Archive of Contemporary History

Zentralbibliothek Zürich (Zurich Central Library) is the main library of both the city and the University of Zurich, housed in the Predigerkloster, the former Black Friars' abbey, in the old town's Rathaus quarter. It was founded in 1914 by a merger of the former cantonal and city libraries. Its history ultimately goes back to the Stiftsbibliothek of the Grossmünster abbey, first attested in 1259. Much of the abbey's library was lost in the Swiss Reformation, especially in an incident of book burning on 14 September 1525, reducing it to a total inventory of 470 volumes. From 1532, Konrad Pellikan (1478–1556) began rebuilding the Stiftsbibliothek, especially with the purchase of Zwingli's private library, and the library catalogue in 1551 lists 770 volumes. The city library had been established in 1634, and its policy to allow access only to citizens of Zurich led to disputes with the university, which led to the establishment of a cantonal library in 1835, built from some 3,500 volumes with 14,000 titles of the Stiftsbibliothek, some 340 volumes of the recent University Library (since 1833) and some 1,700 volumes of the Gymnasiumsbibliothek (since 1827). The Zentralbibliothek currently houses some 5.1 million items, among these 3.9 million printed volumes, 124,000 manuscripts, 243,000 maps and 560,000 microfiches.

The Pestalozzi-Bibliothek Zürich (PBZ) is the public library of the City of Zürich, Switzerland. It operates a total of 14 branches. The PBZ financed primarily through contributions from the city government, with a small contribution from the cantonal government.The library traces its founding to 1896 with the Pestalozzi Society, named for the educator born in Zürich and advancing his ideals. As of 2020, the PBZ system attracts about one million visits annually.

The Predigerkloster was a monastery of the Dominican Order, established around 1234 and abolished in 1524, in the imperial city of Zürich, Switzerland. Its church, the Predigerkirche, is one of the four main churches in Zürich, and was first built in 1231 as a Romanesque church of the then Dominican monastery. In the first half of the 14th century it was converted, the choir between 1308 and 1350 rebuilt, and a for that time unusually high bell tower built, regarded as the highest Gothic edifice in Zürich.

ETH Library is the largest public scientific and technical library in Switzerland. As the central university library and knowledge hub of ETH Zurich, the ETH Library ensures the provision of scientific and technical information. Furthermore, it also offers resources for the public and for companies in research and development. Particular emphasis is placed on electronic information for university members and on the development of innovative services.

The Hirschengraben Tunnel is a railway tunnel in the Swiss city of Zürich. The tunnel runs from the western approaches to Zürich Hauptbahnhof railway station, east under the station, the river Limmat and city centre before turning south and surfacing at Zürich Stadelhofen station. It includes a set of underground platforms at Zürich Hauptbahnhof, and carries twin standard gauge (1,435 mm or 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) tracks electrified at 15 kV AC 16,7 Hz using overhead catenary.The tunnel was opened in 1989, and initially allowed trains to run through Zürich onto the Lake Zürich right bank line without reversal. The original routing of the right bank line, which departed from Zürich Hauptbahnhof station in a westerly direction before performing a clockwise 270 degrees turn via a viaduct over the Limmat and passing through Letten station and the Letten Tunnel to Stadelhofen, was closed after the opening of the Hirschengraben Tunnel. The following year, the Zürichberg Tunnel opened from a junction to the south of Stadelhofen to Stettbach station, thus allowing trains to run to and from points to the east and north of Zurich without reversal. At Zürich Hauptbahnhof, the tunnel serves a pair of underground island platforms, with four platform tracks, numbered as Hauptbahnhof tracks 41 to 44 but sometimes referred to as Museumstrasse station. These platforms are linked to the station's other platforms and facilities, both underground and surface, by a complex of subways and shopping malls. The tunnel is principally used by suburban trains of the Zürich S-Bahn, but occasional use is also made by postal trains, freight trains, and long-distance passenger trains. In 2014, the routing via Hirschengraben and Zürichberg tunnels was supplemented by the Weinberg Tunnel, which links a further set of low-level platforms at Hauptbahnhof via an eastbound route to Oerlikon station, as part of the Durchmesserlinie Zürich. Unlike its 1990 equivalent, this routing is intended for use by long distance passenger trains as well as the S-Bahn.

