Central is a
public square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
or ''plaza'' at the northern end of
Limmatquai
''Limmatquai'' is a street in the Swiss city of Zürich. It is named after the Limmat, and it follows the right-hand (eastern) bank of that river for about through the ''Altstadt'', or historical core, of the city. The street was once important f ...
in
Zürich
, neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon
, twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco
Z ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It is one of the city's nodal points for road and public transportation. It was formerly known as Leonhardplatz or Leonhardsplatz.
Geography
Central is in fact outside of the historical core of the medieval town of Zürich, previously the
Celtic-Roman ''Turicum''. It is situated at the right-hand (eastern) bank of the
Limmat
The Limmat is a river in Switzerland. The river commences at the outfall of Lake Zurich, in the southern part of the city of Zurich. From Zurich it flows in a northwesterly direction, after 35 km reaching the river Aare. The confluen ...
, the principal river flowing through the city of Zürich. It is opposite of the
Zürich Hauptbahnhof
Zürich Hauptbahnhof (often shortened to Zürich HB, or just HB; ''Zürich Main Station'' or ''Zürich Central Station'') is the largest railway station in Switzerland. Zürich is a major railway hub, with services to and from across Switzerland ...
and connected by
Bahnhofbrücke, a road and tramway bridge crossing the Limmat, and connecting ''Rathaus'' and ''Lindenhof'' respectively the ''City'' and ''Unterstrass'' quarters. Situated nearby the historical
Neumarkt and
Niederdorf, the most remarkable landmark is the
Prediger church. The former ''Leonhardplatz'' is named after the ''Central'' hotel situated there.
The ''Seilergraben'', ''Weinbergstrasse'', ''Neumühlequai'' and ''Stampfenbachstrasse'' gather at the square. Redesigns of the Central–Bahnhofbrücke area occurred in 1950/51.
Transportation
Leonhardsplatz, as it was known then, first became a node in Zürich's transport system in 1889, when the
Polybahn funicular was opened up the hill to the ''Polytechnikum'', the present
ETH Zurich
(colloquially)
, former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule
, image = ETHZ.JPG
, image_size =
, established =
, type = Public
, budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021)
, rector = Günther Dissertori
, president = Joël Mesot
, a ...
. In 1897, the
Strassenbahn Zürich-Oerlikon-Seebach (ZOS) company made Leonhardsplatz the city terminus of their suburban tram line via Stampfenbachstrasse and Schaffhauserstrasse to
Oerlikon and
Seebach. Passengers were required to change at Leonhardsplatz for the separate city tramway system until 1931, when the ZOS was taken over by the
Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich, who operated the city's trams.
Today, the
Zürich tram
Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...
lines 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 and 15, and
VBZ bus lines 31 and 46 provide public transportation. The Polybahn also still operates over its original route.
Private road transport towards Limmatquai, the largest pedestrian zone of Zürich, is restricted to the short roadway towards the Brun bridge and ''Uraniastrasse'' (
Urania Sternwarte
Urania Sternwarte is a public observatory in the Lindenhof quarter of Zürich, Switzerland. Its name ''Urania'' refers to the muse of astronomy in Greek mythology.
History
Its origins base on a first observatory on the roof of the Zunfthaus ...
) at the site of the former
Oetenbach nunnery Oetenbach was a Dominican nunnery in the medieval municipality of Zürich in Switzerland. Oetenbach was named after the small stream of the same name at its first location at Zürichhorn, situated outside of the European Middle Ages town walls, but ...
. Since 25 September 2004, the driving of motor vehicles, motorcycles and scooters is forbidden, except for goods transport, traffic towards
Weinplatz, postal delivery services, and doctors and emergency services.
Literature
* ''Das Limmatquai vor und nach der Neugestaltung. Aufenthaltsnutzung, Fuss- und Veloverkehrsaufkommen im Vergleich der Jahre 2004-2005-2008''. Published by Tiefbau- und Entsorgungsdepartement der Stadt Zürich, Zürich 2009.
Notes
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Central Zurich
Altstadt (Zürich)
Streets in Zürich
Squares in Zürich