Goldcoast (Switzerland)

Lake of Zürich

The Swiss Goldcoast (German: Goldküste) is the name given to the lower eastern shore of the Lake Zurich in the Swiss canton of Zurich.[a] This prosperous region lies on the north-eastern shore of the lake and thus benefits from the evening sun. The Goldcoast is noted for its low tax rate and high property prices. The sunny south-western slopes of the Pfannenstiel mountain are given over to wine growing.

The opposite shore, however, is derisively dubbed ‘the Sniffle Coast’ (Swiss German dialect ‘Pfnüselküste’) because its topography and north-easterly aspect mean that it lies in the shadow of its own mountains – a state of affairs which often occurs in the early winter evenings and in contrast to the Goldcoast, which remains bathed in sunshine.[1]

Municipalities

The following municipalities are situated on the Goldcoast (from north to south):

All of the above are within the district of Meilen. The rest of the right shore of Lake Zurich is sometimes also referred to as being on the Goldcoast.

Goldcoast railway line

"Goldcoast Express" in 1983

The railway line along the right shore of Lake Zurich, from Zurich to Rapperswil, is known as the Lake Zurich right bank railway line. On 26 May 1968 service along this route started with unusual wine-red ‘Mirage’ EMU, which were nicknamed the "Goldcoast Express" (Goldküstenexpress). It took the old route of the line via the Letten Tunnel and Zürich Letten station. They were capable of operating at high speed. It was incorporated into the Zurich S-Bahn, which opened in 1990, and the line is since operated by the S7 service, which uses the whole line, and the S6, S16 and S20 services, which run only on part of the line.

Cycle route

Cycle route 66 (Rapperswil–Baden) follows the Goldcoast (34 km (21 mi)) and continues northwards along the river Limmat.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ The left and right shores are defined with reference to the river Linth, which enters the lake at its south-easterly end and flows out through the city of Zurich at the north-westerly end, at which point it is known as the river Limmat.

References

  1. ^ Send, Erich (21 September 2009). "Gold- und Pfnüselküste: die zwei Seiten des Zürichsees" (Podcast) (in German). Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (SRF). A Swiss Radio broadcast 5:45 minutes in length.
  2. ^ "Goldküste–Limmat". www.myswitzerland.com. Retrieved 4 August 2025.

Further reading

  • Wille-Gut, Katharina (2004). Leben an der Goldküste. Aus dem Tagebuch einer Privilegierten. Oberhofen: Zytglogge. ISBN 3-7296-0684-0.
  • Sitzler, Susann (2008). Überleben in Zürich. 365 Dinge, die man über diese Stadt wissen sollte. Berlin: Links. ISBN 978-3-86153-466-2.

47°17′53″N 8°36′19″E / 47.29806°N 8.60528°E / 47.29806; 8.60528

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