Zürich
Zürich City on the River Limmat, at the nw end of Lake Zürich, in the foothills of the Alps, n Switzerland; the country's largest city. Conquered by the Romans in 58 bc, the city later came under Alemanni and then Frankish rule. It became a free imperial city in 1218, and joined the Swiss Confederation in 1351. In the 16th century, it was a focal point of the Swiss Reformation. Ulrich Zwingli founded Swiss Protestantism at Zürich's cathedral in 1523. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the city developed as a cultural and scientific centre. It has the Swiss National Museum and many old churches. Zürich is the commercial hub of Switzerland and has numerous banking and financial institutions. Industries: motor vehicles, machinery, paper, textiles, electrical products, printing and publishing, tourism. Pop. (1996) 344,000.
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Zürich
