Zurich

tsu'rik, a city of Switzerland. In situation, history, and present importance it bears much the same relation to German Switzerland that Geneva does to French Switzerland. It is situated on the green and rapid Limmat, where the latter issues from Lake Zurich. Like Geneva, the city extends along both banks of the lake. Villages, orchards, vineyards, and villas enliven the vicinity. Few cities of Europe have finer promenades or maintain homes commanding a more beautiful view. Zurich is a city of antiquity. It was a Roman military station. In 1219 it became a free imperial city. The cathedral is a Romanesque building of the twelfth century. It is connected with the memory of Zwingli, the founder of Protestantism in German Switzerland. The university of Zurich, founded in 1832, has 125 instructors and about 700 students. The city hall, a massive building dating from 1699, a town library, a number of old churches, a botanical garden, a museum of textiles, the collection of arms, and an art gallery are all worthy of a visit. The chief attractions of the city are a general air of historic quaintness, the lake, the river, and the beautiful scenery of the surrounding hills. The population in 1901 was 152,942. It is the busiest manufacturing town in Switzerland. Silk and cotton are woven. There are about 10,000 silk looms in the city and canton. There are other manufactures of candles, soap, tobacco, paper, leather, and machinery. The finest woodcarving in Switzerland is to be had at Zurich. The inhabitants are almost entirely Protestant.