Zurich | History, Economy, & Points of Interest

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Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/place/Zurich">Introduction</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref272418"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Zurich#ref272418">History</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref272419"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/place/Zurich/The-contemporary-city">The contemporary city</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li></ul> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Zurich/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/Zurich">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a 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height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/102443-050-1C0B5030/Fraumunster-churches-St-Peters-Switz-Zurich.jpg" data-href="/media/1/658483/101924" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/43/102443-004-BA7EAFCE/Fraumunster-churches-St-Peters-Switz-Zurich.jpg" alt="Fraumünster and St. Peter's churches" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/102453-050-C96854D2/Zurich-Opera-House.jpg" data-href="/media/1/658483/101925" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/53/102453-004-E4E36058/Zurich-Opera-House.jpg" alt="Zürich Opera House" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/48/102448-050-C310F241/Zurich-snowman-banishing-Boogg-bonfire.jpg" data-href="/media/1/658483/101926" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" 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Coauthor of <i>Schweiz: Eine moderne Geographie.</i></div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Daniel Wachter</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Andre-Odermatt/5619" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">André Odermatt</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Senior Research Associate and Lecturer, Economic Geography Unit, Department of Geography, Universität Zürich-Irchel, Zürich, Switzerland. Coauthor of <em>Sozioökonomische Strukturen im Raum Zürich </em>and...</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> André Odermatt</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Zurich/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Zurich/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn btn-sm border-2 btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 module-spacing js-inline-ai-ask-button p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot </button> </div> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies multiple medialist slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100" data-type="other"><div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex"><div class="rw-track d-flex align-items-center"><div class="position-relative rw-slide col-100 px-20 "><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="55214" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/64276-050-12E52216/Zurich-Switzerland.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/658483/55214"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/64276-050-12E52216/Zurich-Switzerland.jpg"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/64276-050-12E52216/Zurich-Switzerland.jpg?w=300" alt="Zürich, Switzerland" data-width="1600" data-height="1600" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/76/64276-050-12E52216/Zurich-Switzerland.jpg" data-href="/media/1/658483/55214">Zürich, Switzerland</a><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div></div><button disabled="true" class="prev-button js-prev-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_left"></span></button><button disabled="true" class="next-button js-next-button position-absolute btn btn-circle shadow btn-lg btn-blue-dark m-20"><span class="material-icons" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></span></button></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref201649"></span>Zürich</strong>, largest <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/city" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">city</a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Switzerland</a> and capital of the canton of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Zurich-canton-Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Zürich</a>. Located in an Alpine setting at the northwestern end of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Zurich" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Lake Zürich</a>, this financial, cultural, and industrial centre stretches out between two forested chains of hills, about 40 miles (60 km) from the northern foothills of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Alps" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alps</a>. Two rivers, the Limmat and Sihl, run through the city. Zürich’s western and northeastern limitations are formed by the Albis mountains (which include the 2,850-foot [870-metre] Üetliberg, considered the “top” of Zürich, with an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="idyllic" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/idyllic" data-type="MW">idyllic</a> view of the lake, mountains, and city) and by Zürichberg, a wooded hilly area. Area city, 34 square miles (88 square km). Pop. (2010) 372,857.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker h2"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref272418"><h2 class="h1">History</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The first inhabitants of the region were the prehistoric peoples whose hut dwellings rose from pile foundations driven into the shores of the lake. The Celtic <span id="ref201650"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Helvetii" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Helvetii</a> founded a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="community" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community" data-type="MW">community</a> on the right bank of the Limmat River; when the Romans conquered this area about 58 <span class="text-smallcaps">bce</span>, they made the settlement, which they called Turicum, a customs post. Under Roman rule, Zürich grew into a small army stronghold with an <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="adjacent" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adjacent" data-type="MW">adjacent</a><em> vicus</em>, or Roman village. After the collapse of Rome, the community fell first to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Alemanni" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alemanni</a>, a Germanic people from the north, and later to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Frank-people" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Franks</a>, who made it a royal residence.