La numero uno per quanto riguarda finanza (la Borsa di Zurigo è la quarta al mondo dopo New York, Londra e Tokyo), economia, turismo, cultura, terziario avanzato, nuove tendenze e shopping d’élite. Le mancano solo i grandi palazzi della politica che stanno a Berna: per il resto, i ritmi e il metabolismo sono quelli delle grandi piazze commerciali e finanziarie mondiali.
Cosa visitare a Zurigo
La vivacità, l’anticonformismo culturali e una sorta di amore per la sperimentazione di tutto ciò che è sperimentabile fanno somigliare Zurigo a Londra, e il fatto di essere culla del protestantesimo non le impedisce di essere disinibita e tollerante. Zurigo è la città che ogni anno, ad agosto, richiama alla Street Parade torme di giovani da tutt’Europa, che sfilano ai ritmi indiavolati della techno-music. Che propone una specie di cultura itinerante, rimuovendo, per volontà dei suoi amministratori, le statue dai secolari piedistalli del centro e portandole in altri quartieri, affinché tutti possano ammirarle. E che consegna i pulpiti più prestigiosi, simbolo del protestantesimo, alle predicatrici donne.
Nelle sue strade, che la storia ha visto romane, tedesche, francesi, sono passati alcuni tra i più grandi personaggi degli ultimi secoli: Goethe, Einstein, Musil, Joyce, Mann, Wagner; mentre i cervelli di oggi si accampano sul colle della prestigiosa università e crescono all’ombra di avanzatissimi centri di ricerca chimica, biologica e genetica.
Visitare Zurigo e scoprire che tutta questa modernità ha un cuore antico, che non ha assolutamente intaccato la bellezza e la poesia di certi quartieri che si specchiano nella sonnacchiosa Limmat, con le case costruite un po’ in legno e un po’ in pietra, l’atmosfera retrò di certi settori, il ripetersi di gesti, riti e appuntamenti vecchi tanto quanto le Campane della Chiesa di St. Peter.
Zurich what to see
1 Historic center of Zurich
The historic center of Zurich extends between the two banks of the Limmat river. The medieval houses, the winding alleys, the Zunfthaus – guild houses – and the Renaissance town halls of Zurich offer an enticing setting for fun immersed in the past. A guided tour of the historic center transforms the setting into the vivid history of the typical buildings and the people who lived and acted there. The emblem of Zurich is the two bell towers of the Grossmünster, the city cathedral. According to legend, Charlemagne built them on the site where the tombs of the city’s patron saints Felix and Regula were discovered.
Zurich Station. A convenient starting point to begin visiting Zurich is Hauptbanhof, the grand railway station, which also offers ample parking options, given that the pedestrian island is quite extensive. To the left of its nineteenth-century building opens the medieval citadel, with the two towers of the Grossmunster, the imposing Protestant cathedral; at the end, the Lake (Lake Zurich) outlines; in the middle the Limmat river, which gives a romantic and at the same time majestic note to the setting. On the right, still remnants of the old city, with the merchants’ squares, the landing stage, the bell tower of the oldest church, St. Peter (857 AD), with one of the largest clocks in the world (8.7 meters in diameter) and, finally, the business and refined shopping citadel, coiled on the sparkling Bahnhofstrasse, the calling card of thriving Zurich. Among the things to see in Zurich, behind the station, instead stands the Landesmuseum, the national historical museum, with a massive and towered bulk, revisiting medieval style. Behind the museum finally nests the enchanting Platzsplitz park, of nineteenth-century design, a bucolic oasis, populated by centuries-old plants, fountains, statues of famous characters and, in the fine season, flooded by the thousand scents and colors of the blooms.
2 Niederdorf
With its winding car-free alleys and the symbol of the Grossmünster, it enchants not only in the evening but also in broad daylight thanks to small boutiques, antique shops, and craft workshops. In Niederdorf, the unique charm of Zurich is best appreciated. The historic “Boutique Konditorei Schober-Péclard,” under protection, combines the souls of the city: history, architecture, and shopping. The old Zurich district, Niederdorf, is affectionately called “Dörfli” (little village) by locals.
Zurich places of interest
3 The Museums of Zurich
Zurich has 50 museums, of which 14 are dedicated to art. The Kunsthaus, Zurich’s museum of fine arts, hosts rich collections of paintings, sculptures, photos, and videos, as well as a large collection of Alberto Giacometti’s works. The Museo Rietberg, one of the main centers for non-European art. Just a few steps from Zurich’s main station, the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum, the Swiss National Museum – a building that resembles a castle and dates back more than 100 years – allows visitors to admire the country’s largest historical and cultural collection. In Zurich, art is also experienced outside museums and galleries: both in the Giacometti room of the police station, on the Marc Chagall stained glass windows of the Fraumünster church, or in the open air at Jean Tinguely’s Heureka on the shore of Lake Zurich.
4 Rietberg Museum
The Rietberg Museum in Zurich is the only museum of art for non-European cultures in Switzerland and has a collection of international fame, with works from Asia, Africa, America, and Oceania. The “Smaragd,” as the new museum is called, is spectacular architecturally: it consists of a glass pavilion and fits perfectly into the ensemble of villas in the beautiful Rieterpark.
5 Kunsthaus Museum
The Kunsthaus Zurich features works from the 13th century to the present day. It is not only renowned for its important collection of modern artists but also for its remarkable temporary exhibitions. Alongside works by Alberto Giacometti, you can admire significant paintings by Picasso, Monet, and Chagall, as well as numerous contemporary Swiss artists. The New York School is represented by Pollock, Rothko, and Newman, just like European and American pop art. The expressive revival of the 1980s is then evident in the overall work of Georg Baselitz.
6 Zurich National Museum
The National Museum houses the largest collection of the country’s history and civilization. Behind walls more than 100 years old, the past comes to life and shows how past generations lived, what they thought, and felt. The National Museum also addresses important social issues and thus offers a temporary change of perspective. Gustav Gull designed the Swiss National Museum in 1898, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first Federal Constitution. The museum, located between the main station and Platzspitz Park, somewhat resembles a fairy tale castle.
