WINTERTHUR, a flourishing industrial town in the Toss valley, canton of Zurich, Switzerland. It is 1450 feet above sea-level, and has a rapidly increasing population (in 1870, 9404; in 1880, 13,595; in 1887, 15,516), all German-speaking and nearly all Protestants. It is the point of junction of eight lines of railway, and is therefore of considerable commercial importance. Its main industries are cambric-weaving, cotton-printing, the manufacture of machinery, and wine-growing, Stadtberg being the best variety of wine grown in the neighbourhood of the town. It is a modern well-built town with a fine town-hall and well-arranged school buildings. It was formerly very wealthy and thriving, but has suffered severely from the disastrous financial enterprise of the National Railway of Switzerland which it promoted. In 1878 it had to sell its property in that line, and from 1881 to 1885 it was in great difficulties in the matter of a loan of nine million francs guaranteed in 1874 by the town, together with three others in Aargau, to that ill-fated railway. As the three co-guarantor towns were unable to pay their share, the whole burden fell on Winterthur, which has struggled valiantly to meet its liabilities, and has been helped by large loans from the cantonal and federal Governments....
The Roman settlement of Vitudurum (Celtic dur, water) was a little north-east of the present town, at the place noλv known as Ober-Winterthur. It was there that in 919 Burkhard IL, duke of Alemannia, defeated Rudolph IL, king of Transjurane Burgundy. It was practically refounded in the valley in 1180 by the counts of Kyburg, who granted it great liberty and privileges, making it the seat of their district court for the Thurgau. In 1260 the townsmen, in their zeal for additional power, overthrew the castle of the counts. In 1264 the town passed with the rest of the Kyburg inheritance to the Hapsburgs, who showed very great favour to it, and thus secured its unswerving loyalty. In 1292 the men of Zurich were beaten back in an attempt to take the town. For a short time after the outlawry of Duke Frederick of Austria, it became a free imperial city (1415-42); but after the conquest of the Thurgau by the Swiss confederates (1460-61) Winterthur, which had gallantly stood a nine weeks’ siege, was isolated in the midst of non·Austrian territory. Hence it was sold by the duke to the town of Zurich in 1467, its rights and liberties being reserved, and its history since then has been that of the other lands ruled by Zurich. In 1717— 26 Zurich tried hard by means of heavy dues to crush the rival silk and cotton industries at Winterthur, which, however, on the whole very successfully maintained its ancient rights and liberties against the encroachments of Zurich.
J. C. Troll, (S⅛scΛ. d. Stadt Winterthur, 1840.
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