Politics

Switzerland is the oldest democracy in the world. It dates back to the Federal Constitution of 1848, when the loose confederation of states making up the Old Confederation was transformed into the modern federal state on which the present-day Swiss Confederation is based.

City Government

Political Buildings

Town Hall The Town Hall links modern-day politics with history. After the death of the last in the line of the Zähringer family, which had acted as a kind of city ruler, Zürich was granted the right to be a free imperial city and was placed under the direct authority of the Holy Roman Emperor. Filled with a new sense of self-importance, the people of Zürich razed the castle on the Lindenhof to the ground, and in its place built the city’s first Town Hall next to the Limmat. In 1336, with the help of the local craftsmen, the nobleman, Rudolf Brun, stormed the City Council and founded the Constitution of the Guilds. The guilds exerted considerable political influence from the end of the 14th century right up to the French Revolution. The famous writer, Gottfried Keller, was frequently to be found at the Town Hall, where he worked as a clerk. The present-day Late Renaissance building had two predecessors. The Cantonal Council meets at the Town Hall on Mondays (their meetings are open to the public), while the Municipal Council convenes on Wednesdays.

City Hall While Zürich’s legislative body convenes at the Town Hall, the executive body holds its meetings in the City Hall on the other bank of the Limmat. The main task of the City Council is to administer the affairs of the city. The City Hall was built in 1883 in Renaissance style. Between 1898 and 1901, it was reconstructed by Gustav Gull to create the present building, with its medieval architectural elements.