Rathausbrücke, Zürich

Rathausbrücke
Rathausbrücke and Weinplatz to the left, and Rathaus Zürich in the foreground, as well as Schipfe and Lindenhof hill, as seen from Grossmünster's Karlsturm
Coordinates	47°22′18″N 8°32′31″E / 47.37167°N 8.54194°ECoordinates: 47°22′18″N 8°32′31″E / 47.37167°N 8.54194°E
Carries	pedestrians
Crosses	Limmat
Locale	Lindenhof–Schipfe–Weinplatz–Limmatquai in Zürich, Switzerland
Official name	Rathausbrücke
ID number	1572
Characteristics
Material	concrete
Number of spans	4
History
Construction begin	1892 and 1972
Opened	1893 and 1973
Statistics
Daily traffic	pedestrian

Rathausbrücke is a pedestrian bridge crossing the Limmat in the municipality of Zürich in the Canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is colloqually called Gmüesbrugg (Swiss German for "vegetable bridge") and is also a popular public square which connects Limmatquai and the historical Schipfe quarter.

Wooden medieval bridge between Schipfe and Weinplatz and the present Limmatquai, Altarbilder by Hans Leu d.Ä., late 1490s.

Quaibrücke, Münsterbrücke and Rathausbrücke on an aerial photograph by Eduard Spelterini, probably mid-1890s.

Weinplatz and Rathausbrücke as seen from Limmatquai

bridge and Schipfe towards the Lindenhof hill as seen from lower Limmatquai downstream the Limmat

Historical Kantonspolizei Zürich police station, now a café

Geography

Rathausbrücke is situated in the historical core of the medieval town of Zürich, previously the Celtic-Roman Turicum on the southeasterny foothill of the Celtic preceding settlement at the Lindenhof–Weinplatz–Münsterhof area on the eastern, left hand bank of the Limmat. Today used as a pedestrian bridge and public square, it is connecting the Lindenhof respectively Schipfe quarter and the Rathaus quarter respectively Limmatquai on the western, right hand bank of the river.

Transportation

Although Rathausbrücke is a historically important bridge in Zürich, it is not a nodal point of the present tram railways, neither of the road traffic between General-Guisan-Quai,^[1] Limmatquai, Rämistrasse and Utoquai in the Lindenhof and Rathaus districts. The Zürich tram lines 2, 4 and 15, as well as the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) tour boats towards Zürichhorn respectively Landesmuseum provide public transportation. Individual transportation usually is limited to commercial purpose, thus the area is part of the pedestrian zone of Zürich, hence road transport is limited between lower Limmatquai and Bellevueplatz upstream the Limmat, excepted to cargo handling, rides in traffic with the cantonal police station, postal delivery services as well as medical doctors and emergency services.^[2]

Architectue

The first extensions of the medieval wooden bridge were carried out in 1375 and 1420/21 AD. As today, the medieval predecessor wooden bridge was wider than necessary and housed the mills of the Oetenbach Nunnery as seen on the probably 1500s altarpiece from the Grossmünster Zwölfbotenkapelle by Hans Leu. Only the breakwaters at the inflow side were built of stone, as recognizable on the 1576 Murerplan, the other sections of the bridge consisted mostly of wood. By further broadening downstream Schipfe, from 1602 to 1605 the bridge was rebuilt and got the present dimensions, to the left bounded by the former Hotel "Zum Schwert" (now a commercial building), and in the west with a wooden platform made of oak planks. The bridge section between the town hall and the Hauptwache was built from stone; in 1881/93 the remaining wooden bridge was replaced by a cast-iron construction. The old stalls were removed, but gradually supplemented by the present commercial buildings including a café and sanitary installations.^[3] The current bridge made of reinforced concrete was designed by the architect Manuel Pauli and rebuilt in 1972/73.

History

Commonly known as Gmüesbrugg, a Swiss-German term for "vegetable bridge", it was named after the medieval market there, but the first bridge at that location even may have been built in the Roman era. In medieval times it was named Untere Brücke ("lower bridge"), and the Münsterbrücke Limmat crossing was the "upper bridge", meaning upstream bridge. Later it was named after the Rathaus (town hall) that was built between 1692 and 1698, the site where also the members of the Kämbel guild had their market stands.^[4]

Points of interest

Today the plaza serves as a public square and is part of the pedestrian zone. Rathausbrücke also is place of numerous local festivals and public events. At the site of the former Rother Turm there was built the Hotel zum Storchen, claimed to be one of the finest hotels and bars which also is used as a guild house. Opposite of the building, the former seat of the medieval Mülner family is located, the so-called Haus zum Schwert, named after the sword holder of the banner of the medieval town of Zürich.

Weinplatz

The square in front of the lower bridge, thenafter the old Kornhausplatz was used as a grain and vegetable store in medieval times, and became in 1630 the public market for local wines, the present Weinplatz square. Despite the relocation of the market to the Münsterhof plaza in 1647, the name is still the same.^[5] Some medieval sources mention the Rother Turm building, meaning the "red tower" which was used by the House of Rapperswil as it seats in Zürich in the early 13th century; much later it became a 'literature café' and was broken. Not yet archaeological proven but suggested by the historians, Weinplatz was also the former civilian harbour of the Celtic-Roman settlement Turicum, and so the term Weinplatz may have an ancient meaning.^[6]

Hotel zum Storchen

The name "Zum Storchen" can not be determined clearly, but a legend tells that the name comes from a couple of rare black storks that brooded on its roof long ago. In 1357 AD the building "Hus zum Storchen" (literally stork house) was mentioned for the first time in the tax books of the city of Zürich, and about 100 years later its designation as a hostel, a tradition that lasted the following centuries. In 1938/38 the medieval building complex was rebuilt to house the present hotel, bar and restaurant.^[7] The building is also the guild house of the Zunft zur Schiffleuten, the medieval guild of the fishermen and boatmen; maybe a reminensce also to the ancient harbour at the Weinplatz square just besides the hotel.

Reconstruction

In July 2015 the city's authorities announced that a reconstruction, even a completely new bridge is scheduled, as the concrete construction of 1972/73 does not meet the present requirements of flood protection.

References

1. Grün Stadt Zürich (May 2006). "Vom Bürkliplatz zur Sukkulenten-Sammlung" (PDF) (in German). Grün Stadt Zürich. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
2. "Limmatquai" (in German). Poliezidepartement Stadt Zürich. Retrieved 2015-01-06.
3. "Rathausbrücke (Gemüsebrücke)" (in German). Staatsarchiv des Kantons Zürich. Retrieved 2015-09-19.
4. Gebrüder Dürst. "Rathausbrücke" (in German). alt-zueri.ch. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
5. Gebrüder Dürst. "Weinplatz" (in German). alt-zueri.ch. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
6. "Turicum II" (in German). Hochbaudepartement Stadt Zürich. Retrieved 2015-01-07.
7. "Hotel zum Storchen: Portrait & Geschichte" (in German). storchen.ch. Retrieved 2015-09-19.

External links