Langstrasse is a street

Street

A street is a paved public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, but is more often paved with a hard, durable...

 and quarter

Quarter (country subdivision)

A quarter is a section of an urban settlement.Its borders can be administratively chosen , and it may have its own administrative structure...

 in district 4 in Zurich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

. Langstrasse begins near the district courts and extends north-northeast to the train tracks of Zürich Hauptbahnhof. The following short segment of Langstrasse leads towards Limmatplatz in district 5. Langstrasse is also referred to as a general area including the street and its surrounding tertiary streets.

The quarter has a population of 10,500 on an area of 1.13 km². It is notorious as Zurich's red light district

Red Light District

Red Light District may refer to:* Red-light district - a neighborhood where prostitution is common* The Red Light District - the title of the 2004 album by rapper Ludacris* Red Light District Video - a pornography studio based in Los Angeles, California...

, with a soaring crime rate, drug dealing and brothel

Brothel

Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...

s. It is also the most overtly multicultural spot in Zurich, with a rate of 42% foreign residents, among the highest in Zurich. Due to the problems in this district, the City Council approved on 14 March, 2001, the comprehensive project "Langstrasse PLUS" to achieve an improvement in public order and safety.

As the historical quarter of factory workers during Industrialisation

Industrialisation

Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...

, Aussersihl

Aussersihl

Aussersihl is a district in the Swiss city of Zurich. It is District number 4. The district is colloquially known as Chreis Cheib, cheib being the Zurich German word for an animal cadaver; the area historically contained pits for the deposition of dead animals.The district comprises the quarters...

 is also the traditional center of socialist and communist agitation in Zurich, the Helvetiaplatz

Helvetiaplatz

Helvetiaplatz may refer to several squares named after Helvetia in Switzerland:* in Basel; see Helvetiaplatz * in Bern; see Helvetiaplatz * in Luzern; see Helvetiaplatz * in Zürich; see Helvetiaplatz...

 on Langstrasse being a traditional site of May Day

May Day

May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....

manifestations.

Festivals

Langstrassenfest
The Langstrassenfest (eng.: Longstreet Festival) is an important part of the Langstrasse PLUS campaign. It has been taking place every two years since 1996, and counted about 270'000 visitors in 2004. In the years without a Langstrassenfest, the Longstreet Carneval takes place. The Langstrassenfest is organised by Swiss citizens.

Longstreet Carneval
If there is no Langstrassenfest, the Longstreet Carneval takes place. This Carneval is organised by non Swiss citizens.

Caliente
The Caliente Festival is the biggest Latin Festival in all of Europe. It counts over 130'000 visitors in the year 2006.

Open-Air-Cinema
Every summer during July/August an open air cinema is installed at the Kanzleiareal near the Helvetiaplatz.

External links

• Langstrassenquartier (German page)