Chapter 381: The richest city in Europe
After coming out of Lausanne Cathedral, the last Swiss city Ye Chao went to was Zurich. Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. biquge。 info
He was already planning to leave Switzerland.
Zurich is located in the northern part of the Alps, at the northwest end of Lake Zurich, at the mouth of the Limmat River and Lake Zurich.
The city is divided into east and west by the Limmat River, and is also divided into the new town and the old town, which are connected by a labyrinth of sheep's intestines.
The old town, on the north bank of the river, is divided into upper and lower villages, and is full of large and small boutique fashion stores, bars, coffee houses, antique halls, etc.
Zurich has a population of 380,000 (2012) and a suburb of the canton of Zurich 1,112,000 (2011).
Riche means "water town" in ancient European languages. The village was formed as early as 2000, with a city-state in 1218 and a member of the Swiss Confederation in 1351.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, Zurich had become the cultural, educational and scientific center of Switzerland's predominantly German-speaking peoples, where many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and one of the founders of nuclear physics, Wolfer Bouri, studied and worked here.
The Roman emperor BC began to set up a tax checkpoint on the Lindenhof hill and ordered the "Turicum" checkpoint, from which the name Zurich is derived. In the Middle Ages, Zurich became a transportation hub between northern Italy and Germany, and was a commercial city dominated by the textile industry.
In 1847, Switzerland's first railway connecting Zurich and Baden was born, which led to the development of Zurich's textile and machinery industries, thus laying the foundation for the financial industry, thus becoming the largest city in Switzerland.
Today, Zurich is one of Switzerland's most important transport, financial, commercial and cultural centres.
Zurich is located at the heart of the trade routes from France to Eastern Europe and from Germany to Italy, and is also a hub for land, water and air transportation. Industry and commerce have always flourished, especially the silk weaving industry, which was the center of the silk weaving industry north of the medieval Alps.
At the beginning of the 21st century, its industry accounted for the first place in the country, and the machine manufacturing industry accounted for 3/4 of the country's GDP. The Swiss National Chamber of Commerce and Industry is based here.
Zurich is not only the largest financial center in Switzerland, but also an important financial center in Western Europe. There are more than 120 banks here, more than half of which are foreign banks, and it is home to top wealthy businessmen from all over the world who invest in finance and banking, so it is known as "Europe's Billionaire City".
Silporte Strasse and Bourasse are lined with banks, and the stock exchange has one of the largest trading volumes among Western European exchanges, with a total of 70% of Western European securities trading taking place here. Zurich's Bahnhof Straße is considered the richest street in the world.
More than 20 per cent of the world's funds are mobilized from here every year. The SIX Swiss Exchange is the only exchange in the world with a fully automated trading and clearing system at the beginning of the 21st century, and its advanced equipment and highly qualified personnel provide excellent services to investors.
Zurich is even more famous for its gold market, which in the 60s became the second largest in the world after London.
Zurich is a medieval city with a modern city, with medieval churches, minarets, castles and fountains. On both sides of the Limmat River there are twin-towered Roman cathedrals, nuns, municipalities and many modern residences, hotels and restaurants.
Lake Zurich is like a crescent moon leaning on the southeast end of the city, more than 40 kilometers long, the blue sky reflects the turquoise water, the white sails sway the clouds on the lake, and the valleys on the outskirts are green with grass and lush forests.
Zurich is also one of Switzerland's cultural, educational and scientific centers. The church of Our Lady on the shores of Lake Zurich was built in 853 AD and is typical of the Romanesque style.
Not far from the church, the most beautiful Baroque building in the city is the former Wine Guild. Across the river is the Zurich Cathedral, with its pair of towers built in the 15th century and an important symbol of the city.
The town hall is an ornate Italian Renaissance style building. There are more than 50 museums and galleries in Zurich. ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and other institutions of higher learning are world-renowned institutions of higher learning, and about half of the nearly 1,000 students in Switzerland are studying at these two universities. The Swiss National Museum and Library are also located here.
Lenin worked in the city in 1916-1917 as a researcher, completing his famous book "Imperialism as the Highest Stage of Capitalist Development".
Zurich is primarily a commercial city, with its main attractions concentrated in the city centre on both sides of the Limmat River.
Zurich is a sister city to Kunming, China, and has been named one of the "most liveable cities" in the world for many years.
Zurich was one of the first cities in Switzerland to develop, and although the 19th-century architecture we see today is all about 19th-century architecture, it dates back to 3,000 BC.
