Gold Coast (Switzerland)

Looking north to Erlenbach and Herrliberg on the right bank of Lake Zurich, known as the Gold Coast

The lower right bank of Lake Zurich is called the Gold Coast in Switzerland . These include the political communities of Zollikon , Küsnacht , Erlenbach ZH , Herrliberg , Meilen , Uetikon am See and Männedorf . They are all in the Meilen district . Sometimes the entire right bank of Lake Zurich is referred to as the Gold Coast.

region

The region is considered affluent and lies on the right (i.e. northeast) bank of Lake Zurich. A low tax rate and high property prices are typical of the Gold Coast . The particularly well-sunny south-western slopes of the Pfannenstiel are also characterized by viticulture .

The right bank railway line from Zurich to Rapperswil is also known as the "Goldküstenexpress" in line with the Gold Coast. On May 26, 1968, the prehistory of the Zurich S-Bahn, which opened in 1990, began there with the operation of unusually wine-red, fast “ Mirage ” railcar compositions .

The opposite left bank of Lake Zurich, which is often already in the shadow of its own mountains due to its topography and north-easterly orientation in the early evening, especially in winter, while the gold coast is still shining in the evening sun, was given the ironically mocking nickname Pfnüsel coast .

In his autobiographical book Mars , the teacher Fritz Zorn (1944–1976), who originally came from Meilen, dealt critically with the affluent Gold Coast milieu in which he grew up.

Surname

Even if “Gold” appears in various combinations on the lower part of the right bank (Goldhalde in Zollikon, Goldbach as part of the village of Küsnacht, the Guldenen near Forch ), the name Gold Coast is more recent. It originated around the middle of the 20th century and probably refers to the wealthy residents and the high tax income. The golden shine of the shore in the evening sun matched it. When the name came about, the Goldbach in the Küsnacht part of Goldbach had long since overtaken.

literature

• Katharina Wille-Gut: Life on the Gold Coast. From the diary of a privileged person . Zytglogge, Oberhofen 2004, ISBN 3-7296-0684-0
• Susann Sitzler : Survival in Zurich. 365 things you should know about this city . Links, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86153-466-2

Web links

• Erich Send: Gold and Pfnüsel coast: the two sides of Lake Zurich. Retrieved on September 21, 2009 (a DRS audio report of 5:45 minutes in length). 

Individual evidence

1. ^ The hour of birth of the Zurich S-Bahn nzz.ch, May 26, 2008.
2. ↑ After Pfnüsel - Swiss dialect (Zurich German) for rhinitis .
3. ↑ What is left of the anger? Tagesanzeiger.ch, November 2, 2010.

Coordinates: 47 ° 18 '  N , 8 ° 36'  E ; CH1903:  688244  /  239221