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SVP in Zurich submits plan to turn Sechseläutenplatz back into a green park
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SVP in Zurich submits plan to turn Sechseläutenplatz back into a green park

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© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Aug 27, 2022
Jan de Boer

Editor at IamExpat Media

Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016. While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) in the city of Zurich has submitted a motion to tear up Sechseläutenplatz and convert the area back into a green park and public meadow. Supporters have cited the heat generated by the stone park as one of the main drivers behind the proposal.

SVP demands complete overhaul of Sechseläuten square

On Wednesday, SVP municipal councillors Stephan Iten and Bruno Wohler demanded that Zurich's largest square - a popular meeting place near the lake and host of the Sechseläuten festival and Circus Knie - be completely overhauled. Redesigned in 2012 and 2014, the 16.000-metre area is currently paved with 110.000 quartzite blocks mined from Vals in the Swiss mountains.

According to 20 minuten, supporters argued that the paved square produces an unnecessary amount of heat during the summer. Considering the three separate heatwaves the city has baked in this summer, Iten and Wohler have called for the paving to be removed so it can be converted into a meadow and grass park with trees and shade.

Supporters hope to convert square back to a meadow and park

The text of the proposal noted that the council (Gemeinde) is already planning new measures to uncover or “unseal” city squares to reduce the heat, something they hope to extend to Sechseläutenplatz. The quartz slabs would either be sold or reused in another project.

In all, the two councillors said the square should be redesigned so that it can be “used without restriction by the population, the Sechseläuten and circuses.” The plan has now been submitted to the city council for debate.

By Jan de Boer