Cooperative apartments in Winterthur: District 1

Many of us associate Winterthur with the Technorama: on rainy Saturdays we discovered the wonders of technology there as children. But the city with around 120,000 inhabitants naturally has more to offer than just a museum for curious young people! This popular place to live, with its picturesque Old Town, is considered the most forested city in Switzerland. Here, tradition meets modern quality of life, which of course makes the place very popular. This in turn drives up rents. Fortunately, there are also many housing cooperatives in Winterthur that offer affordable apartments. In this series of blog posts, we explore Winterthur’s districts with a focus on affordable housing.

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Winterthur District 1

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District 1 largely corresponds to Winterthur’s urban area before the surrounding municipalities were incorporated. Accordingly, District 1 also contains the Old Town with its charming alleys, museums, and beautiful parks that invite you to relax. Cultural events are held regularly in District 1, such as the Albanifest (the city festival of associations and cultures), which has been part of the city’s cultural heritage since the 13th century.

By the way, did you know that the city of Winterthur got its name from the Roman settlement "Vitudurum"? And that Winterthur is home to the smallest brewery in Switzerland?

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Housing cooperatives in Winterthur District 1

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People generally associate the city center with higher rents, but there are also cooperatives in District 1 that offer affordable apartments. In fact, non-profit housing construction has existed in Winterthur for over 100 years. According to the Regionalverband gemeinnütziger Wohnbauträger, around 15,000 people in Winterthur and the surrounding area live in cooperative apartments. Some cooperatives also offer very centrally located apartments in the city’s District 1. These include the Allgemeine Baugenossenschaft Winterthur (ABW), GESEWO and the Genossenschaft Zusammenhalt. The latter, by the way, provides housing for people in later life. You can also find more information about these cooperatives on our List of cooperatives in the Greater Zürich area.

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How do I find a cooperative apartment in Winterthur?

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Cooperative apartments in Winterthur are, of course, very popular. To have a chance at one, it’s worth checking the cooperatives’ websites very regularly. You can find all cooperatives that advertise available apartments on our List of all cooperatives. Some cooperative apartments can also be found on Homegate, Flatfox, or Newhome. New construction projects by cooperatives in Winterthur are also of interest. We maintain a continuously updated List of new construction projects on our website. One exciting example for 2025 is the Projekt Tägelmoos by ASIG in Winterthur-Seen with 2.5- 5.5-room apartments. It’s best to put your name on the list of interested parties right away.

But the best insider tip remains our Suchabo: we monitor all cooperatives throughout the Canton of Zürich, including in Winterthur, and send all listings to our subscribers. We are also currently working on a filter function for Winterthur so you can focus your search on this location. Subscribe to the Suchabo today and discover all available cooperative apartments in Winterthur!

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