Understand
In the late 19th and early 20th century, local companies such as Rieter and Sulzer turned the formally quiet little town into a booming industrial city with an incredible wealth and ever-growing workforce. Diesel engines built in Winterthur powered large ships on all seven seas, while Winterthur-built textile appliances were in service worldwide.
Starting in the 1970's and 80's, blue collar jobs started to be outsourced to countries with lower wages and unemployment rose in Winterthur. Factories were standing still and entire neighborhoods turned into "ghost towns".
However, the IT and Telco boom as well as smart decisions by the local authorities have helped to redevelop those areas into new economy and urban lifestyle areas with many offices, restaurants, schools and even a go-kart racing track.
Winterthur has also positioned itself as a cultural city with many different museums, among them the Oskar Reinhart Museum am Römerholz exhibitioning modern art, the Technorama science center and the Fotostiftung Schweiz showing Swiss and European photography.
