News Blog

Zurich's leap to becoming a city-state

Kyburg Castle: 600 years ago, Zurich secured the county of Kyburg – against the will of the castle lords. Zurich's rule suddenly extended to the Rhine Falls.

Thanks to close relations with the Roman-German king, the city of Zurich received permission at the beginning of 1424 to take over the county of Kyburg against the will of the castle lords. Zurich took over Kyburg in the early summer of 1424 and massively expanded its territory as far as Schaffhausen (or as far as the Rhine Falls). In the future, a Zurich bailiff ruled Kyburg, which was by far the most essential urban bailiwick. This gave the Zurich city-state a size that made it one of the most critical city republics north of the Alps after Bern.

» Kyburg Castle (near Winterthur)

» Zurich's leap into city-state | 'The country messenger' (German)

» Schloss Kyburg bei Winterthur: Zürichs Sprung zum Stadtstaat | Der Landbote (PDF | German)

News Blog

Sensational find near Kyburg

A Knight's Gauntlet will cause an international stir

An emergency excavation in front of Kyburg Castle uncovered the completely preserved glove of a knight's armor. It is the best-preserved one ever found in Switzerland.

» Newspaper article (German)

» Further information about Kyburg (English)