Drug obstacle course

In the 1980s and 1990s, the Platzspitz was known as Zurich’s drug hell. How did an open drug scene come to exist right in the city centre, what was everyday life like for a heroin addict back then, and why did the social crisis persist for years?

A guided tour in the form of a dialogue with former ‘Platzspitz volunteer’ Cornelia Wietlisbach and Vera Humbel, co-head of Education & Outreach at the Landesmuseum Zürich and creator of the Platzspitz app ‘Drogenparcours’, provides an insight into the developments of that time: the emergence, escalation and dissolution of the open drug scene, right through to its transformation into a drug policy that remains in place to this day. The vivid recollections of Cornelia Wietlisbach, who worked as a nurse at Platzspitz and subsequently for over 30 years at a drop-in centreand drop-in centre for people with addictions, are complemented by short video clips in which numerous other contemporary witnesses have their say, turning the visit to the original site into an experience offering multiple perspectives.

Meeting point: Main entrance to Platzspitz, next to the jetty

Registration via the website of ‘Einfach Zürich’.