Postbrücke Lagerstrasse 1 Kasernenstr. Gessner- brücke Löwenstrasse 2 Löwen- platz Bahnhofstrasse 4 3 Gessnerallee Sihl- brücke 5 Sihlstrasse 6 Pelikan- Selnaustrasse platz 7 8 Selnaustrasse Talacker i Talstrasse a u q r 10 e h c a ff 9 u Sihlamtstr. ta S esse Sihlhölzlistrasse an stra hölzlibr.Sihl- M sse Tödistrasse Stockerstr. Zurlindenstrasse 11 Brandschenkestr. 12 13 e ss tra es k n e h c s d n a r 14 B Parkring Manesse- platz 15 Üetlibergstrasse Bahnhof Giesshübel Manessestrasse Rüdigerstrasse Bederstrasse Lessingstrasse Edenstrasse Aerial photograph, 2013 0 100 200 300 400 500m Giesshübelstr.16 1 The River Sihl 6 Schanzengraben 11 Synagogue 15 Sihl elevated roadway A small river with great importance The Venice of Zurich Prayer centre for the Jewish population 93 pillars dedicated to traffic 2 Sigi Feigel Terrace 7 Männerbadi (men’s bathhouse) 12 Sihl waterfall 16 Sihlcity New recreational area on the water The city’s oldest bathing facility The railway runs below it The new centre at the edge of the city 3 Kulturinsel (Culture Island) 8 Old Botanical Garden 13 Sihlhölzli Theatre, music and pirates Medicinal plants from the Middle Ages From a boys’ shooting tournament to a sports facility Through the old botanical garden leads Zurich on foot 4 Stones in the River Sihl 9 Selnau neighbourhood a gravel path. Why three stones in the river are The furthermost tip of District 1 14 Hürlimann Complex 3 A walk along the River Sihl painted red Commerce and apartments instead 10 Selnau development of beer 5 Sihlporte A model for contemporary housing Where cannons once fired upon the city estates 1 The River Sihl 9 Selnau neighbourhood Along the River Sihl on foot Duration of the walk: More than a thousand years ago, the River Sihl was Here the street names remind you of times past: The old District Courthouse from People love water. That makes it even more difficult to under- approx. 1 hour called «Silaha», a name that refers to a small river 1857 stands at Selnaustrasse 9 between Gerechtigkeitsgasse (Justice Lane) and stand why cities tend to make their rivers inaccessible. In Zu- which often has little water and is almost dried out. Friedensgasse (Peace Lane). Flössergasse (Rafters’ Lane) points out that until the rich, too, this was also the case for a long time with few ex- Originally published: 2007 The importance of the Sihl for the City of Zurich was middle of the 19th century, wood for Zurich’s construction projects was harvested in ceptions. In recent years, though, we have been creating updated: 2014 and is very great. The region from Enge to Limmat- the Sihl Forest, rafted across the river and brought on shore in Selnau. Below all these more and more access to the River Sihl and the River Lim- platz (Limmat Square) was once a huge delta on the streets rest the remains of a large Cistercian convent. The nuns who resided here from mat. In the past, the Sihl was very poorly treated, especially Imprint Sihl, and only by taming this region could the city 1256 until the Reformation in 1524 apparently didn’t live such a cloistered life – time with the eyesore of the Sihl elevated roadway. Even so, you’ll Project management: On 7 July 1562, the River Sihl rose grow. Even in the last century, the Sihl would reach above its banks and swept the and again they were punished by the Pope and high-ranking monks for disobedience see that it’s quite lovely to stroll along the River Sihl… and City of Zurich Civil flood levels where there was barely enough room for covered bridge at St. Jakob away with and bad morals. exciting, too! Engineering Department it. Source: coloured pen and ink all the water to flow below the Main Rail Station. It drawing, Graphic Arts Collection, Contents and text: was a spectacle which always lured a large audience. Central Library, Zurich. 10 Selnau development Zurich on foot – always a new discovery Philipp Anz and Ruth Kunz, Since the 1930s, the water from the Sihl has been contained in Lake Sihl, and a large Since 1996, the complex of the former Selnau rail station (today underground) has Zurich has countless tales to tell, and «Zurich on foot» brings Zurich portion of it flows through a tunnel to generate electricity and then exits into Lake Zu- been home to a municipal housing estate. The construction of 64 apartments, a kin- a few of them to life. In the process, you’ll see that our pedes- Coordination and design: rich. 2005 Zurich only narrowly escaped serious damage by the floods. If the centre of dergarten and social centre by the architect Martin Spühler, with its courtyards and its trian infrastructure is already quite good, but we want to www.anstalt.ch the rain storm had hit the Sihl catchment area instead of the Bernese Oberland, then glazed loggias, is considered a model of modern residential housing estates, and not make it even better. Walkways should be designed to be di- the Sihl would have flooded some parts of the city too. Even with low water levels in the just architecturally. rect, safe and attractive and be usable wherever possible Paper: RecyStar polar, river, the damage would have been significant due to the buildings underground. The with walking aids or baby carriages. 