According to archaeological findings, there are signs of human activity on the site of 3,000 BC, and the remains of these Stone and Bronze Age settlements are still on the Lindenhof hill on the left bank of the Limmat River, and are one of Zurich's most valuable cultural heritages.
From the middle of the 1st century, the Romans ruled the area and built blockhouses and checkpoints (for tax collection) on the Lindenhof hill, which was called Turicum at the time.
In the 5th century, the Alamanni replaced the Romans as the owners of the land, and in the 8th century, Charlemagne of Germany began to build Zurich, and it is generally believed that one of the most important buildings in the city today, the Grossmuenster (cathedral), may have been the work of the German emperor of Zurich.
In 853, Charlemagne's grandson, Ludwig the German, built another Fraumunster church on the banks of the Limmat River on the other side of the cathedral, but it was soon converted into a convent by his daughter Hildegarde.
In the Middle Ages, Zurich, like most European cities, was plagued by foreign infestations, and there were many sad anecdotes, one of which is commemorated by a carved fountain on the Lindenhof hill.
In 1218, Zurich became one of the royal cities of the German Empire, in 1336, the Parliament of Zurich passed the Economic Guilds Act under the auspices of Rudolf Brun, and in 1351, it joined the ranks of the Swiss Confederation and became the fifth canton of the Swiss Confederation, which began a relatively stable and rapid development.
In 1440, he was expelled from the Swiss Confederation due to a land dispute with other cantons, and in 1446 he was defeated in a civil war until he was readmitted to the Confederation in 1450.
In the 16th century, at the height of the religious revolution, Zurich also began its glorious era of cultural and economic development.
The French Revolution of the 18th century brought considerable ideological shock and social and political chaos, but Zurich quickly found its way and made rapid strides towards modernization, eventually becoming one of the most important and vibrant chemical and industrial cities in Europe.
Today, Zurich is not only an economic city, but also a cultural and educational center of Switzerland, with the largest university in the country, The University of Zurich, and the famous Swiss Federal Association for Science and Technology.
The great Swiss educator Johann Pestalozz i (1746~1827), the poets C.F. Meyer and Gottfried Keller were also born here, adding a lot of scholarship and humanistic flair to the place.
At the beginning of the 21st century, with the encouragement of the foundation founded by the Swiss psychologist and psychotherapist Carl Gustav Jung (Jung, 1875~1961), Zurich attracted many psychologists to study here, and Zurich has become the center of psychotherapy in the world.
There are quite a few famous people who have lived or studied in Zurich, such as Lenin, who studied in Sozialarchiv in the city, and the Irish writer James Joyce who buried himself in the city's Flunern cemetery, where he wrote his famous book "Ulysses" (Ulysses).
In addition, some works by the German composer Richard Wagner (1813~1883) were also composed here.
Zurich is the largest city and economic center of Switzerland, and many people mistakenly think that the capital of Switzerland is Zurich.
Zurich is known as the Garden City on the Lake, the city is full of well-manicured gardens, and strolling through the city is neat and clean, full of flowers, green grass and chic buildings.
Stretching along the banks of the Limmat River that flows from Lake Zurich, Zurich's old town still retains its medieval atmosphere and is the highlight of sightseeing, with historic church buildings, frescoed walls, and bay windows known as Elka.
Outside of the Old Town, the only must-see are the Swiss Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Gallery and the Zurich Opera House. Summer is the season for concerts and operas, and the world's most famous operas and ballets come to enjoy the event. Performances are available at the local tourist information center. If you have more time, you can also enjoy some of the art gems.
At 871 meters above sea level, the Uetiberg is the highest point in Zurich, overlooking the city, Lake Zurich and the Alps, as well as restaurants and children's playgrounds.
In 2012, you could take a train to Uetliberg station and walk about 10 minutes to the top.
Zurich has a reputation as a city of gastronomy. The world's most famous cuisines are gathered here, and there are more than 1,300 restaurants in the city offering every kind of international cuisine imaginable.
When you arrive in Switzerland, of course, you should first try Swiss-style cheese fondue and fried hash browns. Other cuisines from around the world such as French cuisine, Mediterranean tapas, Japanese cuisine, Chinese cuisine and many more are available.
Visitors can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Garden City and taste different cuisines from various countries, which is a pleasure.
