Winterthur
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| Winterthur | ||||||||||
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| Population | 92,963 (December 2005) | |||||||||
| - Density | 1,369 /km² (528 /sq.mi.) | |||||||||
| Area | 67.93 km² (26.2 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 439 m (1,440 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 8400 | |||||||||
| Mayor (list) | Ernst Wohlwend SPS/PSS | |||||||||
| Surrounded by (view map) | Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell | |||||||||
| Twin towns | Hall in Tirol (Austria), La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland), Pilsen (Czech Republic), Yverdon-les-Bains (Switzerland) | |||||||||
| Website | www.stadt-winterthur.ch | |||||||||
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Winterthur (pronounced: Ger. /vɪn:tər,tur/, Eng. /,tʊər/) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has an estimated population of 92,963 and is the sixth largest city in Switzerland. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti. Today Winterthur is a service centre, but many people make use of its proximity to Zurich, which is only 20 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 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. The Station of Winterthur is one of the highest frequent Stations of Switzerland. FC Winterthur is the local football side.
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[edit] History
During Roman times the city was known as Vitudurum. 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.
[edit] Geography
[edit] Topography
Winterthur is located at at an elevation of 439 meters (1,440 ft). 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.
[edit] Demographics
As of December 2005 the population of Winterthur is 92,963.
[edit] 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 Sulzer. Textile production declined even earlier on. Also the Rieter company come from Winterthur.
Switzerland's largest bank, and one of the world's large banks, Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), since 1998 UBS AG, was also founded in Winterthur.
Among other commercial organizations, Winterthur was home to Switzerland's largest insurance 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 AXA group and is now known as AXA Winterthur.
[edit] Education
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 Winterthur (ZHW).
[edit] Culture
The city hall Stadthaus, in which the concerts of the Musikkollegium take place, was built by Gottfried Semper.
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. Its chamber orchestra, Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur, which also plays at the Zurich Opera is exceptional.
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 Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage.
[edit] Tourism
Though Winterthur does not attract people to itself like other cities in Switzerland might, it has its own grace and reasons to invite people to visit.
Winterthur is home of different types of renowned museums and art galleries. With seventeen museums is Winterthur a "town of museen" in switzerland. There are a lot of famous museums among them are:
- Oskar Reinhart Collections - Am Römerholz
- Oskar Reinhart Collections - Am Stadtgarten
- Kunstmuseum Winterthur
- Villa Flora
- Fotomuseum Winterthur
- Technorama
[edit] External links
- http://www.winterthur-city.ch – Official Webpage of Winterthur
- http://www.musikkollegium.ch – Musikkollegium Winterthur
- http://www.stadtmusik-winterthur.ch - Homepage of Winterthur's city Orchestra
Municipalities in the district of Winterthur, Switzerland | |
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Altikon | Bertschikon | Brütten | Dägerlen | Dättlikon | Dinhard | Elgg | Ellikon an der Thur | Elsau | Hagenbuch | Hettlingen | Hofstetten | Neftenbach | Pfungen | Rickenbach | Schlatt | Seuzach | Turbenthal | Wiesendangen | Winterthur | Zell | Image:Zurich-coat of arms.svg |
| Canton of Zürich | Districts of Canton Zürich | Municipalities of the canton of Zurich | |
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