Wender·Vista
Zurich
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileSwitzerland
at the northern tip of Lake Zurich, where the Limmat leaves

Zurich

— the blue the lake holds in winter.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Zurich runs along both banks of the Limmat where it leaves the lake. Old Town on the west bank, the financial district on the east, and the snowline of the Alps closes the view to the south on clear days. The lake stays an unusual cold blue all year, fed by Linth River meltwater out of Glarus. The trams come every six minutes.

from the studio
Zurich
— bring it home

Zurich, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Zurich

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the country's financial centre, with a population of about 440,000 in the city proper and 1.4 million in the metropolitan area. It sits at the northern end of Lake Zurich (Zürichsee) in the canton of the same name, at an elevation of 408 metres. The Limmat River drains the lake and runs through the city centre, joined by the smaller Sihl just before the main railway station. Zürich Hauptbahnhof is one of the busiest stations in Europe.

— the water

Lake Zurich is roughly 40 kilometres long and held an unusual clarity even before the canton's wastewater reforms in the 1960s. In summer the city's Badis, public lake baths in wooden frames, open along both shores; the Frauenbad and the Männerbad in the city centre have been running since the 1880s. The river itself is drinkable upstream of the city and clean enough to swim in the Oberer Letten basin downtown, which is one of the things that surprises visitors most about the city.

— the visit

Most visitors arrive by train into Hauptbahnhof and walk south along Bahnhofstrasse, the banking artery that runs to the lake. The Grossmünster's twin towers, Romanesque and finished in the 12th century, and the Fraumünster across the river anchor the medieval Old Town. The Kunsthaus holds the largest collection of Alberto Giacometti's work anywhere. Zurich is among the more expensive cities in the world; a coffee in the Niederdorf runs about six francs. The city is walkable end to end in under an hour.

— where
Switzerland · Zurich, Canton of Zurich
— elevation
408 m · 1,339 ft
— position
47.3769° N · 8.5417° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
5 km SW
Uetliberg
city mountain
30 km SE
Rapperswil
lakeside old town
at the lake
Lake Zurich
alpine lake
3 km E
Zürichberg
wooded ridge
N
Zurich
Uetliberg
Rapperswil
Lake Zurich
Zürichberg
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Zurich — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland, at the northern end of Lake Zurich in canton Zurich, at an elevation of 408 metres, about 90 kilometres from the Italian border to the south.

About 440,000 people live within the city limits, with roughly 1.4 million in the metropolitan area. It is the country's largest urban centre and its financial capital, though not its political capital.

Swiss German, in the local Zürichdeutsch dialect, is spoken day to day. Standard German is used in writing and formal settings. English is widely understood in central business and tourism districts.

Lake Zurich and the Limmat are clean enough to swim in inside the city. The Frauenbad and Männerbad in the city centre, in use since the 1880s, draw water directly from the river.

Bahnhofstrasse runs from Zurich Hauptbahnhof south to the lake and concentrates the country's private banks, luxury watchmakers, and department stores along about 1.4 kilometres. Trams share the street with pedestrians.

May through September is mild and lake season; December brings the Christmas markets and the lit Lucy display along Bahnhofstrasse. The Sechseläuten spring festival burns its snowman effigy in mid-April.

— about the piece in your home

It carries well for people who studied at ETH, worked in the banking sector, or grew up in canton Zurich. The lake blue and the church towers are the city's most recognisable signature; a Medium tile travels well.

Cool Alpine-modern, Scandinavian, and Minimalist Asian interiors take this piece without effort. The lake blue gives a quiet anchor to rooms built around neutrals, light wood, and natural stone.

Yes. Place-specific art that doubles as a colour anchor is core to the Alpine-modern and Quiet-luxury moves currently shaping European-influenced interiors in North America.

A single Large fits a standard console or loveseat. A 4-tile Mural covers a sofa wall as one image. A 9-tile Mural reads as architecture at full feature-wall scale.

Yes, on the Dura Satin or Matte finish. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure; humidity and daily steam do not affect it.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. The surface is sealed and non-porous; chemical cleaners are unnecessary, and abrasive pads should be avoided so the finish stays even over the years.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated by Reid Wender and hand-finished in the Knoxville studio. No images are licensed in or out; the Zurich tile is a single-studio original.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.