100% recycling paper canton of Zurich is working on a protection project for the river Sihl, which should be 11 Synagogue implemented by 2028 at the latest. Only with the Emancipation Law of 1862 were Jews allowed to freely settle in the City A third of all trips within the city are made on foot, and that of Zurich. Since 1924, the synagogue on Freigutstrasse has been the centre of prayer provides proof as to which is Zurich’s most important «means 2 Sigi Feigel Terrace for the Jewish Religious Community of Zurich (IRGZ), one of several in the city. Earlier, of transportation»: our feet! After a referendum vote in 1997, the parking facility at the Sihl Post Office was replaced the River Sihl made up the actual border between Jews already residing in Zurich and by the underground parking garage at Gessnerallee. In its spot, a recreational area those who fled from Eastern Europe starting in 1880. The «Eastern Jews» took up resi- I wish you much enjoyment while out and about. sprung up in the middle of the city. Steps made of sand lime brick invite you to relax, dence primarily on the other shore of the Sihl, in the «Schtetl on the Sihl». and they provide direct access to the River Sihl. The new square is called Sigi Feigel Terrace after the long-time president of the Jewish Community of Zurich (ICZ). 12 Sihl waterfall At the end of the 19th century, the city and the operator of the Nordostbahn (Northeast City Councillor Filippo Leutenegger 3 Kulturinsel (Culture Island) Railway) sought a solution for running tracks from the Main Rail Station to Wollishofen. Head of the Civil Engineering and Waste Management At one time cavalry horses trotted through the riding halls which were built in 1858, but At the time, the line ran through the residential districts and created traffic backups Department today there’s a small cultural district, which because of its location between the two and anger at a dozen level crossings. The decision was made to build an underpass rivers is also called the Kulturinsel (Culture Island). Situated on the Schanzengraben, and reroute the River Sihl, which until then flowed on Zurich on foot: the Theaterhaus Gessnerallee has been dedicated to contemporary dance and theatre the west side of the Sihlhölzli. In 1927 the railway was since 1989. Across from it, the Theater der Künste (Theatre of Arts) provides a stage for finally located below ground level, and the former rail- 1 The Inner City students at the Zurich University of the Arts. And finally there is the El Lokal music pub, way tunnel was converted into an auto tunnel. Even 2 Wollishofen where regular concerts are staged in a unique mix of furnishing styles with keepsakes today, the tiny, delightful signalman’s house hidden 3 Along the River Sihl from all around the world – and here you can sometimes even meet pirates. between the Sihlhölzlibrücke bridge and the tunnel 4 Wiedikon www.gessnerallee.ch, www.stall6.ch entrance is evidence of the old rail line. The Sihl water- 5 Aussersihl und Hard www.theaterderkuenste.ch fall, which arose through this running of tracks below 6 Limmat and Zurich West Construction of railway tunnel and 7 www.ellokal.ch ground level, however, again creates an obstacle – now rerouting of the River Sihl around University District for the local fish on their way to their spawning grounds. 1919. Photo: Archive of Building 8 Witikon History, City of Zurich. 4 Stones in the River Sihl 9 Seefeld In 1998, the Zurich artist Peter Ott painted three large stones in the River Sihl red. They 13 Sihlhölzli 10 Altstetten were placed there as a refuge for fish, and this work is named «Homage to the Sihl». An avenue with mighty old plane trees leads past the 11 Wipkingen Since then, Ott has had to wade into the river time and again to repaint the stones as a Sihlhölzli. Earlier, on what was once Sihl Island, there 12 Höngg result of night pranksters painting them over in other colours. was a park filled with trees, and in the second half of 13 Affoltern the 19th century the shooting range of the Zurich Rifle 14 Oerlikon 23 5 Sihlporte Society.