X-ray station
The Röntgenplatz is a place in the industrial district in Zurich that developed from a street crossing in the 1980s and is one of the most important traffic calming measures for the district. Today it is used as a meeting point for local residents and for cultural events, such as the historically linked Röntgenplatz Festival or the summer cinema.
history
The polygonal area of today's square was created after 1894 together with the Röntgenstrasse. This was built on the site of the embankment of the first railway line between Zurich and Winterthur that was built in 1855. Which was replaced by the Aussersihl Viaduct in 1894 to reduce the gradient in the direction of the Wipkingertunnel . A six-armed street intersection was created at the intersection of Röntgenstrasse with Josefstrasse and Fabrikstrasse.
At the beginning of the 1960s, there was a tendency towards city building in downtown Zurich. The residential quarters near the center threatened to become a functional core, which above all had a high volume of through traffic, was only attractive for commercial and office buildings but no longer offered any real quality of living. In the transition period, this development made the former industrial and workers' residential area an ideal place for speculators who wanted to sell old houses to affluent companies and as an ideal place to stay for the sex industry , which was able to rent in the vacant houses due to the collapsing housing market.
This development was not politically accepted by the population and so an alternative concept was drawn up with traffic-calmed district streets, a sewer system for through traffic on streets with few apartments and the demand for old people's settlements, schools and recreational areas in order to ensure the quality of living in the district. In September 1971, after a free discussion between the parties in District 5 and the two parishes, a non-partisan working group, called the Industrial Quarter for short , was formed, which served as a political platform for these demands. The group worked out an initial proposal for traffic calming measures and the development of the building areas that would become available. This variant I could not be implemented, however, because it was strongly opposed by associations of the adjacent trade, which feared a decline in customers due to the traffic calming measures. In later years, in talks with the city council, a heavily modified and more balanced variant II was worked out, which provided for the closure of the central intersection of Röntgenstrasse, Josefstrasse and Fabrikstrasse and thus the creation of the Röntgenplatz, as well as the interruption of Limmatstrasse at Limmatplatz and some traffic police measures, such as other simple road blocks. Josefstrasse, Röntgenstrasse and Limmatstrasse were connections to Zurich main station and the city center and were therefore much used streets for pure through traffic. The 1980 traffic censuses measured twelve to fourteen thousand cars a day. The idea was to create a place for relaxation and cultural life out of this intersection and at the same time to turn the surrounding streets into dead ends . The term “Röntgenplatz” developed out of this idea, although it was not to be found on city maps at the time.
On February 4, 1979, a new traffic concept for District 5 was presented. Many one-way streets should be created. As well as the partial closure of the X-ray station was planned. The Röntgenstrasse was, as it is realized today, completely broken up and on the northern side a one-way street that turns into Fabrikstrasse. Josefstrasse was also broken through and it should also be possible to bend in a westerly direction into the southern Fabrikstrasse in order to get into Neugasse, which is accessible on both sides for a short stretch. The piece of Josefstrasse between Otto Strasse and Röntgenplatz would have been a one-way street. The southern Röntgenstrasse should have remained accessible on both sides with the southern Fabrikstrasse and the eastern Josefstrasse. The eastern Josefstrasse would have had a connection to the northern Fabrikstrasse. This concept was followed by 495 objections.
The first Röntgenplatzfest took place on September 27, 1980, with the aim of closing the intersection for a short time and thus demonstrating its usability as a square. Shortly afterwards, on September 30, 1980, the city council's decision to close the road at Röntgenplatz was published with an appeal period of 20 days. 67 appeals followed. As long as these appeals have not been processed, nothing should be changed in the previous traffic management.
The final closure of the X-ray station could only be implemented on April 6, 1983. Various suggestions were drawn up for the design of the new X-ray station. In addition, unrealistic ones like a “Dörfli-Platz” with an artificial stream across the square. Realizable requests included a connection for water and electricity for future X-ray station festivals , an emergency well , structural obstacles for cars, emergency access for the fire brigade and medical services and the passability of the area for bicycles.
