6 Interesting Things to Know About Zurich.

I had some extra time while I was planning our trip to Zurich and so I happily browsed the internet and soaked up lots of details about interesting Swiss city.  While I was a mostly blank slate to start with – I didn’t know anything about Zurich except that it has a lake and it’s in Switzerland – I think most people will find these facts fascinating!

Six interesting things about Zurich:

1| It’s not the capital of Switzerland.

Not only is Zurich not the capital, but there isn’t actually an official capital city in Switzerland (although many consider Bern, where the federal government is located, to be the de facto capital).  Zurich is, however, the capital of the canton of Zurich.

The Swiss have deliberately avoided naming a capital city in order to keep the power of each canton (federal state) in balance.  While the cantons were originally sovereign states, they were united as equals when Switzerland was formed and still have a strong degree of independence.  The cantons are governed at the federal level, but also have their own constitutions, parliament, government, and courts.

2| It’s very diverse.

Despite Zurich being Switzerland’s largest city, only two thirds of the residents are actually Swiss citizens.  Germans and Italians make up the next largest population groups, which is part of the reason why the city has four main languages: German, Italian, English, and French.

Furthermore, Switzerland has been an official country for less than 200 years.  It was founded in 1848 and shares the common attitude of “unity, but not uniformity”, which explains the wealth of diversity throughout Zurich.

3| Zurich was accidentally bombed. Twice.

The first accidental bombing happened in 1944 when the USAAF was attempting to bomb Ludwigshafen am Rhein (in Germany) but instead targeted Schaffhausen.  As you can imagine this caused considerable diplomatic distress since Switzerland was a neutral country during WWII.  Investigations cited weather conditions and navigation errors as the causes for the bombing and the city was compensated four million dollars for the various damages.   Yet, only one year later the USAAF bombed Zurich again thinking that they were hitting Aschaffenburg, Germany.

 

4| Zurich is twinned with (and loved by) the Chinese city Kunming.

The cities became partners in 1982 with a common goal of cultural exchange.  Over the years Zurich came to Kunming’s aid by providing technical support for their water supply, public transport, and city development.  Kunming expressed their gratitude toward Zurich by providing garden experts and craftsmen to assist in building a Chinese Garden on the right shore of Lake Zurich.  The garden theme ‘Three Friends of Winter’ stems from Chinese culture and references three plants (pine, bamboo, and plum blossom) that endure winter well.  This is meant to symbolize steadfastness, perseverance, and resilience.  Water is also an important feature in the garden and represents the gifts of Zurich and the friendship between the two cities.  The garden opened in 1993 and is one of the highest ranking gardens outside of China.

Zurich continues to assist Kunming (although the city has received some compensation since 2004) and the commitment to the partnership has given Zurich a positive image and has paved the way for more opportunities.  Unfortunately we were unable to visit the garden on our short trip due to its somewhat restrictive hours (11am to 7pm during the summer season).

5| It has a museum dedicated to nothing.

It’s called the No Show Museum and its purpose is to show how ‘nothing’ has manifested through art over time.  The concept may not be the easiest to wrap your mind around but it is certainly intriguing.  This quote from the museums information page sums up the idea well:

In this age of information, where daily we are flooded with images and noise, moments of quietude, emptiness, and self-chosen silence become more and more important. Many artists respond to this mass-media sensory overload with a range of strategies that reduce, empty, decelerate, or take on an attitude of complete refusal that is more than just a mere artistic gesture. Better NOTHING than such a thing!

A range of artwork attempts to show nothing or highlight the idea of minimalism.  Artifacts include blank canvases, musical compositions with long silences, sculptures made from invisible materials, and empty rooms.  The museum ensures that “to show nothing is not nothing!” and that a visit will help you to sharpen your awareness of things that are hidden or evasive.

6| This a special year to visit Zurich.

Another thing I didn’t know about Zurich is that Dada art movement (Dadaism) was founded there in 1916.  Dadaism is often described as an anti-art or revolutionary art movement – loved by innovative artists or those who no longer want to create art for profit.  Artists Emmy Hennings and Hugo Ball, who fled to Switzerland because the horrors of WWI, started the movement at Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich.  The former nightclub has been recently reopened as a wine bar, gallery, and museum and was the location of the “Obsession Dada” exhibition.  This exhibit celebrated 100 years of Dadaism from 5 February to 18 July of this year with 165 themed soirées, each featuring a different Dadaist (such as Albert Einstein, Charlie Chaplin, and Sigmund Freund, to name a few).

But don’t despair; even though the feature exhibit has ended the city is still celebrating the Dada anniversary with more events throughout the year.  You can take a Dada City Tour or stay at the Hotel Limmatblick which is known as the “Dada hotel”.

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