Rikon im Tösstal is a village within the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Zell Zell may refer to: Places Austria * Zell am See, in Salzburg state * Zell am Ziller, in Tyrol * Zell, Carinthia, in Carinthia * in Upper Austria: ** Bad Zell ** Zell am Moos ** Zell an der Pram ** Zell am Pettenfirst Germany * Zell im Fich ...

in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Geography

Rikon is located in the district of Winterthur within the

Töss Valley The Töss Valley (German: ''Tösstal'') is a valley and a region of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography The valley embraces parts of the Zürcher Oberland including the Districts of Switzerland, districts of Hinwil (district), Hi ...

. Zell-Rikon belongs to the

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

of the northwestern city of

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

. In Rikon is a Tibetan monastery, the

Tibet Institute Rikon The Tibet Institute Rikon is a List of Tibetan monasteries, Tibetan monastery located in Zell, Zurich, Zell-Rikon im Tösstal in the Töss Valley in Switzerland. It was established as a Foundation (nonprofit organization), non-profit foundation ...

, located. Neighbouring settlements are Kyburg,

Kollbrunn Kollbrunn is a village within the Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality of Zell, Zurich, Zell in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Zurich, Zurich in Switzerland. Geography Kollbrunn is located in Winterthur (district), the d ...

, Schlatt, Wildberg and

Education

Education covers

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

, Primarschule and Sekundarschule levels. Higher school levels are located in Winterthur.

Transportation

The ''Tösstalstrasse'' motorway was built in 1837, the '' Tösstalbahn'' railway in 1872/76.

Rikon railway station Rikon railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Zürich. The station is situated in the village of Rikon im Tösstal within the municipality of Zell (Töss Valley). It is located on the Tösstalbahn between Winterthur and Rüt ...

is a stop of the

S-Bahn Zürich The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Canton of Aargau, Aargau, Canton of Gla ...

on the lines S11 and S26.

History

Near the church of Zell, the remains of a

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

estate have been found. First mentioned in the years 741 and 744 as «Cella» (Zell), the municipalities

and

Turbenthal Turbenthal is a municipality in the district of Winterthur located in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Turbenthal has an area of . Of this area, 34.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 57.6% is forested. Of the rest of ...

were given to the nunnery on

Lützelau Lützelau (Old High German: ''little island'') is an island located, with the neighbouring island of Ufenau, in Lake Zürich in Switzerland between Rapperswil ( away) and Freienbach ( away). Geography Lützelau lies in Höfe district in the C ...

island on

Lake Zürich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

by the

Alamanni The Alemanni or Alamanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes * * * on the Upper Rhine River during the first millennium. First mentioned by Cassius Dio in the context of the campaign of Roman emperor Caracalla of 213 CE, the Alemanni c ...

c noblewoman Beata. Then after, the area was given to the

St. Gallen Abbey The Abbey of Saint Gall () is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had er ...

, and as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

to the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

, including a

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

in Rikon. As part of the ''

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

schaft Kyburg'' the area was sold to the city of

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

around 1450. In 1817/18 a textile manufacture was established in Rikon, and in 1925 the best known ''Metallwarenfabrik AG Heinrich Kuhn'', now '' Kuhn Rikon AG''. Since 1934 ''Hinter-Rikon'' is part of the municipality Zell. In 1961, Switzerland was one of the first countries in the Western hemisphere, that gave new homes on a large scale to

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s. Henri and Jacques Kuhn (owners of ''Metallwarenfabrik AG Heinrich Kuhn'') offered work and accommodation to a group of refugees. The monastic

was founded, according to the advice and under the patronage of the

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

. On November 9, 1968, the monastic Tibet Institute was consecrated by the two leading teachers of the Dalai Lama, Trijang Rinpoche and Ling Rinpoche.Tibet Institute Rikon: History
/ref> Their story was featured in the November 1968 issue of

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

in an article by Laura Pilarski: "Little Tibet in Switzerland."

References

External links

Official website of the municipality of Zell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rikon im Tosstal Villages in the canton of Zürich