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The community began to flourish as traders settled in the town and took advantage of its position straddling European trade routes. In 1218 Zürich became an imperial free city, and in 1351 it joined the Swiss Confederation, a coalition of cantons that were opposed to the Austrian <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/House-of-Habsburg" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Habsburgs</a>. In 1336 the citizens accepted a constitution that, based democratically on the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/guild-trade-association" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">guild</a> system, balanced the power of the various crafts, the trades, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/aristocracy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">nobility</a>. As the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="guilds" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/guilds" data-type="EB">guilds</a> became more powerful, the city was able to purchase its freedom from the emperor in 1400, and tax obligations were lifted. Zürich became embroiled in conflicts with neighbouring territories, but <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/economic-growth" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">economic growth</a> continued relatively unimpeded. Staging repeated successful forays into the surrounding countryside, the city began controlling an even larger part of it; moreover, Zürich profited from being conveniently located on both the southbound trade route, centred on the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Saint-Gotthard-Pass" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">St. Gotthard Pass</a>, and the east-west route from the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rhone-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rhône River</a> to the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Danube-River" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Danube</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In 1519 <span id="ref201651"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Huldrych-Zwingli" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Huldrych Zwingli</a>, a priest at the Grossmünster (“Great Minster”), began to preach a series of sermons that initiated the Swiss <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Reformation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Protestant Reformation</a> and transformed the character of Zürich itself. It turned into an industrious puritanical city maintaining lively business relations and an exchange of ideas with other Protestant cities, notably <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Bern" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Bern</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Geneva-Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Geneva</a>. During the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Counter-Reformation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Counter-Reformation</a>, the city offered asylum to many refugees from northern <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Italy" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Italy</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/France" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">France</a>, and the new residents further stimulated cultural and economic growth.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><span id="ref957495"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Napoleon-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Napoleon</a>’s occupation of Switzerland in 1798 ended the old political order, and Zürich was reorganized under the <span id="ref957493"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Helvetic-Republic" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Helvetic Republic</a>, which tried to form a unitary Swiss state. Zürich residents did not like the centralized control imposed by the new republic, and years of conflict between the city, the surrounding countryside, and the other cantons ensued. The disputes ended in 1803 when Napoleon mediated, and the canton of Zürich, dominated by the city, became a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="sovereign" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sovereign" data-type="MW">sovereign</a> member of a new Swiss Confederation. The political rule exerted by the aristocratic <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/ancien-regime" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">ancien régime</a> was replaced by a liberal democratic order by 1816.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The 1830 <span id="ref957497"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/July-Revolution" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">July Revolution</a> in Paris sparked similar revolutions in Swiss cantons, including Zürich canton, which gave way to liberal reform. The cantons’ citizenry was able to elect and exercise strong control over the legislature (Gemeinderat) as well as the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/executive-government" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">executive branch</a> of government (Stadtrat). A new canton constitution was drafted in 1831. Under the Swiss constitution of 1848, the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="autonomous" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autonomous" data-type="MW">autonomous</a> cantons became federal states, each with its own constitution. The people of Zürich adopted a new constitution in 1869, which included mandatory referendums, direct election of cantonal government by the citizens, and limits on presidential terms. This democratic constitution served as a model for other Swiss cities and influenced the revision of Switzerland’s national constitution in 1874.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Zürich thus became well equipped to enter the modern industrial era. As early as 1787, about one-fourth of the population was engaged in textile manufacturing (a successor to the <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="medieval" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval" data-type="MW">medieval</a> silk industry, which lost its importance after French occupation). Agriculture and textile production were gradually replaced with small-scale industry, and local factories focused on producing specialized goods. All of these changes helped aid an economic expansion centred on manufacturing and service industries. Zürich’s historical international links also placed it in the forefront of modern world finance.