Cabaret Voltaire
Hugo Ball borrowed a back room on Spiegelgasse in February 1916 and accidentally invented Dada — Lenin was renting a flat fourteen doors up the same street.
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On February 5, 1916, Ball and Emmy Hennings got permission to use the back room of the Holländische Meierei for raucous soirées mixing spoken word, dance, and music — the nights that became Dada. The cabaret closed by summer 1916 and was revived in the 21st century in the same building, now a museum, bar, and cultural space. Seven founding members, one anarchic movement, one address.
What to look for
- Spiegelgasse 14 just up the street — Lenin moved into a flat there on February 21, 1916, sixteen days after the first Dada night, and stayed until April 1917
- The founding circle: Hugo Ball, Emmy Hennings, Tristan Tzara, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Jean Arp, Marcel Janco, and Richard Huelsenbeck
- The back room itself — the original venue Ball was permitted to use, now operating as a public bar and museum
Museum, bar, and cultural space at Spiegelgasse 1, Zurich; open to the public.
Cabaret Voltaire is one of 17 sights worth the detour in Zurich, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Zurich pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Zurich
- LetzigrundOn this track, on 21 June 1960, Armin Hary became the first person in history to run 100 metres in 10.0 seconds.
- Zürich HauptbahnhofSwitzerland's largest station runs 2,915 trains a day — and a river flows through it in a tunnel, with tracks both above and below.
- GrossmünsterThe church where Zwingli launched the Swiss-German Reformation in 1520 — and then his followers stripped out the organ and every statue to prove the point.
- Zürich Opera HouseThe first electrically lit opera house in Europe — built in 16 months, nearly razed by street riots, and winner of Opera Company of the Year at the 2014 International Opera Awards.
- Kunsthaus ZürichTwo buildings on opposite sides of Heimplatz, linked underground, housing one of Switzerland's most important art collections — the 2021 David Chipperfield sandstone block alone added over 80% more floor space.
- Swiss National Museum (Landesmuseum)A French Renaissance chateau with dozens of towers sits on a river peninsula two minutes from the main train station — and it covers all of Swiss history from the Stone Age forward.