Switzerland · Kanton Zürich · Zürich
Zürich (Kreis 1) / Lindenhof, Zürich — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Lindenhof is the old-town hill of Zürich's Kreis 1, site of a Roman castle and a later Carolingian Kaiserpfalz above the Limmat.
About Zürich (Kreis 1) / Lindenhof
Where to stay in Zürich (Kreis 1) / Lindenhof
Not every neighbourhood fits every trip — here's what each one is good for.
Kreis 1 puts Lindenhof inside the old town, which settles most of the question. Rooms here sit within minutes of the Rennwegtor, the Uhrenmuseum Beyer, and the Limmat, so a stay is walkable to nearly everything a first visit to Zürich is after. Space is the trade-off.
Those who would rather have the river than the hill can look for a bed nearer the Schipfe, while anyone coming for the Swiss National Museum will find it a short walk from the hill.
About Zürich (Kreis 1) / Lindenhof
What are the main landmarks in Zürich (Kreis 1) / Lindenhof?
The hill itself is the first landmark. Under the crown of the hill lie the remains of the Roman castle noted in the record, along with the earlier hilltop settlement listed as the Oppidum Zürich-Lindenhof and the name Turicum that goes with it. Museums crowd the quarter.
The Swiss National Museum, the Museum Strauhof, the Zürcher Spielzeugmuseum and the Uhrenmuseum Beyer stand within a few streets of one another, and the Zürich James Joyce Foundation keeps its rooms among them. Older Zürich shows in the Rennwegtor, the Augustinerkloster Zürich and the Oetenbach nunnery.
What is the history of Zürich (Kreis 1) / Lindenhof?
Rome came first here. A castle stood on the Lindenhof, and the Carolingians later raised a Kaiserpfalz on the same ground, which is why the hill reads as the oldest ground in Zürich rather than one quarter among many. Religious houses followed.
The Oetenbach nunnery and the Augustinerkloster Zürich took ground in the quarter, the Rennwegtor belongs to the same older layer, and the Alfred Escher memorial fountain marks a far later addition among the lanes.
Where is Zürich (Kreis 1) / Lindenhof?
Lindenhof crowns its own hill on the left bank of the Limmat, rising above the Schipfe within the old town of Zürich.
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Updated September 2026