Lindenhof (Zurich hills)
The Lindenhof is as part of the glacial moraine and hilly terrain of the historic town center and a public square of the Swiss city of Zurich .
topography
As the most striking elevation of the Lindenhof district ( District 1 ), the range of hills to the north merging into the Sihlbühl forms the center of the old town. Since the construction of the Uraniastrasse (1905), the Lindenhof-Sihlbühl has been bordered in the north (former Oetenbach monastery / police main guard) and extends in the south to the Church of St. Peter . In the west the Bahnhofstrasse and in the east the Limmat border the range of hills.
Moraine hills like the Lindenhof are characteristic of the area of Zurich, including the mountain ranges from Käferberg -Waidberg, Zurich Mountain - Adlisberg to Pfannenstiel and Üetliberg with the Albis chain . The formation of Lake Zurich can also be traced back to the moraine deposits. The Lindenhof ( 428 m above sea level ), which is largely flattened today, rises around 25 meters above the level of the Limmat at the level of the Schipfe ( 405 m above sea level ).
Settlement history
Early history and the La Tène period
The shallow bank areas of Lake Zurich that resulted from the formation of the moraine produced between 4500 and 850 BC. The formation of Neolithic and Bronze Age lakeside settlements at the Limmat lake runoff, for example at the Kleiner and Grossen Hafner and at the Bauschänzli (town house), Alpenquai ( Bürkliplatz ) and Lindenhof. As early as the Middle Bronze Age (around 1500 BC) the range of hills was likely to have been inhabited, as finds of tools from the Limmat suggest. At that time the Lindenhof was probably largely surrounded by water: until the early Middle Ages , the Münsterhof was a swampy hollow, flooded by a wild arm of the Sihl that flowed into the Limmat.
Since 1997, a Celtic settlement from the late La Tène period , the oppidum Lindenhof, has been proven, which is likely to have formed in connection with the oppidum Uetliberg .
Roman epoch
Around 15 BC After the conquest by Drusus and his brother Tiberius (Emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero from 14 to 37 AD), both step-sons of Augustus , the area was on the left bank of Lake Zurich in the border area of the Roman provinces Raetia and Germania superior . Modern research dates the occupation of the Lindenhof by the Roman military to the year 15 BC. Several stone buildings on the Lindenhof are known from the Roman era. The hill was part of the vicus Turicum , an unfortified settlement that expanded on both sides of the Limmat around a Roman bridge, not far from today's Rathausbrücke . The adjoining church of St. Peter probably stands on the site of a Roman temple to Jupiter; In the Thermengasse (Weinplatz), where a Limmat Bay once lay, remains of a public Roman bathing facility can be viewed . Turicum , the Roman name of today's Zurich, is mentioned for the first time at the end of the 2nd century AD, on a tombstone of the one and a half year old Lucius Aelius Urbicus , son of the head of the Roman customs station, found near the Lindenhof . The tombstone is in the Swiss National Museum , a copy is embedded in the wall at Lindenhof (Pfalzgasse).
In late Roman times, the focus of the settlement shifted again to the easy-to-fortify Lindenhof. The topography exploiting, was built during the reign of Emperor Valentinian I. one on the hilltop castle built, the customs station against during the migration of peoples advancing from the north Alemanni should secure. The fortification, which is only 4500 square meters in size but very strong, was reinforced with ten towers and a two-meter-wide wall, which remained intact until the Middle Ages. Remnants of the wall of this building came to light during the demolition of the property Zum Paradies at the southern end of Lindenplatz, acquired by the Masonic Lodge Modestia cum Libertate , and can be viewed on request in the so-called Lindenhofkeller .
middle Ages
In post-Roman times, the hilltop was leveled: the fort became a retaining wall and largely gave the Lindenhof terrace its shape that still exists today. In the High Middle Ages , the Lindenhof and the City Hall district formed the oldest core of today's city of Zurich. In the late Middle Ages , significant parts of the ancient fort wall bound with permanent lime mortar were also integrated into the high retaining wall on the Limmat side and in the town houses around the Lindenhof. A royal palace was created from their material on the Limmat side of the hill ; Scene of imperial days and festivities, such as the engagement of the future Emperor Henry IV. With Bertha of Turin at Christmas 1055. The Palatinate was dragged as Zurich after the extinction of the incumbent as Reichsvögte Zähringer became rich free in 1218.