</p><div class="module-spacing"> <DIV class="marketing-INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION marketing-content" data-marketing-id="INLINE_SUBSCRIPTION"><style> .student-promo-banner-wrapper { container-type: inline-size; margin-bottom: 15px; } @container (min-width: 475px) { .student-promo-banner { flex-direction: row; } .student-promo-banner-img-wrapper { margin-bottom: 0; margin-right: 10px; justify-content: flex-start; } .student-promo-banner-text-wrapper { text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; } .student-promo-banner-button-wrapper { margin-right: 0; } }</style> <div class="student-promo-banner-wrapper"> <div class="student-promo-banner d-flex flex-column align-items-center bg-blue rounded p-20"> <div class="student-promo-banner-img-wrapper mb-20 mr-0 d-flex justify-content-center"> <img class="rounded" style="max-width: 100px; min-width: 80px" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/BlueThistle.webp" /> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-text-wrapper ml-0 mb-10 text-center text-white"> <div class="h2 mb-10">Get Unlimited Access</div> <div class="h4 font-weight-semi-bold">Try Britannica Premium for free and discover more.</div> </div> <div class="student-promo-banner-button-wrapper d-flex justify-content-center align-items-center ml-auto mr-auto"> <a class="btn btn-m btn-orange" href="https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=august-2024">Subscribe</a> </div> </div> </div> </DIV></div><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="101929" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/102442-050-839FA134/Bahnhofplatz-site-train-station-monument-Zurich-Alfred.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/658483/101929"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/102442-050-839FA134/Bahnhofplatz-site-train-station-monument-Zurich-Alfred.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/102442-050-839FA134/Bahnhofplatz-site-train-station-monument-Zurich-Alfred.jpg?w=300" alt="Zürich: Bahnhofplatz" data-width="1600" data-height="1131" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/102442-050-839FA134/Bahnhofplatz-site-train-station-monument-Zurich-Alfred.jpg" data-href="/media/1/658483/101929">Zürich: Bahnhofplatz</a><span>Bahnhofplatz, site of Zürich's main train station and the Alfred Escher monument.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">Improved transport played an important role in the 19th century. Among Switzerland’s first railway lines was the one linking Zürich with the neighbouring city of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Baden-Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Baden</a>; opened in 1847, it was nicknamed the “Spanish Roll Railway” because the bread rolls it brought from Baden were reputedly still warm on arrival. In 1882 the Zürich-Milan trans-Alpine railway line opened, its existence made possible by the construction of the 10-mile (16.3-km) Gotthard Tunnel, designed by industrial and railway pioneer <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alfred-Escher" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Alfred Escher</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the mid-19th century the <span id="ref201652"></span>University of Zürich (1833), maintained by the canton, and the <span id="ref201653"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Swiss-Federal-Institute-of-Technology" class="md-crosslink ">Swiss Federal Institute of Technology</a> (1855) were founded. The University of Zürich was the first university in Europe to accept female students. Zürich also boasts a long line of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nobel-Prize" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nobel Prize</a> winners among its citizenry, particularly in the fields of physics (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wilhelm-Rontgen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen</a>, 1901;<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Albert-Einstein" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"> Albert Einstein</a>, 1921; and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wolfgang-Pauli" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Wolfgang Pauli</a>, 1945), <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/chemistry" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">chemistry</a> (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Richard-R-Ernst" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Richard Ernst</a>, 1991), and medicine (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rolf-M-Zinkernagel" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Rolf Zinkernagel</a>, 1996). Noted Zürich-born authors include <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gottfried-Keller" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Gottfried Keller</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Conrad-Ferdinand-Meyer" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Conrad Ferdinand Meyer</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Max-Frisch" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Max Frisch</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The financial services sector developed in response to the growing demand for capital by the evolving industries and the railways. In 1856 Escher founded the Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, a banking institute wholly geared to financing industrial and commercial projects. By the end of the 19th century, Zürich had become Switzerland’s financial and economic centre. Before that time, Zürich’s banks had been in the shadow of those of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Basel-Switzerland" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Basel</a> and Geneva.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD11 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Switzerland was neutral during <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War I</a>, and Zürich gave asylum to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="intellectuals" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intellectuals" data-type="MW">intellectuals</a> including <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Joyce" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">James Joyce</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-Lenin" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Vladimir Ilich Lenin</a>. In reaction to the horrors of the war, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/Dada" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Dada </a>art movement emerged in Zürich at the Cabaret Voltaire, a small tavern established in 1916 by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hugo-Ball" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Hugo Ball</a> on Spiegelgasse.