Zurich

“ Canton Zürich is, after Berne, the most populous, and beyond comparison the most wealthy of the Protestant Cantons of Switzerland; and the city of Zürich, one of its most beautiful and most flourishing cities. Since the walls of its fortifications have been removed by order of the Grand Council, it has extended and developed itself daily in every direction, like a vigorous tree in the spring. Science, industry, benevolent institutions increase, as if in emulation of each other; and gardens and plantations encircle the increasing city with beauty. ”

“ From the summit of Albis, the sun-lighted view of Zürich, with its lake and its richly cultivated and populous shores, was indescribably beautiful.
In Zürich two suns seemed to be shining, because every countenance seemed beaming as from an inner sun. As so it was. There was a great festival there, the greatest of its kind in Switzerland. ”

“ Hence it is our urgent prayer to our gracious Lords of Zurich, that they deliberate on the above-cited points, and if then it seems better to their wisdom to do so than to leave it alone, we all and each one in particular will pledge his soul, honor, body and goods to the city of Zurich, and esteem you, our dear Lords, as true fathers, as we hope you will find us good, willing, dutiful and submissive children, even unto death. ”

“ In that age Zurich, by reason of the trade of Germany and Italy passing through it, was the most flourishing town of Switzerland. Trading communities are commonly as fond of novelty in opinion as in wares. Zurich verified this assertion in many ways; for, owing to its free government, its proximity to the republics of Lombardy, and to the settlements of the Waldenses in the Alps, the place swarmed with that motley tribe of political and religious dreamers which Liberty is ever doomed to tolerate in her train. Of course, Arnold had his clique among the rest. ”

“ ZÜRICH (Fr. Zurich; Ital. Zurigo) , the capital of the Swiss canton of the same name. It is the most populous, the most important, and on the whole the finest town in Switzerland, and till 1848 was practically the capital of the Swiss Confederation. It is built on both banks of the Limmat (higher up called Linth) as it issues from the lake of Zürich, and also of its tributary, the Sihl, that joins it just below the town. That portion of the town which lies on the right bank of the Limmat is called the "Grosse Stadt" and that on the left bank the "Kleine Stadt." ”

“ The scenery of mountain, lake, and valley, seen from the promenades in Zurich, like grand pictures framed in the rim of the horizon, and presenting charming aspects, varied by the setting sun, give the tourist a foretaste of the picturesque beauty of the country he is now just entering. ”

“ Early every Saturday the peasant women come trooping in, with their vegetables, fruits, and flowers, to line the Bahnhof-strasse with carts and baskets. The ladies and kitchen-maids of the city come to buy; but by noon the market is over. In a jiffy, the street is swept as clean as a kitchen floor, and the women have turned their backs on Zurich. But the real center of attraction in Zurich will be found by the traveler in that quarter where stands the Grossmünster, the church of which Zwingli was incumbent for twelve years. ”

“ A short trip northward brings us to Zurich, which has a population of eighty thousand, and is situated on the borders of the lake whose name it bears. It is recognized as the Athens of Switzerland, the intellectual capital of the country, as well as being one of the busiest of manufacturing centres, silk and cotton goods forming the staple. The [Pg 319] educational facilities afforded at Zurich are recognized all over Europe. The scenery of the suburbs is very fine and peculiarly Swiss, the immediate neighborhood being highly cultivated, and the distance formed by snowy Alps. ”

“ In Zurich there was a lot besides Zurich--the roofs upled the eyes to tinkling cow pastures, which in turn modified hilltops further up--so life was a perpendicular starting off to a postcard heaven. The Alpine lands, home of the toy and the funicular, the merry-go-round and the thin chime, were not a being here, as in France with French vines growing over one's feet on the ground.
In Salzburg once Dick had felt the superimposed quality of a bought and borrowed century of music ”

