Sechseläutenplatz, Zürich

Sechseläutenplatz
<span class="nickname" ">Sechseläutenplatz

Sechseläutenplatz
Former name(s) Sechseläutenwiese; Theaterplatz; Stadelhoferbollwerk
Owner City of Zürich
Addresses Sechseläutenplatz
Location Zürich, Switzerland
Postal code 8001
Coordinates 47°21′58″N 8°32′45″E / 47.3661°N 8.5459°E
Construction
Construction start 11 Mai 2009
Completion 31 January 2014 (Opéra parking)
Inauguration 22 April 2014

Sechseläutenplatz is a town square situated in Zürich, Switzerland, being the biggest open area within the city.

Geography

Sechseläutenplatz is located in front of the Zürich Opera house respetively opposite of Bellevueplatz on Zürichsee lakeshore, bounded by Theaterstrasse and Utoquai. Being the biggest town square outside of the former medieval town walls in the Altstadt of Zürich, it is situated on the right shore of the Limmat river. The square is 200 meters in the south of the Stadelhofen railway station respectively Stadelhoferplatz is situated to its northeast, as well as the Forchbahn terminus and the tram lines 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11 and 15 at Bellevue. On 30 November 2011 the government of Zürich announced, that some streets will be renamed by redesigning the public area at Sechseläutenplatz: Theaterplatz will be part of the Sechseläutenplatz area, Gottfried-Keller-Strasse and Goethestrasse partially repealed. The residents have been informed that they will be addressed as Sechseläutenplatz 1 to 10. In all, Sechseläutenplatz covers an area of about 16,000 square meters.

History

Prehistory

Internationally known is the area since 2009, as in the beginning of the construction of the underground parking facility the remains of Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee,[1][2] in the immediate vicinity of the wetland soil settlement Kleiner Hafner in the lower basin of Zürichsee, were found. Instead of a rescue excavation, the construction works were suspended for nine months and the settlement remains were systematically archaeologically recorded; the results of the excavations are permanently shown in the pavillon to the lakeshore.

Pile dwellings 'Kleiner Hafner' and 'Grosser Hafner'

location of the sites Kleiner Hafner and Grosser Hafner at the Sechseläutenplatz area

Once a former island or peninsula at the estuary of Zürichsee lakeshore and the Limmat river, the settlement Kleiner Hafner including the former island Grosser Hafner are very rarely sites, because all periods of pile dwelling are represented. There are finds from the Neolithic Egolzwil, Cortaillod and Horgen cultures forming an important reference assemblage which allows to study the cultural development during the late 5th and early 4th millennia BC.[3]

The prehistoric settlements in the lower Zürichsee area, among them Kleiner Hafnerand Grosser Hafner, are part of the site Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, being one of 111 locations with the greatest scientific potential.[4]

Since the middle ages

In the late European Middle Ages, the Sechseläutenplatz (literally: Sechseläuten square) area was the location of the former military harbour of the city of Zürich respectively part of the so-called Stadelhoferbollwerk bastionon Zürichsee lakeshore. The former Stadelhofer bulwark was built as part of the so-called fourth city fortifications in 1643 AD. The bastion was built partly into the lake, and in 1673 the Stadelhofen ravelin was attached, and completely broken in 1838.[5] First mentioned in 1896 as Sechseläutenplatz, the Tonhalle (opened in 1867) respectively former Kornhaus (used from 1839 to 1860) building was broken, and from around the 1910s to 2008 the place was a meadow commonly known as Sechseläutenwiese. It was used since 1902 for the Sechseläuten in spring and for events, among them for the Circus Knie. To ensure the food supply of the city population in wartimes, potatoes were planted in November 1940 on the Sechseläutenwiese (literally: meadow). The area towards to the Opernhouse was used as a parking facility from the 1960s until 2008.

Redesign

Due to a referendum, the construction work did not start as planned in January 2012 – the voters of the city of Zürich agreed on 23 September 2012 the object credit for the redesign of the square with 60.7%. In January 2013 the main work was started, and about a year later the redesignded Sechseläutenplatz was inaugurated. The cost of the redesigning sums for the city of Zürich to 17.2 million Swiss Francs, of which 10,250,000 were used on the renewal, road drainage and superstructure of the neighbouring roads.[6] The total costs for square design and construction works sums to around CHF 28 million of which 11 million are paid by the canton of Zürich. The degradation of a car lane on the Utoquai roadway caused to a bitter dispute between the city and the canton of Zürich; the district court issued a decision in favor of the city's interest.[7] The planning works were done by Zach + Zünd Architekten, Vetsch Nipkow Landschaftsarchitekten, Heyer Kaufmann Bauingenieure.

