The Romans created the settlement in 15 B.C., calling it Turicum, though archaeologists have found settlements in the area dating back 6,400+ years. It’s is the largest city in Switzerland, with a metropolitan area containing 1.83million people. Like Lucerne, the people speak a variety of Alemannic Swiss German, here known as Zürich German.

This region played a key role in the Protestant Reformation, fueled by reformer Huldrych (Ulrich) Zwingli.

On January 1, 1519, Zwingli, still a Roman Catholic priest, did away with the traditional Latin lectionary and began expository sermons through the New Testament in his native tongue.

By 1525, he’d finished the entire New Testament and then moved on to exposit the Old. In the interim, Zwingli dissociated himself from the Catholic Church, decried papal and conciliar authority, and had the Mass abolished in Zurich, making it the world’s first magisterial Protestant state.

– Alex Duke, 4 Ways the Reformation Changed the Church

The city is also the capital of the canton of Zürich, is a major global financial hub, and is widely considered one of the top cities in the world to live in.

The Canton of Zürich is Switzerland’s most populous, with 1.5million inhabitants. It’s residents speak a local variety of German, Züritüütsch.

Coat of Arms

The Canton is divisible into six geographical regions: the city, Lake Zürich (containing the island of Ufenau), the Unterland (lowlands) in the northwest, the Oberland (highlands) in the southeast, the Weinland (wine country) and city of Winterthur in the northeast, and the Knonaueramt in the southwest.

It is widely considered one of the wealthiest regions in Switzerland/Europe. The median income for an individual was a staggering ~$83,000/year in 2008.