Early history 's imagining of Zurich in Roman times (engraving 1773), with
Wellenberg Tower on the river and another tower on
Lindenhof hill (to the right) Settlements of the
Neolithic and
Bronze Age were found around
Lake Zurich. Traces of pre-Roman Celtic
La Tène settlements were discovered near the
Lindenhof, a
morainic hill dominating the SE – NW waterway constituted by Lake Zurich and the river
Limmat. In the 5th century, the Germanic
Alemanni tribe settled in the
Swiss Plateau. The Roman castle remained standing until the 7th century. A
Carolingian castle, built on the site of the Roman castle by the grandson of
Charlemagne,
Louis the German, is mentioned in 835 (
in Castro Turicino iuxta fluvium Lindemaci). Louis also founded the
Fraumünster abbey in 853 for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the
Benedictine convent with the lands of Zurich,
Uri, and the
Albis forest, and granted the convent immunity, placing it under his direct authority. In 1045, King
Henry III granted the convent the right to hold markets, collect tolls, and mint coins, and thus effectively made the abbess the ruler of the city. Zurich gained
Imperial immediacy ('''', becoming an
Imperial free city) in 1218 with the extinction of the main line of the
Zähringer family and attained a status comparable to statehood. During the 1230s, a
city wall was built, enclosing 38 hectares, when the earliest stone houses on the Rennweg were built as well. The Carolingian castle was used as a quarry, as it had started to fall into ruin. Emperor
Frederick II promoted the abbess of the to the rank of a
duchess in 1234. The abbess nominated the mayor, and she frequently delegated the minting of coins to citizens of the city. The political power of the convent slowly waned in the 14th century, beginning with the establishment of the '''' (
guild laws) in 1336 by
Rudolf Brun, who also became the first independent mayor, i.e. not nominated by the abbess. An important event in the early 14th century was the completion of the
Manesse Codex, a key source of medieval German poetry. The famous
illuminated manuscript has been described as "the most beautifully illumined German manuscript in centuries." It was commissioned by the Manesse family of Zurich, and copied and illustrated in the city at some time between 1304 and 1340. Producing such a work was a highly expensive prestige project, requiring several years of work by highly skilled scribes and miniature painters, and it testifies to the increasing wealth and pride of Zurich citizens in this period. The work contains 6 songs by
Süsskind von Trimberg. Von Trimberg may have been Jewish, since the work itself contains reflections on medieval Jewish life, though little is known about him. The first mention of
Jews in Zurich was in 1273. Sources show that there was a synagogue in Zurich in the 13th century, implying the existence of a Jewish community. With the rise of the Black Death in 1349, Zurich, like most other Swiss cities, responded by
persecuting and burning the local Jews, marking the end of the first Jewish community there. The second Jewish community of Zurich formed towards the end of the 14th century, was short-lived, and Jews were expelled and banned from the city from 1423 until the 19th century.
Archaeological findings A woman who died in about 200 BC was found buried in a carved tree trunk during a construction project at the Kern school complex in March 2017 in Aussersihl. Archaeologists revealed that she was approximately 40 years old when she died and likely carried out little physical labor when she was alive. A sheepskin coat, a belt chain, a fancy wool dress, a scarf, and a pendant made of glass and amber beads were also discovered with the woman.
Old Swiss Confederacy in 1443 (1514, illustration in Federal Chronicle by Werner Schodoler) On 1 May 1351, the citizens of Zurich had to swear allegiance before representatives of the cantons of
Lucerne,
Schwyz, Uri and
Unterwalden, the other members of the
Swiss Confederacy. Thus, Zurich became the fifth member of the Confederacy, which was at that time a loose confederation of
de facto independent states. Zurich was the presiding canton of the Diet from 1468 to 1519. This authority was the executive council and lawmaking body of the confederacy, from the Middle Ages until the establishment of the
Swiss federal state in 1848. Zurich was temporarily expelled from the confederacy in 1440 due to a war with the other member states over the territory of
Toggenburg (the
Old Zurich War). Neither side had attained significant victory when peace was agreed upon in 1446, and Zurich was readmitted to the confederation in 1450.
