Central (Zurich)

Central

Central
Central as seen from the Lindenhof hill, Bahnhofbrücke to the left.
Former name(s)	Leonhardplatz, Leonhardsplatz
Type	tramway, road, pedestrian
Owner	City of Zürich
Addresses	Central
Location	Zürich, Switzerland
Postal code	8001
Coordinates	47°22′37″N 8°32′38″E / 47.377°N 8.544°E / 47.377; 8.544

Central is a public square or plaza at the northern end of Limmatquai in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the city's nodal points for road and public transportation. It was formerly known as Leonhardplatz or Leonhardsplatz.

Central is in fact outside of the historical core of the medieval town of Zürich, previously the Celtic-Roman Turicum. It is situated at the right-hand (eastern) bank of the Limmat, the principal river flowing through the city of Zürich. It is opposite of the Zürich Hauptbahnhof and connected by Bahnhofbrücke, a road and tramway bridge crossing the Limmat, and connecting Rathaus and Lindenhof respectively the City and Unterstrass quarters. Situated nearby the historical Neumarkt and Niederdorf, the most remarkable landmark is the Prediger church. The former Leonhardplatz is named after the Central hotel situated there. The Seilergraben, Weinbergstrasse, Neumühlequai and Stampfenbachstrasse gather at the square. Redesigns of the Central–Bahnhofbrücke area occurred in 1950/51.

Leonhardsplatz, as it was known then, first became a node in Zürich's transport system in 1889, when the Polybahn funicular was opened up the hill to the Polytechnikum, the present ETH Zurich. In 1897, the Strassenbahn Zürich-Oerlikon-Seebach (ZOS) company made Leonhardsplatz the city terminus of their suburban tram line via Stampfenbachstrasse and Schaffhauserstrasse to Oerlikon and Seebach. Passengers were required to change at Leonhardsplatz for the separate city tramway system until 1931, when the ZOS was taken over by the Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich, who operated the city's trams.