Not so very long ago, a fortification trench stood where the Bahnhofstrasse is today. It ran along the old city walls from the gate at Rennweg as far as the lake. As Zurich expanded, the ditch suddenly found itself right in the middle of the city, muddy, stinking and extremely noisy – for it was not without reason that it was known as the “Fröschengraben” (frog ditch).

In 1864, the fortification trench was filled in and the barren wasteland was transformed into a smart boulevard. In 1877, the Beyer clock and watch company moved its business premises from the Limmatquai to the trendy new Bahnhofstrasse, shortly before the first horse-drawn tram started clattering down the promenade.

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