Zwingli started the
Swiss Reformation at the time when he was the main preacher at the in 1519. The
Zurich Bible was printed by
Christoph Froschauer in 1531. The Reformation resulted in major changes in state matters and civil life in Zurich, spreading also to several other cantons. Several cantons remained Catholic and became the basis of serious conflicts that eventually led to the outbreak of the
Wars of Kappel. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Council of Zurich adopted an isolationist attitude, resulting in a second ring of imposing fortifications built in 1624. The
Thirty Years' War which raged across Europe motivated the city to build these walls. The fortifications required a lot of resources, which were taken from subject territories without reaching any agreement. The following revolts were crushed brutally. In 1648, Zurich proclaimed itself a republic, shedding its former status of a free imperial city.
Modern history in 1902 Zurich was the Federal capital for 1839–40, and consequently, the victory of the Conservative party there in 1839 caused a great stir throughout Switzerland. But when in 1845 the Radicals regained power at Zurich, which was again the Federal capital for 1845–46, Zurich took the lead in opposing the
Sonderbund cantons. Following the Sonderbund War and the formation of the Swiss Federal State, Zurich voted in favor of the Federal constitutions of 1848 and 1874. The enormous
immigration from the country districts into the town from the 1830s onwards created an industrial class which, though "settled" in the town, did not possess the privileges of burghership, and consequently had no share in the municipal government. First of all in 1860 the town schools, hitherto open to "settlers" only on paying high fees, were made accessible to all, next in 1875 ten years' residence
ipso facto conferred the right of burghership, and in 1893 the eleven outlying districts were incorporated within the town proper. When Jews began to settle in Zurich following their equality in 1862, the
Israelitische Cultusgemeinde Zürich was founded. Extensive developments took place during the 19th century. From 1847, the '
, the first railway on Swiss territory, connected Zurich with Baden, putting the at the origin of the Swiss rail network. The present building of the ' (the main railway station) dates to 1871. Zurich's (Station Street) was laid out in 1867, and the
Zurich Stock Exchange was founded in 1877.
Industrialisation led to migration into the cities and to rapid population growth, particularly in the suburbs of Zurich. The are an important milestone in the development of the modern city of Zurich, as the construction of the new lakefront transformed Zurich from a small medieval town on the rivers
Limmat and
Sihl to a modern city on the shore, under the guidance of the city engineer
Arnold Bürkli. In 1893, the twelve outlying districts were incorporated into Zurich, including Aussersihl, the workman's quarter on the left bank of the Sihl, and additional land was reclaimed from Lake Zurich. In 1934, eight additional districts in the north and west of Zurich were incorporated. Zurich was
accidentally bombed during World War II. As persecuted Jews sought refuge in Switzerland, the
SIG (
Schweizerischer Israelitischer Gemeindebund, Israelite Community of Switzerland) raised financial resources. The Central Committee for Refugee Aid, created in 1933, was located in Zurich. In the 1980s, Zurich experienced a severe drug crisis that culminated in an open drug scene at the park, which became colloquially known as "Needle Park." In the 1990s, Zurich pioneered a harm reduction strategy that introduced the distribution of clean syringes, supervised safe injection rooms, and low-threshold
methadone dispensaries. This significantly reduced drug-related mortality and permanently dismantled the city's open drug scenes. The canton of Zurich did not recognize the Jewish religious communities as legal entities (and therefore as equal to national churches) until 2005. When the canton of Zurich was established in 1803, it adopted the
heraldic achievement that had been the city's for centuries, and a new version was created for the city by adding a
mural crown as a
crest. There are slight differences between the
supporters of the city and the canton, too: Both have their coats of arms supported by two lions, but the lions of the canton hold a sword and a palm leaf (which belonged to the city before the canton came into existence; see pictures below). Wappenscheibe Stadt Zürich 1557.jpg|
Imperial city (1557) Zürich, Taler 1723 (CH-2088-6-ID619) av.jpg|Republic (1723) Klausstud (Stadtbann) - Seefeld - Hafen Riesbach 2011-04-25 19-17-08.JPG|Capital of the canton of Zurich (1812) Zürich - Rathaus - Portikus-Details IMG 1112.jpg|The coat of arms on the
Town Hall == Politics ==