X-ray festival
The quarter festival on the Röntgenplatz, which has been held annually since 1980, is historically closely linked to the development of the Röntgenplatz. The festival was an expression of the political demand for a closed and culturally usable space. The festival therefore took place before the road crossing was officially closed. In the later years, the festival was a reminder of the successful opening of the square and the traffic calming measures in the quarter. Although the festival always had a political orientation, since the mid-1990s the connection to the history of the Röntgenplatz has faded more and more into the background for many visitors and the district festival has become known beyond the district boundaries thanks to national and international acts. National artists such as Stiller Has (2001) and Michael von der Heide (1997) and international artists such as Edoardo Bennato (1997) or Habib Koité (1998) performed at the Röntgenplatzfest . Although most of the visitors are still resident in the district, the festival now also has a number of visitors from other parts of the city.
In 1996 the 20th anniversary was celebrated. This was due to an oversight by the organizing committee, which relied on documents from a previous committee. This used the year 1976 as the first Röntgenplatzfest in a letter to the city for a deficit guarantee. Obviously, the previous committee gave no importance to the exact year of the first festival in this letter, since it was only mentioned in the introductory words. It was just appreciated. However, this ultimately led to the confusion of the following committee, which consequently assumed that 1996 would be an anniversary year.
In 2009 the 30th anniversary was celebrated. This again follows from an interpretation error. Since the committee renounced an explicit year count after the accidental anniversary and only numbered the celebrations, the 30th X-ray station festival actually took place this year.
The first two festivals
The first Röntgenplatzfest took place on September 27, 1980. The SP section Zurich 5 and the Reformed parish were patrons of the organizing committee. The surrounding building cooperatives also helped. According to the program, the festivities were to last from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and speeches by City Councilor Ruedi Aeschbacher and Mayor Bähni were announced. In the afternoon there was to be a drawing competition for the children and from 7 p.m. they could dance. Some people and organizations criticized the festival in advance, as they feared that this use would put additional strain on the neighborhood. Nevertheless, the festival was well attended and at 9 p.m. food and drinks were scarce and had to be reorganized. At 10 p.m., the chairs finally ran out. The city councilor Ruedi Aeschbacher announced the planned closure of the square at the festival. The net profit was CHF 1,781.90.
The second Röntgenplatzfest was already a two-day event and was connected to the 75th anniversary of the SP Zurich 5. On Saturday, September 4th, 1981, there was again a children's program and an exhibition on traffic calming for political purposes. In the evening they danced again until midnight. On Sunday morning, September 5th, there was a brunch, whereby the residents had to bring their own food.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ INSA Volume 10, page 391
- ^ Neue Zürcher Zeitung, he, project for a traffic-free X-ray station , March 5, 1981
- ↑ a b Tages-Anzeiger, “We are almost at the end of our patience” , July 23, 1980
- ^ Tages-Anzeiger, More one-way streets, less through traffic , February 5, 1979
- ^ Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich, traffic regulations (District 5) , February 6, 1979
- ^ Letter from the Zurich City Police to AGI, June 28, 1979, Swiss Social Archives, Ar 71.25.10, folder 1
- ↑ a b c d Protocols of the Röntgenplatzfest, Swiss Social Archives, Dossier Ar. 71.25.9, Working Group Industriequartier / AGI 1971-1982
- ↑ Zurich City, Ruedi Aeschbacher, When will the traffic-free X-ray station come? , March 5, 1981
- ↑ Swiss Social Archives, AR 71.25.11, SP Zurich 5, traffic calming
- ↑ Paul Schmuki, Utopisches am 1. Röntgenplatz-Fest 1980 , July 5, 2001 Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 17, 2016 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.
- ↑ a b Zürcher City, AGI announces ... , October 9, 1980
- ↑ Official poster for the 2nd Röntgenplatzfest
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