{{Short description|Public square in Zürich, Switzerland}} {{Infobox street | name = Weinplatz | native_name = | image = Weinplatz - Gmüesbrugg - Limmatquai 2015-07-16 12-20-59.JPG | caption = Weinplatz as seen from [[Limmatquai]], [[Rathausbrücke, Zürich|Rathausbrücke]] in the foreground, Storchen hotel to the left, Schwert tower to the right. | former_names = | postal_code = 8001 | addresses = Weinplatz | length = | width = | location = [[Zürich-Lindenhof]], [[Switzerland]] | owner = City of Zürich | sector = | type = pedestrian | coordinates = {{coord|47.372|N|8.542|E}} | commissioning_date = | construction_start_date = | completion_date = | inauguration_date = | main_contractor = | cost = }} '''Weinplatz''' (literally: ''wine square'') is a popular public square adjacent to the [[Rathausbrücke, Zürich|''Gmüesbrugg'' bridge]] and the historical [[Schipfe]] quarter. [[File:Altartafeln von Hans Leu d.Ä. (Haus zum Rech) - linkes Limmatufer - Weinplatz 2013-04-03 16-21-52.JPG|thumb|upright|Weinplatz at the wooden medieval [[Rathausbrücke, Zürich|bridge]] between [[Schipfe]] and Weinplatz, and the present [[Limmatquai]], ''Altarbilder'' by Hans Leu d.Ä., {{circa}} 1498]] [[File:Spelterini Zürich City.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Quaibrücke, Zürich|Quaibrücke]], [[Münsterbrücke Zürich|Münsterbrücke]] and Rathausbrücke on an aerial photograph by [[Eduard Spelterini]], c. 1895]] [[File:Gmüesbrugg - Weinplatz - Limmatquai 2015-02-26 12-35-02.JPG|thumb|upright|Weinplatz and Rathausbrücke as seen from Limmatquai]]
== Geography == Weinplatz is situated in the historical center of Zürich, previously known as [[Turicum (Zürich)|Celtic-Roman ''Turicum'']], on the southeastern foothill of the [[Oppidum Zürich-Lindenhof|Lindenhof]], right westerly of the [[Rathausbrücke, Zürich|Rathausbrücke]] bridge-plaza, north of the [[Münsterhof]] plaza, and south of the [[Schipfe]] quarter on the eastern bank of the [[Limmat]].
== Transportation == Located next to the Rathausbrücke,<ref name="gsz-75jahre">{{cite web|url=https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/dam/stzh/ted/Deutsch/gsz/Natur-%20und%20Erlebnisraeume/Publikationen%20und%20Broschueren/Sukkulenten-Sammlung/Vom%20Buerkliplatz%20zur%20Sukkulenten-Sammlung1.pdf|title=Vom Bürkliplatz zur Sukkulenten-Sammlung|publisher=[[Grün Stadt Zürich]]|author=Grün Stadt Zürich|language=German|date=May 2006|accessdate=2015-01-07|archive-date=2011-08-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110814134035/http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/dam/stzh/ted/Deutsch/gsz/Natur-%20und%20Erlebnisraeume/Publikationen%20und%20Broschueren/Sukkulenten-Sammlung/Vom%20Buerkliplatz%20zur%20Sukkulenten-Sammlung1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> public transport is provided by the [[Trams in Zürich|Zürich tram]] lines 2, 4, and 15. At the ''Storchen'' stop, [[Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft]] provides also public transportation towards [[Bürkliplatz]] and [[Zürichhorn]]. Individual transportation usually is prohibited.<ref name="limmatquai-stadtzürichpolizei">{{cite web|url=https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/pd/de/index/dav/themen_projekte/limmatquai.html|title=Limmatquai|publisher=Poliezidepartement Stadt Zürich|author=|language=German|accessdate=2015-01-06}}</ref> The area is part of the [[pedestrian zone]] in the old town of Zürich, hence, vehicle traffic is limited between lower [[Limmatquai]] downstream and the [[Bellevueplatz]] square upstream.
