Waltikon audiotours

Waltikon is part of Zumikon, a municipality in the Pfannenstiel hills east of Zurich in the district of Meilen. The area was largely unbuilt territory in the early 20th century, when the Forchbahn narrow-gauge railway opened its line in 1912 connecting the outer suburbs to Zurich's Rehalp terminus. The railway changed what Waltikon was: farmland on a hill became a commuter settlement, quiet but reachable, far enough from the city to feel different and close enough to use it.

The Forchbahn now operates as S18 of the Zurich S-Bahn network, running every 15 minutes.

In 1974 the line was rerouted into a tunnel through Zumikon to spare the village the noise of passing trains, an intervention that also preserved the character of the streets above. Walking in Waltikon is walking in the hill country that makes the canton of Zurich so useful to people who want both a city and the feeling that they have left it.