</p><span class="marker MOD11 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD12 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">During <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a>, Zürich banks took advantage of banking secrecy laws to help the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nazi-Party" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Nazi Party</a> launder gold and stolen valuables. It was not until the 1990s that the banks’ role during the war was made public. In 1998 the two largest Swiss banks, Credit Suisse Group and<a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/UBS-AG" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true"> UBS AG</a>, agreed to pay two billion Swiss francs to international Jewish organizations.</p><span class="marker MOD12 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD13 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">After World War II, Zürich’s airport became the primary international airport of Switzerland. This helped the city to further strengthen its economic position in the country. By the second half of the 20th century, the textile industry had completely lost its importance, and the production of machines had become dominant. At the same time, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/service-industry" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">service sector</a>, notably banks and insurance companies, gained in importance. Further developments that <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="bolstered" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bolstered" data-type="MW">bolstered</a> the financial sector in Zürich were the decision of the National Bank of Switzerland, which has headquarters in Zürich and Bern, to install its board of directors in Zürich, the introduction of absolute confidentiality in banking, and the temporary closure of the London Gold Exchange in 1968. The Zürich banks reacted at once and founded the <span id="ref957526"></span>Zürich Gold Pool, a gold trading organization set up by Switzerland’s largest banks, which helped establish Zürich as one of the most important trading places for gold worldwide.</p><span class="marker MOD13 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD14 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The postwar period brought an influx of immigrants both from rural Switzerland and from abroad, pushing the population past the city’s administrative boundaries and into the hinterland. For the first time, the city and surrounding area reached a population of one million.</p><span class="marker MOD14 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD15 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Zürich struggled with problems of extensive illicit <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/drug-use" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">drug use</a> throughout the 1980s and early ’90s. Indeed, Platzspitz, a public park behind the main railway station, became infamously known as “Needle Park.” After the park closed in 1992, more-liberal policies were <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="implemented" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implemented" data-type="MW">implemented</a>, and by the mid-1990s an emphasis on therapy and treatment rather than policing and prevention had begun showing significant positive results. In addition to providing addicts with heroin substitutes such as methadone, in some cases the support system controversially supplied heorin itself to long-term users. Street crime and violence related to drug problems diminished considerably, and by the 2010s the number of new heroin users had become negligible. </p><span class="marker MOD15 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD16 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The beginning of the 21st century was a difficult time for the city, whose finance-oriented economy was shaken by crises in the world financial markets in the wake of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="corporate" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/corporate" data-type="EB">corporate</a> collapses and the spiraling <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/stock-exchange-finance" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">stock market</a> in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>. In 2001 Zürich-based Swiss Air Transport Company Ltd. (Swissair) collapsed as a result of both an aggressive business expansion strategy and the airline crisis following the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/September-11-attacks" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">September 11 attacks</a> in the United States. In 2002, however, elements of the former airline reemerged as <span id="ref957529"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/Swiss-International-Air-Lines" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Swiss International Air Lines</a> (SWISS), which, after a difficult start, grew rapidly. Similarly, the recovery of the financial markets in the following years brought a period of prosperity to the city in general, securing Zürich’s position as the uncontested economic capital of Switzerland. Moreover, Switzerland’s resistance to joining the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/European-Union" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">European Union</a> (EU) had not hindered Zürich’s economic development, as <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="bilateral" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/bilateral" data-type="EB">bilateral</a> agreements with the EU gave Switzerland full access to EU markets.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD16 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD17 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Since the 1990s Zürich has been governed by a centre-left coalition of parties, which has undertaken efforts to create <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/sustainable-development" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">sustainable development</a> even as it continued to position the city as the economic centre of Switzerland. Together with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the University of Zürich—both leading universities in environmental sciences—the city pursues ambitious energy, environmental, and spatial development policies.</p><span class="marker MOD17 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-simplify-root"></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":2,"pageId":658483,"pageLength":1653,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.36"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.36' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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