Architecture

The opening of the underground parking facilty Opéra allowed, as well for the Münsterhof square, to replace the surface parking facilities to by underground parking and to expand the public square towards the Opera House, with the aim of the city government, an upgrade for pedestrians in and in Zürich at a central location, to create a place with international appeal.[6] A total of 110,000 blocks of stone from Vals quartzite – 10 to 13 centimeters wide and between 50 and 130 centimeters long – form the square. The material was thoroughly and tested over a long period, with respect to cleaning, slip resistance or behavior during prolonged heat. To exclude damage on burning of the Böögg and extensively use on occasion of Sechseläuten, a shell of firebrick was installed. As well the impact of elephant dung on the were Vals quartzite was tested, and anchorages for the Knie's circus tent firmly integrated in the surface structure.[8] Optical influential is the natural stone tiles Vals quartzite which occupies an area of 12,600 square meters. The last stones were laid on 19 November 2013, three weeks earlier than planned. In February and March 2014 in all 56 seven-year-old red oaks and tulip trees were plainted. These varieties were particularly suitable for a good inner city location.[7][9]

Parking Opéra

Opened in May 2012 it houses two parking levels for 299 cars. The entrance is situated at Falkenstrasse/Schillerstrasse. On Sechseläutenplatz there are two pavilions to access by pedestrians: In one of the pavilions a boulevard café is housed, finds of the excavation and an overview of the findings are presented in the second pavilion (Archäologie im Parkhaus Opera) on two floors.[10] The parking facility is operated by the Opéra AG, a consortium of the complaints Hardturmstrasse AG and AMAG. Up to 50 parking spaces are reserved for long-term tenants.

Infrastructure and fountain

entrance to the underground infrastructure

Accessible by a staircase that is below a six-ton facade of steel and stones, the civil engineering department of the city of Zürich provides the 'hidden' infrastructure below the groundwater level, which specifies the Lake Zürich. In an underground room the power for the lighting is spread over miles of cable, and the electrical energy for the machines in a second room, as well as 51 hoppers mounted in metal, are located. These are the nozzles through which splash water at the upper end, being the most elaborate water feature that Zürich has seen so far. The water flow to each nozzle is controlled individually, and enables up to eight meters high fountains, in normal operation pop up two meter and less. On the surface of the fountain there's a collection of circular jets, in between it has small, round bumps. All surrounded by slots where the majority of the water should flow back again in a chamber, which is located next to the dozens of pipes, pumps and controls. Small stones, sand etc is collected and washed down. From this chamber the water passes into a second, 24 cubic meters large chamber. Subsequently, the well water is pumped through three filter systems for processing with chlorine and filter glass water again. The purified water passes through a third chamber in the 51 pipes, that even may be programmed as accurate to accompany a piece of music with the water jets. In each nozzle is a white LED light that illuminates the water from below in the night. In all 1.5 million Swiss Francs are paid for the design.[11]

Activities and sights

Circus Knie in May 2014

According to the government's concept, the area may be used for events for at least 180 days, among them Circus Knie, Sechseläuten and the Zürich film festival - in the summer months the place must have full public access for at least 120 days - per year to fulfill its function as the main inner-city space. Events are limited to the area of the former Sechseläutenwiese.[6] The former theater square in front of the Opera House has to serve as the connection between Stadelhoferplatz and the Zürichsee lakeshore. The city's authorities declared the area between Stadelhofen station and Sechseläutenplatz as car-free zone.

Cultural Heritage

Located on the then swamp land between Limmat river and Zürichsee around Sechseläutzenplatz on small islands and peninsulas in Zürich, Prehistoric pile dwellings around Zürichsee were set on piles to protect against occasional flooding by the Linth and Jona rivers. Zürich–Enge Alpenquai is located on Zürichsee lakeshore in Enge, a locality of the municipality of Zürich. It was neighboored by the settlements at Kleiner Hafner and Grosser Hafner on a then peninsula respectively island in the effluence of the Limmat river, within an area of about 0.2 square kilometres (49.42 acres) in the city of Zürich. As well as being part of the 56 Swiss sites of the UNESCO Worl Heritage Site Prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps,[12][2] the settlement is also listed in the Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance as a Class object.[13]

See also

External links

Media related to Sechseläutenplatz at Wikimedia Commons

References

  1. ↑ "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings in Switzerland". Swiss Coordination Group UNESCO Palafittes (palafittes.org). Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "World Heritage". palafittes.org. Retrieved 2014-12-07.
  3. ↑ "Fundstellen Schweiz im UNESCO-Weltkulturerbe: Kleiner Hafner und Grosser Hafer (CH-ZH-10)" (in German). palafittes.org. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  4. ↑ "UNESCO World Heritage Site – Prehistoric Pile dwellings around the Alps". UNESCO. 2011-06-21. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
  5. ↑ "Stadelhoferbollwerk" (in German). Gang dur Alt-Züri. Retrieved 2014-10-29.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Neugestaltung Sechseläutenplatz" (in German). Stadt Zürich, Tiefbau und Entsorgungsdepartement. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Thomas Schraner (2013-11-19). "High Noon für den letzten Valser Quarzit auf dem Sechseläutenplatz" (in German). Limmattaler Zeitung. Retrieved 2014-11-01.
  8. ↑ "Sechseläuten-Platz: Jetzt werden die Steine verlegt" (in German). Tages-Anzeiger. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  9. ↑ "Sechseläutenlatz: Feuerprobe bestanden" (in German). Schweiz aktuell. 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  10. ↑ "Uralte Zeitzeugen unter dem modernsten Parkhaus Zürichs" (in German). parkhaus-opera.ch. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  11. ↑ Simon Eppenberger (2014-01-29). "Die Maschine unter dem Sechseläutenplatz" (in German). Tages-Anzeiger. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
  12. ↑ "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings in Switzerland". Swiss Coordination Group UNESCO Palafittes (palafittes.org). Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  13. ↑ "A-Objekte KGS-Inventar". Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft, Amt für Bevölkerungsschutz. 2009. Retrieved 2014-12-10.