== History == {{main|Turicum}} In 70/75 AD a harbor district rose on the newly acquired lands on the Limmat riverbank at the foot of the former [[Oppidum Zürich-Lindenhof|Oppidum Lindenhof]] at the [[Schipfe]]–Weinplatz area, and the settlement area of the Gallo-Roman ''[[Turicum]]'' was extended on the right bank of the Limmat at the present [[Limmatquai]]. Public buildings made of stone and paved roads were built. Suggested by the recent archaeological evidence uncovered during construction at [[Münsterbrücke, Zürich|Münsterbrücke]], the present Weinplatz may have been the site of the civilian harbour of the [[Turicum (Zürich)|Celtic-Roman ''Turicum'']].<ref name="turicumII">{{cite web|url=https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/hbd/de/index/archaeologie_denkmalpflege_u_baugeschichte/stadtarchaeologie/projekte/turicum/turicum_2.html|title=Turicum II|publisher=Hochbaudepartement Stadt Zürich|author=|language=German|date=|accessdate=2015-01-07}}</ref> At the site of the present Weinplatz towards [[St. Peterhofstatt]] the remains of remarkable 2nd to 4th century AD ''[[Thermae]]'' were excavated.<ref name="thermen">{{cite web|url=http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/dam/stzh/hbd/Deutsch/Archaeologie_Denkmalpflege/Weitere%20Dokumente/Stadtarchaeologie/Stadtgeschichte/Thermengasse_InfoblattDoppelseite.pdf|title=Informationsblatt Thermengasse, die römischen Bäder von Turicum|publisher=Stadt Zürich, Abteilung für Städtebau|author=|language=German|date=|accessdate=2015-08-21|archive-date=2014-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313085529/http://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/content/dam/stzh/hbd/Deutsch/Archaeologie_Denkmalpflege/Weitere%20Dokumente/Stadtarchaeologie/Stadtgeschichte/Thermengasse_InfoblattDoppelseite.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Being part of the ancient ''Kornhausplatz'' (Rathhausbrücke) plaza, Weinplatz was used as a grain and vegetable store in medieval times, and became in 1630 the public market for local wines, the present ''Weinplatz'' square. Despite the relocation of the market to the [[Münsterhof]] plaza in 1647, the name is still the same.<ref name="gangdurzüri-weinplatz">{{cite web|url=http://www.gebrueder-duerst.ch/turicum/strassen/w/weinplatz/weinplatz.html|title=Weinplatz|publisher=alt-zueri.ch|author=Gebrüder Dürst|language=German|date=|accessdate=2015-01-07}}</ref> Some medieval sources mention the ''Rother Turm'' building, meaning the "red tower" which was used by the [[House of Rapperswil]] as its seat in Zürich in the early 13th century; much later it became a 'literature café' and was demolished. Weinplatz now is a popular tourist destination, nearby the Münsterhof plaza, and it is the location of some small shops and cafés.
== Points of interest ==
=== Thermengasse === [[File:Turicum - Thermengasse - Verputzreste von bemalten Wänden aus den Bädern 1.Jh.n.Chr. 2010-06-20 19-30-40.JPG|thumb|upright|1st-century AD mosaics at Thermengasse]] Towards [[St. Peterhofstatt]], the remains of the Roman ''Thermae'' were discovered on occasion of archaeological excavations in 1983/84. The site is partially open to the public and illustrated by information boards, as well as replicas of some of the artefacts that were found at the site.
=== Haus zum Schwert === First mentioned in 1265, the Zürich knight Jakob Mülner handed over his residential tower ''zum Schwert'' (literally: sword tower) to the [[Fraumünster Abbey]], and returned it as a fief. From the daughters of Gotfried II, in 1406 the complex came to Hans Brunner who set up an inn. Today, the former tower is an accommodation building and houses a shop at its ground floor.
=== Hotel Zum Storchen === The origin of the name "Zum Storchen" (literally: To the Stork) is unclear, but a local legend tells that the name comes from several of rare black storks that brooded on its roof long ago. In 1357, the building "Hus zum Storchen" (literally stork house) was mentioned for the first time in tax records of the city. About 100 years later, it was designated as a hostel, a tradition that lasted for several hundred years. In 1938 the medieval structure was rebuilt to house the present hotel, bar and restaurant.<ref name="storchen">{{cite web|url=https://www.storchen.ch/das-haus/portrait-und-geschichte/|title=Hotel zum Storchen: Portrait & Geschichte|publisher=storchen.ch|author=|language=German|date=|accessdate=2015-09-19}}</ref> The building also serves as the guild house of the ''Zunft zur Schiffleuten'', a medieval guild of the fishermen and boatmen, whose name is perhaps a reference to the ancient harbour at the [[Weinplatz]] square near the hotel.
== Literature == * Regine Abegg, Christine Barraud Wiener: ''Die Kunstdenkmäler des Kantons Zürich.'' Band II.II: ''Stadt Zürich.'' Wiese Verlag, Basel 2003. {{ISBN|978-3-906131-87-0}}.
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
== External links == {{commons category|Weinplatz (Zürich)}} {{commons category|Thermengasse (Zürich)}}
{{Zürich|state=collapsed}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weinplatz Zurich}} [[Category:Altstadt (Zurich)]] [[Category:Squares in Zurich]] [[Category:History of Zurich]]