Winterthur, the second largest town in the canton of Zurich, lies in a wide basin near the river Töss in the pre-Alpine region, half-way between the Rhine and Lake Zurich. It is widely renowned for its engineering industry (Gebrüder Sulzer, Schweizerische Lokomotiv and Maschinenfabrik, etc.) and its
textile factories and institutions, such as the Cantonal Technical College.
Winterthur was founded by the Kyburgs about 1150 as a market village, and received its municipal charter from Rudolf of Habsburg in 1264. Pottery, watchmaking and weaving were early local industries, followed in the 19th C. by engineering.