Fortifications of Zurich

In the late Middle Ages, the present Sechseläutenplatz area was the location of the former military harbour of the city of Zürich respectively part of the so-called Stadelhoferbollwerk bastion on Zürichsee lakeshore.

The stronghold replaced a wooden mounting in the garden of the Oetenbach convent and had to secure the western town wall and the gate at the Limmat.

Numerous finds came to light, including the grave stone of Ulrich I von Regensberg, which was misused as a loophole cornice of the bulwark.

The bulwark comprised casemates with loopholes and a platform for the artillery to defend against attackers on the lake, and to complete the opposite Bauschänzli bastion respectively the medieval Grendeltor.

[4] From 1642, an impressive set of ramparts was built based on plans by Hans Georg Werdmüller and Johann Ardüser, at an immense cost and completed only in the second half of the 18th century.