimes abbreviated to Winti.
The city is located in a basin east of the River Töss. Zurich lies southwest of Winterthur. During Roman times the city was known as "Vitudurum"/Vitodurum. The counts of Kyburg founded the city in 1175. The charter included extensive privileges for the town. In 1264 the Habsburg family inherited Winterthur. They sold it to the city of Zurich in 1467.
The church of St. Laurenz in the city centre dates from 1264, the town hall was built in 1781, the assembly hall in 1865.
The town is renowed 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 Winterthur.
The city is also well known for its disproportionally high number of top-notch art galleries and museums, e.g. the Oskar Reinhart Collection 'Am Römerholz', Villa Flora and Fotomuseum.
Economically, Winterthur was one 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. Textile production declined even earlier on. Today Winterthur is a service centre, but many people make use of its proximity to Zurich which is only 20 minutes by train. The insurance company Winterthur Group was founded in the city in 1875.
The population of Winterthur is about 93,000. Winterthur also acts as a gateway to the rural parts of the Canton of Zurich as a centre for shopping, leisure and entertainment, but also as a train station of major significance. 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.de:Winterthur (Stadt) fr:Winterthour la:Vitudurum ro:Winterthur