During excavation work in 1937 in the south-western part of the Lindenhof, some graves of children and adults facing west to east came to light. It is believed that the graves were created in the later Middle Ages. In 1384 a chapel is first mentioned on the Lindenhof; The exact location of the chapel has not yet been clarified.
The chapel could have been associated with the processions that were documented from 1271 - as part of the procession axis Wasserkirche , Grossmünster and Fraumünster - on Palm Sunday and Whit Wednesday on the Lindenhof. With the celebrations on Pentecost Wednesday, the population honored their city saints Felix and Regula and Exuperantius . The judge's letter of 1304 reports a council decision to " carry the relics of the saints across the court, as has been the custom from time immemorial ", probably with the hope of continuing to secure the protection of the city saints. The end of the processions followed around the year 1524, with the beginning of the Reformation , because the council “ saved the great journey to court for Wib and men and a lot of useless speeches remained ”.
For further history, see also the Lindenhof district and the history of the city of Zurich .
The Lindenhof as part of the medieval city fortifications
The fort existed until the early Middle Ages , when a Carolingian , later an Ottonian palace (1054) was built on its foundation walls . The Palatinate of 10./11. Century was a long building with a chapel and took up the entire east side of the fortified Lindenhof. The Lindenhof thus formed the core of the first medieval city fortifications , which included a slightly wider area than the Roman fort. The fortification ring is proven as a pointed ditch in the upper Rennweg and indirectly in the Fortunagasse. In a later phase, the palace building was expanded into a fortified castle (mentioned for the last time in 1172, razed in 1218) with towers and a double moat in front.
Fairground and recreational area
With the demolition of the former imperial residence, the Lindenhof - the only place with a public green area within the city walls - turned into a space for public life and relaxation and was probably redesigned in the 14th century to a fairground with dense tree cover. Stone tables, crossbow stands, chess games and a bowling alley were formative for the next centuries. The political symbolism of the former center of power, the square as a meeting point and the tradition of chess games, which are still very popular today, have survived.
According to a chronicle, 52 linden trees were planted on the farm in 1474 . Stone and wooden discs in their shadow served as tables on which chess was played. Archery and crossbow shooting was probably one of the most important leisure activities at Lindenhof, along with drinking. There is a tradition of a rifle festival on August 25, 1526, when riflemen from St. Gallen and their mayor made a guest appearance in Zurich. They were led by the mayor of Zurich, the councilors and all the guilds to eat at the Lindenhof, which was also attended by the prominent clergy Ulrich Zwingli , Leo Jud , Konrad Pelikan , Oswald Myconius and the abbot of the Kappel monastery . A report from the middle of the 17th century shows that each guild had its own stone table and that since then they have met at Sechseläuten under the linden trees. Gottfried Keller describes the glamorous feast of the costumed participants in his poem Ein Festzug in Zürich (1856).
The Hedwig Fountain, built in 1668, recalls the legend of the siege of 1292 by Duke Albrecht I von Habsburg , the then city lord of Winterthur: While the Zurich men tried unsuccessfully to conquer Winterthur and left Zurich without military protection, the city women would have armored themselves in need and armed with lances on the Lindenhof wall, whereupon the Austrians withdrew. The helmeted figure of the leader of the courageous women - Hedwig from Burghalden - reminds of this incident.
In 1780, under the influence of the Baroque , the Lindenhof was transformed into a strictly geometrical complex with axles and diagonals. In 1798, the population of the city of Zurich took the oath of the Helvetic Republic on the Lindenhof . After Midsummer 1851, the acquired Masonic Lodge Modestia cum Libertate (McL) on 22 May 1852 offered by the family Gessner for sale House to paradise on the Lindenhof and converted it to the lodge building with its distinctive stepped gables around. During the renovation of the property, coins, stove tiles and other finds from Roman and medieval times came to light. They were given to the Antiquarian Society .
In 1861 the Lindenhof was transformed into a park in line with contemporary tastes . In 1865 severe storm damage led to a redesign: instead of the linden trees, chestnuts, acacias and trees of gods were planted. However, the new planting was not accepted by the population and had to give way to linden trees again after 1900, giving the square its current appearance. The Lindenhof can only be reached on foot through the narrow streets of the medieval town center.