“ Zurich need not rely upon any fancied resemblance of this sort for a distinct charm of its own. The situation of the city is essentially beautiful, reminding one, in a general way, of that of Geneva, Lucerne, or Thun—at the outlet of a lake, and at the point of issue of a swift river. Approaching from the lakeside, the twin towers of the Grossmünster loom upon the right, capped by ugly rounded tops, like miters; upon the left, the simple spires of the Fraumünster and St. Peter's. A conglomeration of roofs denotes the city houses. ”

“ It won't do to underestimate Zurich. The man's a crook; but he's got brains. He hasn't overlooked a bet since he came here. Zurich is Cobre—or mighty near it. He's in on all the good things. Big share in the big mines, little share in the little ones. ”

“ The political divisions of Switzerland are almost as numerous as its geographical; and there are few countries where more diversities of opinion prevail, respecting the means of securing that liberty which is the boast of its inhabitants.
At a distance, Zurich seems surrounded by beautiful hills, descending gradually to the river Limmat, which, issuing from the lake, divides the city into two unequal parts. These bills are rich in pastures and vineyards, interspersed with neat cottages; the horizon is bounded by the mountains of Utliberg, which are connected with the Alps ”

“ We go where all the world goes, see what all the world sees, fare sumptuously every day, and, whether we are arrayed in purple and fine linen or not, at least we see other people so clothed upon.
Zurich, the busy, flourishing, learned Swiss town on its pretty lake, we have just left, with its two rivers running up through the heart of it; with its bridges and its pleasure-boats; the villages and orchards and vineyards on the fertile banks of the lake as far as the eye can reach; the lovely views of the Alps,—the perpendicular Reisettstock ”

“ We may perhaps do well to pause here awhile before proceeding to show how the various Swiss cantons were gathered into the fold of the Eidgenossenschaft—a long process, as a matter of fact—and devote a short chapter to a glance at an aristocratic city whose polity and development contrast with those of the Forest lands. Zurich presents a fair example of a city whose origin dates back to a remote age, and whose transition from the condition of a feudal territory into the position of an independent commonwealth can be clearly followed. ”

“ You know doubtless that my peace has been broken by intelligence of the death of a man whom I prized and loved, whose esteem was one of the sweetest enjoyments which Zurich has afforded me, and whose friendship I would still seek to deserve ”

“ The very next morning the Beresfords left Lucerne for Zurich. They stayed there three days—Nan busy all the time in teaching herself how to propel a boat with two oars, her face to the bow; and she liked to practise most in moonlight. Then they left Zurich one afternoon, and made their way southward into the mountainous region adjacent to the sombre Wallensee. The stormy sunset deepened and died out; rain, rain, rain pursued them all the way to Chur. They got to their hotel there in an omnibus that jolted through the mud and the darkness. ”

“ The king fixed his camp at Regensberg; and thence the two pushed forward and formed a junction at Küsnacht. Their united forces, estimated at fifty thousand, formed the most formidable and magnificent army seen that century. Ravaging the lovely vineyard slopes, laments a contemporary annalist, they marched on Zurich, and, in spite of the sallies of the Zurcher to avert such a fate, completely encircled the town. Entirely cut off from all supplies, the inhabitants had no hope of holding out for any length of time, especially against a foe ten times more numerous. ”

“ The Forest cantons were communes of peasant proprietors, dwelling in inaccessible valleys, and their Diet was an assembly of all the male heads of families. Zurich was a manufacturing and commercial town which had grown up under the protection of an old ecclesiastical settlement whose foundation went back to an age beyond that of Charles the Great. Bern was originally a hamlet, nestling under the fortified keep of an old feudal family. In Zurich the nobles made one of the “guilds” of the town, and the constitution was thoroughly [Pg 23] democratic. ”

“ Great was their surprise and consternation when at the junction of the Sursee and Hiltisrieden roads they came suddenly upon the Swiss force, which they had imagined to be idling away the time at Zurich. The steep hillsides crossed by brooks and hedges looked a battlefield impracticable enough for cavalry evolutions, yet the young nobles in high glee at the prospect of winning their spurs in such a spot pleaded for the place against the better reason of all men. ”

