Winterthur (German pronunciation: [ˈvɪntɐtuːɐ̯] ⓘ; French: Winterthour) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland.

It was fortified into a castrum at the end of the third century, apparently in reaction to the incipient Alamannic invasion.

Winterthur as a city (presumably on the site of a pre-existing village) was founded by Hartmann III of Dillingen in 1180, shortly before his death in the same year.

Winterthur suffered severely from its investments in and guarantee of loans to the National Railway of Switzerland (a private enterprise).

In 1878, Winterthur had to sell its shares in the line, and from 1881 to 1885 it was in great difficulties due to a loan of nine million francs guaranteed in 1874 by the town, together with three others in Aargau, to the enterprise.

As the three co-guarantor towns were unable to pay their shares, the whole burden fell on Winterthur, which struggled to meet its liabilities.

The city is located in a basin south and east of the river Töss before it meets the High Rhine after 10 kilometers.

As of 2004-2009[update], Winterthur has an area of 68.1 km2 (26.3 sq mi); 24.8% is used for agricultural purposes, 40.4% is forested, 33.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and 1.1% is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains).

In the mandate period 2018–2022 (Legislatur) the City Council is presided by Stadtpräsident Michael Künzle.

The regular election of the City Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years.

[11] Ansgar Simon is Town Chancellor (Stadtschreiber) since 2016 and Marcel Wendelspiess is Legal Counsel (Rechtskonsulent) since 2013 for the City Council.

Any resident of Winterthur allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the Large Municipal Council.

[12] The last regular election of the Large Municipal Council was held on 8 March 2018 for the mandate period (German: Legislatur) from May 2018 to April 2022.

[10] In the 2019 federal election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the PS which received 22.6% (−3.4) of the vote.

[14] In the 2015 election for the Swiss National Council the most popular party was the SPS which received 26.1% of the vote.

In 2010, Peraves won the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize with an electric powered version of the Monotracer.

[23] The town is renowned for its institute of higher education Technikum, which is the largest school of technology in Switzerland.

The institute has recently teamed up with schools from Zurich and is now known as Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften (ZHAW).

EuroCity services to Munich and regional trains to St. Gallen, Konstanz or Romanshorn also serve the station.

As well as the Hauptbahnhof, there are nine more stations within the city, called Oberwinterthur, Seen, Grüze, Töss, Hegi, Reutlingen, Wülflingen, Wallrüti and Sennhof-Kyburg.

Nevertheless, Winterthur is mentioned in most tourist guides for its numerous museums, many of which offer world class art, among them of the Gottfried Keller-Stiftung.

[26] The city hall Stadthaus, in which the concerts of the Musikkollegium take place, was built by Gottfried Semper.

Musikfestwochen, in late August and early September, sees Winterthur's Old Town taken over for live music of all kinds, in the street and bars as well as in concert venues.

Although a recent creation, the festival celebrates the granting of a charter to the town in 1264 by Rudolf of Habsburg on 22 June of that year, which happened to be the saint's day.

Among the approximate 60 artists who participate there are local, international, autodidacts and art academy graduates.

Open Doors Winterthur publishes the annual MAP Magazine Artist Professionals which is available on line and in print form.

The arena held in April 2011 the 2011 IIHF Women's World Championship top division, sharing the hosting with the Hallenstadion in Zurich.

FC Winterthur are the city's football club and currently play in the Swiss Super League.

Winterthur Lions AFC, founded in 2017, have been playing Australian rules football in the AFL Switzerland league since 2019.