Zurich, Netherlands Explained

Zurich
Native Name:Surch
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Netherlands Friesland#Netherlands
Pushpin Label Position:right
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in the Netherlands
Coordinates:53.1119°N 5.3939°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: Netherlands
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1: Friesland
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2: Súdwest-Fryslân
Unit Pref:Metric
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:145
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:CET
Utc Offset1:+1
Timezone1 Dst:CEST
Utc Offset1 Dst:+2
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:8751
Area Code Type:Dialing code
Area Code:0517

Zurich (Western Frisian: Surch) is a village the north of the Netherlands. It is located in Súdwest-Fryslân, Friesland.

History

In 1352 the place was mentioned as Zuderinghe, in 1353 as Zudrineghe, in 1399 as Sudringe, in 1482 as Surich, in 1505 as Suyrich, in 1579 as Surich, and at the end of the 17th century in Frisian as Swrich. The place-name probably indicates something southern, what is unclear.

The name is very similar to Zürich and in English identical. As a result, the village receives many visitors, including from Switzerland. Therefore a 2000 plan of the municipality of Wonseradeel, to change from the Dutch Zurich to the Frysian Surch was opposed by the villagers. Hence the municipality withdrew the proposal.

On 1 January 1830, the village had 152 inhabitants. Due to the construction of the Afsluitdijk, the population increased, and in 1958 340 people lived there. Since the road to the Afsluitdijk no longer runs through the village, the population has decreased again. In 2011 there were 168 villagers. In January 2017, Zurich had a population of around 190.[1] In 2019 and 2020 Zurich had 145 inhabitants.

Notes and References

  1. http://statline.cbs.nl/Statweb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=83765NED&D1=0-1,3-4,8,11,14,28,31-32,99-104&D2=13314-13470&HDR=T&STB=G1&VW=T Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2017