Locals are known for their sweet tooth, and there are many varieties of sweets, the most famous being the traditional Swiss cheese. While a new generation of Swiss people is embracing healthy food, the allure of traditional cheese seems to have diminished.
Niederdorfstrasse is lined with indoor snack bars with bratwurst, kenabs and Asian cuisine. The nearby backstreets are full of room cafes, restaurants and bars. Most restaurants are generally open from early morning until late at night.
When Google decided to set up its engineering headquarters in Europe and chose Zurich, Yahoo followed suit.
US tech giants chose Zurich for their reliable broadband infrastructure, but they were even more attracted to local talent: Switzerland ranks first in the world in terms of patents as a percentage of global GDP.
The Swiss government has launched a number of programs to invest in small companies, and now the efforts seem to be paying off. Zurich is home to hundreds of start-ups, including Doodle, a maker of calendar software, and Wuala, a cloud storage company.
Zurich has been voted the best city in the world in the Global Quality of Life Survey.
The quality of life survey, which is based on 39 indicators including political, social and economic factors, gives the world's most livable city to Zurich, Switzerland.
Zurich's main shopping area is concentrated in the city center. The more famous shopping streets are: Bahnhofstrasse, Shizhuhua Street, St. Augustine Lane in the Old Town, etc.
The 1.4-kilometre-long street of Bahnhofstrasse is lined with shops and decorated furs, haute coutures, watches, jewellery, antiques, jewelry, French perfumes and more.
The forks in the road on both sides of the main street stretch out the luxurious style of the main street, and international fashion brands continue to appear in front of you, making it a paradise for tourists to shop. It is said that wealthy people flew halfway around the world to get an afternoon of shopping spree.
This avenue is home to the dazzling consumer paradises of Globus and Jelmoli, as well as the headquarters of the five major banks, known as the "Genie of Zurich". The shops on both sides display luxurious goods, antique treasures, precious furs, watches, jewelry, and intoxicating French perfumes, which is a mecca for the pursuit of world famous brands.
Designer and tailor-made fashion brands such as Aigner, Bally, Burberrys, Chanel, Ferragamo, Gucci, Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Prada have all decorated their windows.
Other famous watch and jewellery design, clothing design and antique appraisal companies such as Beyer, Bucherer Bvlgari Cartierl Gubelin, Les Ambassadeurs Meister and Turier are also located on both sides of the avenue, adding a modern and luxurious touch to the city's old cobblestone streets.
One of the highlights is Historic Street, where you can find top boutiques such as Armani, Calvin Klein and Versace.
Souvenirs of Swiss craftsmanship such as embroidery, lace ornaments, handkerchiefs and much more can be found in one of the many boutiques in Sturzenegge. For freshly made Swiss chocolate, be sure to visit Parade Platz and the Teuscher shop in Sprongli.
The famous Davidoff cigars are also located in Parade Square and Durr at the main train station.
Located on the banks of Zurich's Right River, the Old Town is divided into two parts, Oberdorf and Niederdorf, and is full of boutiques, bars, cafés, antique shops and more. Limad Street is also home to famous boutique boutiques and excellent restaurants.
Zurich is the wealthiest city in Europe and one of the world's most affluent, expensive, and socially secure cities with the highest standard of living.
Due to its low crime rate, high affluence, mountain proximity and pleasant air, Zurich is recognized as one of the most livable cities in the world.
Because of the concentration of billionaires from all over the world, it is known as the "European Billionaire City".
As an important economic, financial and cultural center of Western Europe, Zurich is a world-famous international metropolis and the headquarters of the International Football Federation, and the Dadaism that emerged in 1916 originated in Zurich.
Zurich is home to more than 120 banks' global and European headquarters, more than half of which are foreign banks, and is home to top wealthy businessmen from all over the world who invest in finance and banking, earning it the title of "European Billionaire City".
UBS, Credit Suisse, Zurich Financial Services Group, and many European private banks have their headquarters in Zurich. The efficient and strict confidentiality of the Swiss banking sector has made Zurich a major hub for offshore banking in the world, with financial account movements accounting for about a quarter of the city's economic activity.
The headquarters of the SIX Swiss Exchange are also located in Zurich. In 2014, Zurich was ranked first in UN-Habitat's selection of the world's best liveable cities.
Because of the concentration of billionaires from all over the world, Zurich is also known as the "European billionaire city", Zurich's famous Bahnhofstrasse is the richest street in the world, Zurich is the Swiss economic, financial, shipping and tourism center, the world's famous international metropolis.