Rennweg (Zurich)

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Rennweg and Rennwegtor on the Murerplan
1744: Cavalry parade through Rennweg

The Rennweg is one of the oldest streets in the old town of Zurich . It leads from Bahnhofstrasse in a south-easterly direction about 250 meters diagonally up a moraine hill, where at the highest point it merges into Strehlgasse , which leads back down to the Limmat . The Rennweg has been car-free since 2004. The Rennweg tram stop operated by the Zurich transport company is on Bahnhofstrasse.

Surname

In medieval times, " racing routes " were routes on which horses were "brought to run". Since they were accordingly wide and straight, they were also used for races and tournaments.

The derivation of Rain «Abhang», as the north-eastern side of the Rennweg was previously called (see below), is not possible in the Alemannic-speaking area for reasons of sound.

history

Rennweg 1905

The first few permanent houses on Rennweg, which at that time led as a narrow path from the southern end of the Lindenhof down to the Sihl in a north-westerly direction, were probably built around the year 1000, when the Carolingian Palatinate was built on the Lindenhof . The construction of the great Ottonian Palatinate promoted the importance of the Rennweg district at the foot of the Lindenhof hill.

From these individual buildings, a small suburb developed around Rennweg and Fortunagasse, which was closed off with a gate at the end. This development goes back to the time of the Zähringers , who were imperial bailiffs in Zurich from 1097 until they died out in 1218. It was a result of the city expansion west of the old settlement near Lindenhof. At that time, with its long, closed rows of houses and a right-angled intersection, it was the widest street in Zurich and stood out with its straight line from the winding streets around Strehlgasse, which had emerged from the Roman settlement on the left bank of the Limmat.

The Rennweg is mentioned for the first time in a document dated December 7, 1221, in which in connection with a pastorate for the infirmary on the Sihl B. et. Hu. at the Renwege are named as witnesses. Three years later a Bertholus is mentioned on Rennwege , later the names Renniwegi, Rennewege and Renniwege appear . Numerous professions that were represented on Rennweg appear in various certificates and toboggans, for example butcher, baker, table maker, wood carver, saddler or carpenter.

At the lower end of the Rennweg , at the Fröschengraben, was the Rennwegtor , which was first mentioned in 1355 as part of the western city expansion to the west. It replaced the Kecinstürlin as the most important passage to the bridge at St. Jakob an der Sihl, where the road to Baden began. Since the Rennweg gate was the only main gate on the left of the Limmat, all traffic in a westerly direction from the city forced its way down Rennweg through the gate and onto the country road.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, troop marches and parades took place on the Rennweg.

The manuscript with the Zurich love letters was found in the house at Rennweg 33 during a renovation in 1843 . The house was demolished in 1911.

Until around 1880, the houses stood on the side of the street facing the lindenhof on an elevated footpath called "Rain", which was separated from the lower part of the mobile Rennweg by a retaining wall (today still very similar in Thun ). They were about one story higher than the buildings on the other side of the street. In the years 1879 and 1880 the retaining wall was removed and the drivable road widened, which meant that the previous basement floors of the middle Rennweg have since formed its ground floors. In this context, around 1,500 coins from Roman times were unearthed, a large number of which were put aside by playing children, cleaned with sulfuric acid and sold within the neighborhood.

Rennweg District Association

The Rennweg-Quartier-Verein was founded in 1888 with the aim of maintaining the Rennweg district. It is one of the oldest neighborhood associations in the city.

photos

  • Rennweg towards Strehlgasse

  • Rennweg towards Bahnhofstrasse

  • The Rennweg gate before 1865

literature

  • Fred Rihner: Illustrated history of Zurich's old town. Bosch, Zurich 1975.
  • Walter Baumann: The Rennweg district. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1988.
  • J. Usenbenz: The little book from Rennweg , Zurich

Web links

Commons : Rennweg  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Schweizerisches Idiotikon , Volume VI, Column 840 f., Article Ränn-Wëg , where in addition to the appellative meaning also numerous corresponding place and street names are mentioned, as well as Volume VI, Column 961 ff., Article rännen , especially meanings 1d («a Set the horse in a hurry, rush it ») and 2a (« ride with the reins, at the sharpest pace, drive »).
  2. ^ German dictionary , volume 14, column 815, article Rennweg .
  3. ^ Paul Guyer, Guntram Saladin : The street names of the city of Zurich. 3rd edition, reviewed and updated by Fritz Lendenmann. Rohr, Zurich 1999, ISBN 3-85865-420-5 , p. 203.
  4. ^ Walter Baumann: The Rennweg Quarter. Orell Füssli, Zurich 1988, p. 19.
  5. ↑ Fred Rihner: Illustrated history of the Zurich old town. Bosch Verlag, Zurich 1975, p. 186.
  6. ↑ Thomas Germann: Zurich in Time Lapse, Volume 1, Zurich 1997, p. 26.
  7. ↑ Walter Baumann: Streets and alleys of Zurich's old town. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 1981, ISBN 3 85823 038 3 , p. 95 f.
  8. ↑ Walter Baumann: Streets and alleys of Zurich's old town. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich 1981, p. 95 ff.
  9. ↑ Zurich 1

Coordinates: 47 ° 22 '22.8 "  N , 8 ° 32' 22.5"  E ; CH1903:  six hundred and eighty-three thousand one hundred fifty-one  /  247,489