Zurich town hall

The Zurich town hall is the Rathaus of Zurich, Switzerland.

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History

It was built in 1694-1698. It served as the seat of government of the Republic of Zurich until 1798. Since 1803, it has been owned by the Canton of Zurich, housing both the cantonal and the city's municipal parliaments.

It is built on a fundament anchored in the Limmat river, now facing the Limmatquai at a bridge, the so called Rathausbrücke. The 17th century building replaces an earlier Rathaus built in 1397, which in turn replaced a 13th century court house (Richthus).

Rathaus is also the name of a quarter within the Altstadt district. It is the part of the medieval town on the right side of the Limmat, separated by the Hirschengraben from the Hochschulen quarter to the east, and delimited by the Bellevue and Central squares to the south and north, respectively.

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