Events
In addition to the guild dinner, a number of public events and festivals, since 1879 the singing students have come to the Lindenhof every year on the last day of April to welcome the new month of May. From the relevant official approval of May 2, 1921: " The Zurich Student Choir Association is granted permanent approval for annual May singing on the night of April 30 to May 1 at midnight ".
Today, the Lindenhof is one of the most famous squares and leisure areas in the heart of the city of Zurich, which offers an impressive view in the middle of the historic center of the city of Zurich over the Limmat and the Limmatquai to the right bank of the old town and therefore also to the tourist attractions of the city of Zurich counts. The most prominent historical visitors included Casanova , Goethe , Johannes von Müller , Duke Karl August von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach , Johann Gottlieb Fichte , Anne Louise Germaine de Staël , Schlegel , Johann Ludwig Uhland , Franz Liszt , Richard Wagner and Brahms .
Picture gallery
Masonic lodge building Modestia cum Libertate (McL)
Chess game on the Lindenhof
The Lindenhof and neighboring districts, detail on the Murer map.
The Lindenhof and its surroundings on the city model in the architectural history archive.
literature
- Mauro Baster, Nicola Behrens et al .: Lindenhof district mirror . Presidential Department of the City of Zurich, Statistics City of Zurich (Ed.), Zurich 2006 ( PDF; 2.77 MB ).
- Kunsthistorisches Institut (Ed.): Green angles in the city . Zurich 1997.
- Andreas Motschi et al. : A wall returns to the cityscape: Investigation and renovation of the Lindenhof retaining wall . In: Archeology and Monument Preservation. Report 2003-2006.
- Walter Baumann: Walk through Zurich with Walter Baumann. Volume 1: From Lindenhof to Fraumünster . Orell Füssli , Zurich 1987–1993.
- Jürg Schneider, Jürg Hanser: Windows into the past: Lindenhof, Roman thermal baths, St. Peter, Wasserkirche, Haus Zum Rech . In: Zurich Monument Preservation. Zurich city. 1985/86 report.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Office for Urban Development of the City of Zurich: Information board Euro 08 platform (The raft) and underwater archeology, accessed on August 11, 2008
- ↑ a b Website Rennweg 8 Haus , accessed on August 11, 2008
- ↑ a b c d Website civil engineering office of the city of Zurich: Züri z'Fuess ( Memento from May 27, 2011 in the Internet Archive ): Lindenhof terrace, accessed on August 11, 2008
- ↑ The oppidum Uetliberg is often referred to in the literature as the Celtic prince seat : A term from the scientific discussion about the social structure in the Celtic Hallstatt period .
- ^ Website Fürstensitz Kelten-Info-Bank , accessed on August 11, 2008
- ↑ Mauro Baster, Nicola Behrens et al .: Quartierspiegel Lindenhof . Presidential Department of the City of Zurich, Statistics City of Zurich, Zurich 2006, accessed on August 11, 2008
- ↑ a b c d e f g h website Freemason Lodge Modestia cum Libertate: The Zurich Lindenhof hill. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
- ↑ In the so-called Lindenhofkeller near the building of the Zurich Masonic Lodge Modestia cum Libertate , well-preserved building remains from Roman times, the Middle Ages and the early modern times can be viewed on display boards. The key to the Lindenhofkeller is available in the town hall, see Building Construction Department of the City of Zurich. Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
- ^ Ernst C. Büchi: Medieval skeletons from the Lindenhof Zurich . Writings from the Anthropological Institute of the University of Zurich. Bern 1950.
- ^ Website Gang dur Alt-Züri: Former cemetery on the Lindenhof , accessed on August 11, 2008
- ↑ University of Zurich website, historical seminar: “The city of Zurich and its martyrs - a multimedia path: On the Lindenhof” ( memento of the original from January 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 11, 2008
- ↑ a b c Website Grün Stadt Zürich: Lindenhof ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 11, 2008
- ↑ Website Gottfried Keller - Poems: A pageant in Zurich 1856 ( Memento of the original from 23 August 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed August 11, 2008
- ↑ The Müllerplan (1794) served the architect Hans Langmark as the basis for his detailed model of the city of Zurich, on which he worked for 22 years; In 1942 it was acquired by the city of Zurich. It is exhibited on the ground floor of the building history archive in the “zum Rech” building at Neumarkt 4 and is freely accessible during opening hours.
