Travel Guide to Zurich, Switzerland

Zurich is the biggest city and the economical center of Switzerland. The number of citizens is 340 000, 30% of them are emigrants from other countries. The city is situated at the banks of the Limmat River and Lake Zurich. This city is famous all over the world first of all as the city of banks and business centers. But Zurich is not just a city of blue-collars – it has a lot of entertainment facilities: museums, designers' clothes shops, parks, rich nightlife, in one word, you'd better see all this with your own eyes.

One of the best-known sights of Zurich, its symbol, is the Zürich Hauptbahnhof, built in 1871 in the Neo Renaissance style. Under the building takes place the modern shopping center. Under the ceiling of the enormous hall you'll the magnificent modern sculpture that will surely drag your attention. It's the guardian angel of the station by French sculptor Niki de Saint Phalle. Created in bright colors, it sharply contrasts with the predominant grey colors of the building. In front of the station the huge stone monument to Alfred Escher is installed. He was the financier, politic, statesman, founder of banks; he made a lot for the creation and development of railway in Switzerland.

The Fraumunster Abbey. The Fraumunster, the former minster, is located at Munster Square. It was founded by Karl's the Great grandson – Ludwig the German. It was the present to his daughter Hildegard, who became the mother superior there. Time passed and the abbey underwent a lot of changes. Nowadays it's a mixture of various architectural styles: the naves are gothic, the cross aisle is of early gothic style, the chores represent late Roman style. The Fraumunster abbey is first of all famous for its five stained-glass window by Mark Chagall. Every of the five has its own theme and color. In the northern wing of the cross aisle you'll see the stained-glass window with the enormous image of paradise by Augusto Giacometti. In the end of the previous century the abbey gave the first place to the City Hall. Everything that left from it is a roofed gallery around the abbey court.

The Grossmunster. The Grossmunster is largest church in Zurich. According to the legend, Karl the Great founded it in the beginning of the 9th century on the place Felix's and Regula's graves. They were the Christian martyrs, who were executed by the Romans, but miraculously they rose and with their heads in the hands, got to the hill, prayed and only then died. On this very place the church was built. The building works of the Roman-gothic church started in 1100, but everything was finished only in the 15th century. From the rostrum of the Grossmunster Ulrich Zwingli had his speeches about the Reformation. During this period by his order the furniture and decorations were removed from the church. In the gross crypt you'll find the monument to Karl the Great of .the 15th century. The stained-glass windows were created by Augusto Giacometti.

The Friedhof Cemetery.The Friedhof Cemetery is known for the fact that there is buried James Joyce, the Irish writer, pacifist, who during the First World War lied in Switzerland. In Zurich he wrote one of the most significant novels of world literature 'Ulysses'. Not long before his death, in 1941, Joyce went back to Zurich, where he died. At his tomb there is the monument in honor of the writer, so you'll not pass by it.

The Kunsthaus. The Kunsthaus is one of the most interesting museums in Zurich. It yields to no one of the museums in big cities: the exhibitions of the Tate Modern (London) were developed by the Kunsthaus or belonged to it. The permanent exposition of the museum includes the rich collection of Munch's, Monet's, Van Gogh's and sculptures by Rodin. Besides that, the museum gives an opportunity to learn something about the Swiss art, starting with the patriotic works of the 19th century by Ferdinand Hodler and ending by modern joyful installations by Fischli & Weiss. Fischli & Weiss promised to bring an action against the advertising agency, which created the famous Honda advertising video clip about the in series moving details, because they found it similar to their film 'The Way Things Go' (1987).

The Opera House. The Zurich Opera House was the first electrically lit opera house in Europe. The neo-baroque building was created in 1891 near the lake on 1800 oak piles. It was unveiled with the 'Lohengrin' by Wilhelm Richard Wagner. Since 1996 the Zurich ballet is managed by Heinz Spoerli, one of the greatest choreographers of our time. The art director of the opera house is Alexander Pereyra, who is a very important figure. As a rule, 15 of 50 staging are premieres. This way the Zurich Opera House offers the visitor the largest number of premieres in Europe.

The Zurich Design Museum. The Zurich Design Museum is a very interesting place, where the word 'design' is understood quite widely. There one can visit the exhibition that tell us, for example, how in Switzerland Bollywood cinema is shot or that ones that analyze the dendrites all over the world. The expositions also present the history of various types of food packages or about the history of posters. Visitors will surely find plenty of unusual and creative ideas and art objects there.

Read more about Zurich:
Restaurants and cuisine in Zurich
'Must visit' places in Zurich
Nightlife and attractions in Zurich
Preparing for Zurich: Advices
Zurich photogallery