Winterthur

The name Winterthur traces back to the Celtic settlement Uitoduro, meaning roughly pasture gate. The Romans Latinised it to Vitudurum around 280 AD, establishing a vicus at present-day Oberwinterthur. Roman timber buildings have been dendrochronologically dated to around 4 BC. The settlement flourished with a temple, thermal baths, and a water supply system. During the Alemannic invasions, the vicus was replaced by a fortified castrum on the St. Arbogast hill, dated to 294 AD.

Kyburg Castle overlooks the Töss valley, about 3 km south-east of Winterthur. First fortified in the 10th century, the modern castle dates to ca. 1200 when Duke Ulrich III von Kyburg ordered its construction. The Kyburgs founded Winterthur as a city around 1175. When the Kyburg male line went extinct in 1264, their holdings passed to the House of Habsburg. The castle is the best-preserved feudal keep in north-eastern Switzerland.

The Musikkollegium Winterthur was founded in 1629 by clergyman Hans Heinrich Meyer, making it one of the oldest continuously operating musical institutions in Europe. Originally a choir of 30–40 members who each had to sing and play an instrument. In the early 20th century, patron Werner Reinhart and conductor Hermann Scherchen turned Winterthur into a European musical hub, hosting Stravinsky, Richard Strauss, and Anton Webern.

Alfred Büchi (1879–1959), born in Winterthur, invented the exhaust-gas turbocharger, patenting it in 1905. His work at Sulzer and the Büchi Syndicate revolutionised diesel engines worldwide. Sulzer, founded in 1834 by Johann Jakob Sulzer-Neuffert, became one of the great engine manufacturers. Rudolf Diesel himself worked at Sulzer in 1879, and Sulzer built its first diesel engine in 1898. The city named Alfred-Büchi-Weg in his honour in 2012.

The Sammlung Oskar Reinhart Am Römerholz is a world-class art museum in the collector’s 1915 villa. It contains 207 works spanning Late Gothic to early 20th century, including Cranach the Elder, Bruegel the Elder, El Greco, Renoir, Cézanne, Manet, van Gogh, and early Picasso. Oskar Reinhart (1885–1965), son of trading magnate Theodor Reinhart, bequeathed the collection to the Swiss Confederation; it has been open to the public since 1970.

The Swiss Science Center Technorama is the only science centre in Switzerland and one of the largest in Europe, with over 500 hands-on exhibits across 6,500 m² on three floors. Over 64,000 schoolchildren visit annually. Located in Oberwinterthur, it was expanded in 2021 with Technorama Outdoors. The centre encourages learning through direct experimentation and play.

Joan Gamper (Hans-Max Gamper, 1877–1930), born in Winterthur, co-founded FC Zurich in 1896 and then founded FC Barcelona in 1899. He served as Barcelona’s president five times and scored over 100 goals in 48 matches. The annual Trofeo Joan Gamper pre-season tournament honours his legacy. He remains one of the most significant figures in football history to come from Switzerland.

Schloss Hegi was first mentioned in 1225. Its core is a defensive residential tower with a moat, built around 1200 to secure property of the Bishopric of Constance. The Lords of Hohenlandenberg expanded it from 1460 with ring walls and a half-timber residence with chapel. The bishop’s living room (1496) is one of the most important medieval rooms in eastern Switzerland. Winterthur also has Kyburg Castle and the Mörsburg, giving the city three remarkable medieval castles.