Zürichhorn

Zürichhorn is a river delta on Zürichsee's eastern shore in the lower basin of the lake. The area is part of the parks and quays in the Seefeld quarter of the city of Zürich in Switzerland. The gardens are one of the most popular recreational areas within the city of Zürich.

Geography

Zürichhorn was formed mainly by the ''Hornbach'' stream, also known as ''Wildbach'' and ''Werenbach'', which flows, as of today embedded into a concrete canal, between ''Tiefenbrunnen'' lido and the landing gate of the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) into Lake Zürich. Ending the last glacial period when the Linth glacier retreated, the ''Wehrenbach'' stream dug over through the Linth glacier's moraine, met the rocky ground, the so-called molasse, and by its attachment the river delta at the Zürichhorn respectively the Seefeld quarter was formed.

Transportation

Zürichhorn can be reached preferably by foot (20 minutes from Bellevue) or by public transportation: Zürich tram routes 2 and 4 and bus line 33 to stops ''Höschgasse'' or ''Fröhlichstrasse'', or bus lines 912 and 916 from ''Bellevue'' to '' Chinagarten''. During summer season, three Limmat boats provide round trips between Landesmuseum–Wollishofen–Zürichhorn-Landesmuseum on the river Limmat through the city of Zürich respectively Zürichhorn is a stop of the roundtrips on Lake Zürich provided by Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG).

Water airport Zürichhorn

In summer 1910 ''Wagenfabrik C. & R. Geissberger'' provided first test flights with so-called ''Hydroplanes'' ( flying boats) at Zürichhorn. Initiated by Oskar Bider and Fritz Rihner, in July 1919 the «Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Lufttourismus» was established in Zürich. Tourist flights with flying boats were planned from sites at Zürichhorn, in Geneva, Interlaken/Thun, Locarno, Lugano, Lucerne, Lausanne-Ouchy, Romanshorn and St. Moritz. Switzerland, with its numerous lakes, appeared predestined for the use of seaplanes, so that no expensive airports had to be built. Oskar Bider was killed in an accident before the ambitious project was realized, but from Zürichhorn respectively (as of 2010) the area of the ''Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen'' (lido) the Swiss airline Ad Astra Aero operated with seaplanes, among them seven Macchi-Nieuport and five Savoia flying boats and the first large flying boat, Dornier Wal.

Quaianlagen

Hafen Riesbach, meaning Riesbach harbour area is situated between Seefeldquai and Blatterwiese. The harbour itself is as the Enge harbour used as a private-owned marina. In 2004 the old kiosk at the popular open lido at ''Riesbachstrasse'' was replaced by a polygonal pavilion was designed by the architects Andreas Furrimann and Gabrielle Hächler, and now houses a small restaurant. As well as the Seefeldquai, it is part of the historical Quaianlagen, and combines park designs from different design periods. The stone pillar ''Klausstud'' originally stood in the lake and served as a border designation of the medieval right of ban of the city republic of Zürich. At that place also ended the fishing rights of the urban fishermen, and from here the Einsiedeln Abbey pilgrims proved their honour to the Protestantic city by lowering the volume of their prayers and songs. Since the landfills in the construction of the quais, the pillar stands in the middle of the park. The sculpture by Henry Moore is named ''Sheep Peace'', and was donated in 1976. The Pavillon Le Corbusier, an art museum dedicated to the work of the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, is situated between Seefeldquai and Blatterwiese. Between Blatterwiese and ''Bellerivestrasse'', in 1993 the Chinese Garden Zürich was inaugurated.

Sights include the spacious parks and quais with various sculptures including Jean Tinguely's ''Heureka'', ''Chinagarten Zürich'' at Blatterwiese, and in the northeast the last by Le Corbusier designed building, the formerly named ''Heidi-Weber-Museum'' respectively Pavillon Le Corbusier. On the southeastern side of the delta is the '' Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen'' located. The ''Restaurant Fischstube'' was built as part of the Swiss national exhibition 1939, it acclaims to be the only house within the city of Zürich with a thatched roof.