“ What the deuce had that girl been doing in Zurich all this while? She was too attractive to go about that seething city alone with market-cart and horse. Some fresh young officer—
"Smith?"
He looked up, mildly surprised at my vehemence.
"Where the devil do you suppose Thusis is?" I asked.
"In Zurich, isn't she?"
"Yes, but she's been gone a long time and she ought to be back."
"Probably," he said, "she's gallivanting with some handsome young fellow along the Lake promenade. Possibly she's lunching at the Baur-au-Lac with some fascinating lieutenant. ”

“ The thirteenth century spread enlightenment amongst the benighted people of the Middle Ages, and increased the growth of political freedom in the cities, thanks to the struggles between the Papacy and the Hohenstaufen. Zurich had early emancipated herself from the spiritual sway and influence of her abbess mistress. ”

“ Zurich, now the greatest authority on the subject in Switzerland, the lakemen left their watery settlements about the date just given, and began to fix their habitations on terra firma. Various tombs already found on land would bear witness to this change. When these peculiar people had once come on shore to live they would be gradually absorbed into neighbouring and succeeding races, no doubt into some of the Celtic tribes, and most likely into the Helvetian peoples. Thus they have their part, however small it may be, in the history of the Swiss nation. ”

“ The landvogt of Zurich circulates Lutheran books in the free bailiwicks; a parson has said at Rifferschweil that it is all one to baptize a man or a block of wood; the priests take wives, and the monks and nuns abandon the convents. No longer can this be borne, and we pray Zurich to maintain the old treaties and customs, and then we will cheerfully aid in rooting out real abuses, the shameful trade in benefices, the selling of indulgences and the scandalous lives of the clergy. ”

“ The canton of Zurich contains one hundred and fifty thousand souls, upon an area of forty miles by thirty, and abounds in corn, wine, and all the ordinary productions of excellent pastures. Literature has been encouraged, and has constantly flourished in this country, from the time of Zuinglius to that of Gesner and Lavater. The inhabitants are industrious, their manufactures considerable, and their commerce extensive. ”

“ I prefer this to all Zurich's historic past, with due deference even to the Battle of Zurich. Napoleon and his captains, passing from victory to victory, brought the Russians to Paris.
Winterthur is a new and industrial little market-town, or rather one long clean street. Constance has an air of belonging to nobody; it is open to all the world. I entered it, on the 27th of August, without seeing a custom-house officer or a soldier and without being asked for my passport. ”

“ Without them, Zurich was no longer able to carry on the war. The favorable moment had passed. Time had been given to the Five Cantons to gather and strengthen their army. The sight of their collective force raised the courage of individuals. In numbers they were not inferior to the Zurichers; surpassed them rather. And then, they beheld an abundance of provisions in the Zurichan camp, whilst in theirs, and at home in their vallies, want and famine prevailed, on account of the prohibition against importation. The assurance of this accessible and needful booty whetted their thirst for combat. ”

“ Zurich, the centre of the political interests of Switzerland, where the most influential persons in the nation frequently assembled, was the place best fitted to act upon the whole country, and shed the seeds of truth over all its cantons. Accordingly, the friends of letters and the Bible hailed the appointment of Zuinglius with acclamation. At Paris, in particular, the Swiss students, who were there in great numbers, were enraptured with the news. [697] But if Zuinglius had the prospect of a great victory at Zurich, he had also the prospect of a severe contest. ”

“ These new-comers revived the old trade with Lombardy, and reintroduced the silk manufacture, which, being a monopoly, became a source of great wealth to Zurich. Thus the town was rewarded for its hospitality. Some of the aristocratic Zurich families of to-day trace their origin to these Locarno refugees.
The city of Zurich was indeed at this time a general asylum for religious refugees from all quarters. Germans, Italians, and English fled there, and especially the Marian exiles from England. We find Peter Martyr from Oxford established as a professor at the Carolinum ”