Discover Germany | Special Theme | Best of Zurich
Once an industrial area, today a family-friendly hostel with historic charm It was an innovative project when six friends from Winterthur in the Canton of Zurich turned a carpenter’s workshop in the centre of an old industrial estate into a hostel. Depot 195 now offers accommodation in dorms and private rooms that can compete with hotel standards. TEXT: JESSICA HOLZHAUSEN I PHOTOS: DEPOT 195
Depot 195 is only a seven-minute walk away from the main station, a unique hostel in the middle of a lively and urban former industrial quarter. The charming brick building lies on the historic complex once owned by the Sulzer brothers. The factory producing marine engines had been the main employer in the city and when the production was relocated, depression followed. No one really knew what to do with the area that was larger than Winterthur’s historic city centre. Then cultural institutions, shops, restaurants and offices found a home here and revitalised the quarter. “Today this is a modern and trendy quarter, very symbolic 68 | Issue 48 | March 2017
for the changes in Winterthur,” says Alex Ulrich, who founded the hostel together with friends four years ago. Couples, business travellers or pupils on a school trip – often visiting the science centre around the corner – will find great accommodation in Depot 195 with its 80 beds and different rooms – from dorms, single and double bedrooms to large family rooms.“Our family rooms provide space for up to five people which makes a stay with us far less expensive than in a hotel,” says Alex Ulrich. “Our prices are very fair.” www.depot195.ch