Zürich, Switzerland

🇨🇭 Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the north-western tip of Lake Zürich. Zürich is a hub for railways, roads, and air traffic. Both Zurich Airport and its main railway station are the largest and busiest in the country.

Permanently settled for over 2,000 years, Zürich was founded by the Romans, however, early settlements have been found dating back more than 6,400 years . During the Middle Ages, Zürich gained the independent and privileged status of imperial immediacy and, in 1519, became a primary centre of the Protestant Reformation in Europe under the leadership of Huldrych Zwingli.

Many museums and art galleries can be found in the city, including the Swiss National Museum and Kunsthaus. Schauspielhaus Zürich is considered to be one of the most important theatres in the German-speaking world.

Zürich is among the world's largest financial centres despite having a relatively small population. The city is home to many financial institutions and banking companies.

In a survey by CityMayors.com, Zürich was ranked 9th among the "World's 10 Most Powerful Cities". The Greater Zürich Area is Switzerland's economic centre and home to many international companies. By far the most important sector in the economy of Zürich is the service industry, which employs nearly four-fifths of workers. Other important industries include light industry, machine and textile industries and tourism. Located in Zürich, the Swiss Stock Exchange was established in 1877 and is nowadays the fourth most prominent stock exchange in the world. In addition, Zürich is the world's largest gold trading centre. Ten of the country's 50 largest companies have their head offices in Zürich, among them ABB, UBS, Credit Suisse, Swiss Re and Zürich Financial Services. Most Swiss banks have their headquarters in Zürich and there are numerous foreign banks in the Greater Zürich Area. "Gnomes of Zürich" is a colloquial term used for Swiss bankers on account of their alleged secrecy and speculative dealing.

Contributory factors to economic strength The high quality of life has been cited as a reason for economic growth in Zürich. The consulting firm Mercer has for many years ranked Zürich as a city with the highest quality of life in the world. In particular, Zürich received high scores for work, housing, leisure, education and safety. Local planning authorities ensure clear separation between urban and recreational areas and there are many protected nature reserves. Zürich is also ranked the third most expensive city in the world.

Zürich benefits from the high level of investment in education which is typical of Switzerland in general and provides skilled labour at all levels. The city is home to two major universities, thus enabling access to graduates and high technology research. Professional training incorporates a mix of practical work experience and academic study while, in general, emphasis is placed on obtaining a good level of general education and language ability. As a result, the city is home to many multilingual people and employees generally demonstrate a high degree of motivation and a low level of absenteeism. The employment laws are less restrictive as nearby Germany or France. Technology new start, FinTech and others in MedTech secure good seed and starter funding.

The Swiss stock exchange The Swiss stock exchange is called SIX Swiss Exchange. The SIX Swiss Exchange is the head group of several different world-wide operative financial systems: Eurex, Eurex US, EXFEED, STOXX, and virt-x. The exchange turnover generated at the SWX was in 2007 of 1,780,499.5 million CHF; the number of transactions arrived in the same period at 35,339,296 and the Swiss Performance Index (SPI) arrived at a total market capitalisation of 1,359,976.2 million CHF. The SIX Swiss Exchange goes back more than 150 years to its foundation in 1873. Since 2008, the SIX Swiss Exchange has been part of the SIX Group.