University Hospital of Zurich
hospital complex in the city of Zurich, Switzerland
The University Hospital of Zürich (German: Universitätsspital Zürich, USZ) is one of five university hospitals in Switzerland.
The first hospital in Zürich, from which the current hospital derives, is recorded as having existed as early as 1204. As of December 2025, the hospital employs an approximate staff of 10,800 (1,200 doctors, 4,000 care professionals, 1,250 medical-technical and medical-therapeutic specialists) providing medical care to 882,000 ambulant visitors and over 42,000 stationary patients each year.
Scientists and physicians of international renown who have practiced at the hospital include Ferdinand Sauerbruch, Andreas Grüntzig and Rolf M. Zinkernagel; the latter received a Nobel Prize for research done at the hospital.
History
The earliest record of the Hospital of Zürich dates back to a document from 1204, in which Berthold IV dedicates the institution to his son. In 1803 the hospital became a cantonal hospital ("Kantonsspital") through a governmental council decision. In 1833 the University of Zurich was founded and the cantonal hospital was transformed into a university and teaching institution.
In 1996, the University Hospital of Zurich’s dermatology department developed an approach using dendritic cells to vaccinate patients with advanced melanoma.
In 2020, the hospital co-led a large-scale international study with Harvard Medical School on the use of the antimalarial drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine for COVID-19 treatment. The research, published in The Lancet, found no clinical benefit and reported a higher mortality rate among patients who received the drugs.
“University Hospital of Zurich” enters the record as hospital complex in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what University, Hospital and Zurich can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“University Hospital of Zurich” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, University, Hospital and Zurich provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q450139. VIAF identifies the subject as 139750468. The Library of Congress control number is n2002103072. Authority coordinates are 47.377, 8.550. 4 of 7 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1204, 2025, 1803 and 1833.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “University Hospital of Zurich”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow University Hospital of Zurich primary sources, University Hospital of Zurich archive and University research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “University Hospital of Zurich”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “University Hospital of Zurich” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.