Among the many major events at Zürichhorn are the ''Schweizerische Landesausstellung'' 1939 (Swiss national exposition, commonly ''Landi39''), ''Schweizerische Gartenbauausstellung G59'' in 1959, and in 1991 the national research exhibition ''Heureka''. Since 1989, ''Kino am See'' (cinema on lake), the largest open-air cinema in Switzerland, will take place between mid-July and mid-August at Zürichhorn on Lake Zürich shore. The lakeside parks are annually frequented by 2.5 million visitors.

Zürich - Chinagarten IMG 0047.JPG, Chinese Garden
Zürich - Seefeld - Centre Le Courbusier IMG 1111 ShiftN.jpg, Pavillon Le Corbusier
Zürich - Seefeld - Heureka IMG 5475.JPG, Jean Tinguely's ''Heureka''
Zürich - Seefeld - Zürihorn IMG 2657.JPG, Kugelbrunnen, a relict of the Phenomena exhibition of 1984
Alopochen aegyptiacus - Zürich Zürichhorn IMG 8484.JPG, Alopochen aegyptiacus at Zürichhorn
'Fischstube' am Zürichhorn - ZSG Helvetia 2015-09-09 18-10-56.JPG, Restaurant ''Fischstube''
Zürich - Seefeld IMG 0069.JPG, Casino ''Lake Side Zürichhorn''
Zürich - Seefeld - Zürihorn - Tiefenbrunnen IMG 3703.JPG, '' Strandbad Tiefenbrunnen'' lido
Zürich - Seefeld - Zürihorn IMG 0364.jpg, ZSG Paddle steamer ''Stadt Zürich'' at Zürichhorn landing gate

History

In 1238 the ''Otinbach'' stream is first mentioned, which can be derived from "Otto's stream" respectively Old High German ''ôt'' meaning heritage. The then used name ''Oetenbach'' may refer to the river on whose banks an estate, fishing or other rights were situated.Website Cicerone Performance: ''Die Oetenbachgasse in der minderen Stadt''
/ref> About the same time, at Zürichhorn was the Oetenbach Nunnery established, lacking experience on swampy ground; therefore around 1280/85 the Dominican sisters of the convent moved to ''Sihlbühl'' at Lindenhof hill within the fortifications of the city of Zürich, and also to finance the northern town wall.

In the 16/17th century rich Zürich citizens built their country seats outside the town walls of the city of Zürich on lakeshore in the Seefeld quarter. In the 1840s several construction companies settled around Zürichhorn: Raw material was delivered on the lake respectively shore-based on (as of today) ''Fröhlichstrasse''. The then ''Hornegg'' was developed until the end of the 19th century as the local center of construction and ship building companies. In 1894 the railway line ''Rechtsufrige Zürichseebahn'' was established, since then most of the companies moved to the more attractive Industriequartier in the western parts of the city of Zürich.Website Gang dur Alt-Zürich: ''Das Zürichhorn und die Zivilaviatik''
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1879/81 the ''Wildbach'' has been corrected to avoid recurrent floodings of the former municipality of Riesbach (as of today Zürich's district number 8). The stream was discharged to the south of Lake Zürich, and from then, it was called ''Hornbach'' nearby its mouth. Opening the Lake Zürich quais, in 1887 the park area was expanded from ''Seefeld-Quai'' to Zürichhorn, in order to promote ''companionship, recreation and amusement''. A spacious park landscape was built by the landscape architects Otto Froebel and Evariste Mertens.Official website of the city of Zürich (Grün Stadt Zürich): ''Zürichhorn''
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Cultural heritage of national importance

Zürichhorn is listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zurichhorn
Buildings and structures in Zürich
Geography of Zürich
Tourist attractions in Zürich
River deltas of Europe
Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zürich
Parks in Zürich
Lake Zurich
District 8 of Zürich