The Canton of Zürich (German: Kanton Zürich) has a population of about 1.2 million. The canton is located in the northeast of Switzerland and the city of Zürich is its capital. The official language is German, but people speak the local Swiss German dialect called Züritüütsch. In English the name of the canton is often written without umlauts: Canton of Zurich.
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ECONOMY
As the center of the most important economic region in Switzerland, Zurich is one of the most attractive European economic and investment areas. Zurich has a sophisticated economic structure, central European location, efficient and reliable infrastructure, and qualified and highly motivated workforce. It has a lot of potential in development areas as the transformation from the old to the new economy progresses, and ranks highest in quality of life. As a financial center and seat of numerous headquarter operations, Zurich is an international city and is well known as a scientific and cultural center. It is a marketplace for innovative and creative ideas of the highest quality.
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Zurich is a major banking metropolis not only for Switzerland or Europe, but also for the entire world. In addition to the banking powerhouses UBS and Credit Suisse Group, there are also many highly specialized private banks with long-standing reputations in the financial industry. All the major international banks have a presence in Zurich.
Zurich is one of the top destinations in Switzerland for companies to locate their headquarters. Insurance companies add to the already strong financial sector with the top three being Zurich Financial Services Group, Rentenanstalt/Swiss Life, and the Winterthur Gruppe. Also of great importance are traditional machine industries such as ABB, Sulzer, and Rieter.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Zurich has many high service industries such as banking and insurance, and as a result, its international connections are wide. The most important trading partners are Germany, France, Russia, Italy, and the USA.
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Geography The canton of Zürich is situated north of the Alps. Its neighbouring cantons are Schaffhausen to the north, Aargau to the west, the cantons of Zug and Schwyz to the south and the cantons of Thurgau and St.Gallen to the east. Most of the Lake Zürich is located within the canton.
The canton can be roughly divided into the city and lake, the Unterland in the northwest, the Oberland in the southeast, the Weinland and Winterthur in the northeast, and the Knonaueramt southwest of the Albis. Greater Zurich Area extends beyond the cantonal borders.
The area of the canton of Zürich is 1,729 km². About 80% of the land is considered productive. Forests make up 505 km², whilst lakes cover 73 km². The main lakes are the Lake Zürich, the Greifensee and the Pfäffikersee.
Most of the canton consists of shallow river valleys which drain towards the Rhine to the north of the canton. In the northwest and southeast of the canton there are more mountainous areas. The valley of the river Linth leads into the Lake Zürich and continues as the Limmat river. This valley is the most significant valley of the canton of Zürich. The valley of the Glatt river originates in the Greifensee and is separated from the Limmat by ridges. The valley of the river Töss is gorge-like. It is located in the east of the canton and is separated from the Toggenburg area in the Canton of St. Gallen by a mountainous area. The Hörnli (1133 m) is the highest elevation of this mountain ridge.
The valley of the river Sihl is located in the west of the canton. In confluences with the river Limmat in the city of Zürich. The river Sihl is separated from the lake of Zürich by the Albis Range. The Albishorn (915 m) is the highest elevation of this range. The highest elevation in the canton is at the Höhrohnen in the southeast of the canton.
The Uetliberg is part of the Albis Range. This mountain is popular with the population of the city of Zürich for recreation. There is a railway up to the Uetliberg.
View over the cat city of Zürich from the Üetliberg
History
The canton of Zürich consists of lands acquired by the capital Zürich after it became reichsfrei in 1218, especially after the revolution of the guilds in 1336. Zürich joined the Swiss Confederacy in 1351. The lower part of the canton was added to the territories of Zürich in 1362. Zürich claimed and lost the Toggenburg in the 1440s, the Old Zürich War. The northern parts up to the river Rhine came to the canton after the city of Zürich purchased Winterthur from the Habsburgs in 1468. Possessions to the west gained independence from Zürich as parts of the Canton of Aargau in 1803.
A new constitution which was approved by the people in February 2005 was established in January 2006. It replaces the old constitution of the canton from 1869.
The Antiquarische Gesellschaft in Zürich is an organization devoted to preserving the canton's history.
Political substructures
Districts
Districts in the Canton of Zürich The Canton of Zürich is divided into 12 districts (German: Bezirke):
(Source: Wikipedia and those mentioned above)
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