The Polybahn, also known as the UBS Polybahn, is a funicular railway in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. The line links the Central square with the terrace by the main building of ETH Zürich, which was formerly called Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum, and from which the railway derives its name. Previous names for the line include the SBG Polybahn and the Zürichbergbahn. The line is owned by the banking group UBS AG, and operated on their behalf by the municipal transport operator Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich.The Polybahn is one of two funiculars within the city of Zürich, the other being the Rigiblick funicular in the city's northern suburbs. Additionally, the city's Dolderbahn rack railway was originally a funicular, until its conversion to rack working in the 1970s.

The University of Geneva (French: Université de Genève) is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th century, when it became a center for enlightenment scholarship. Today, it is the third largest university in Switzerland by number of students. In 1873, it dropped its religious affiliations and became officially secular. In 2009, the University of Geneva celebrated the 450th anniversary of its founding. Almost 40% of the students come from foreign countries. The university holds and actively pursues teaching, research, and community service as its primary objectives. UNIGE is a member of the League of European Research Universities (including academic institutions such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Cambridge, Heidelberg, and Milan) the Coimbra Group and the European University Association. The university has a diverse student body, with students from over 150 countries. It is also home to numerous research centers and institutes, including the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Global Studies Institute, and the Institute of Global Health.

ETH Zurich (English: ETH; Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich; German: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich) is a public research university in Zürich, Switzerland. Founded by the Swiss federal government in 1854, it was modeled on the École polytechnique in Paris, with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists; the school focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, although its 16 departments span a variety of disciplines and subjects.Like its sister institution, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), ETH Zurich is part of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology Domain, a consortium of government universities and research institutes under the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research. As a public institution, it grants admission to every Swiss resident who has matriculated. As of 2021, ETH Zurich enrolled 24,500 students from over 120 countries, of which 4,460 were pursuing doctoral degrees.ETH Zurich has a world-class reputation in academia and industry, particular in science and technology. It regularly ranks among the top three to five universities in Europe and one of the top 15 to 20 globally. In the 2022 QS World University Rankings, the university ranked eighth in the world and fourth in Europe in academic excellence, with 2021 edition placing it fourth in the world for engineering and technology (second in Europe) and first for earth and marine science. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings of 2022-23 ranked ETH Zurich 11th worldwide. Students, faculty, and researchers affiliated with ETH Zurich include 22 Nobel laureates, two Fields Medalists, three Pritzker Prize winners, and one Turing Award recipient, including Albert Einstein and John von Neumann. It is a founding member of the IDEA League and the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU), and a member of the CESAER network.

The University of Zürich (UZH, German: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine which go back to 1525, and a new faculty of philosophy. Currently, the university has seven faculties: Philosophy, Human Medicine, Economic Sciences, Law, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Theology and Veterinary Medicine. The university offers the widest range of subjects and courses of any Swiss higher education institution.

The BWI Center for Industrial Management at the ETH Zürich (formerly Institute of Industrial Engineering and Management of the ETH) conducts enterprise research as well as education and services for the ETH and commercial enterprises.

The Laboratory for Energy Conversion (LEC) formerly known as Turbomachinery Laboratory (LSM) was founded in 1892 by Aurel Boleslav Stodola. As part of the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH). The laboratory has been headed by some of the most prominent mechanical engineers in the history of turbomachinery.

Musée Visionnaire is a private museum dedicated to outsider art located in Zürich, Switzerland. It was founded on 18 November 2013. The Musée Visionnaire is a non-profit association. It is an art foyer where changing exhibitions allow visitors to discover and re-discover contemporary Art Brut | Outsider Art and experience it within the context of related art forms. Special social events are dedicated to topical subjects touching upon the world of art and current public issues.