In this Swiss city, Tina Turner was a neighbor, not a star

Around the world, Tina Turner, who died Wednesday at the age of 83, was known for her music, her powerful stage presence and her pioneering career. But in the Swiss city where she lived for nearly three decades, she was known for living a low-key life — running her own errands, queuing at the post office, and exercising outside.

In front of the house where the rock star lived with her husband, Erwin Bach, and where neighbors gathered on Wednesday nights to light candles and tell stories, a polished bronze sign (in English and German) asks that visitors not before ring the bell in the afternoon.

After a lifetime in the public eye, Ms. Turner moved to the sleepy town of Küsnacht, Switzerland, with Mr. Bach, a German music executive whom she began dating in the 1980s. In 1995, Mr. Bach got a job as head of EMI Music’s Swiss offices in Zurich, and the two moved to the Alpine country. They married in 2013, the year she acquired Swiss citizenship and gave up her US passport.

Mrs. Turner and Mr. Bach lived in a classic white gabled mansion on the shore of Lake Zurich.

“She was a cheerful, very open and kind-hearted person,” says Severin Silvestri, 30, the manager of Rico’s, a high-end restaurant just down the street. Years ago, when she was in better health, Mrs. Turner and Mr. Bach occasionally dined at the Michelin-starred eatery. Mr Silvestri, who once ministered to Mrs Turner, said she was out of the limelight. “She was completely sober,” he said.

In addition to her international music career, her Swiss home celebrated her for the public Christmas lights (lit gold wreaths) that she donated to the city on the occasion of her 75th birthday in 2014 and for the lifeboat “Tina” that she christened that year.

Neighbors said they were aware of Ms Turner’s fame but did not bother her when they saw her in public, which has become less and less in recent years as she struggled with her health.

“She seems to have lived a relatively normal life and seems to have enjoyed it,” said Oliver Moritz, 46, the manager of a hotel a few hundred yards away on the lakeshore, noting that she was the kind of person that you would come across while shopping.

Roland Roller Frei, 57, a Swiss music producer who worked occasionally with her for more than a decade, said it was this normal life, unbothered by fans, that seemed to draw Ms Turner to a life in Switzerland.

“I think it was important for her to find a place where she would be left alone,” he said, adding: “I think she appreciated not being harassed by fans every day, but that she could enjoy her retirement in peace.”

The city’s mayor, Markus Ernst, 50, said some residents had become so accustomed to her presence that they forgot how important she was outside of Küsnacht. “We became fully aware of her global star quality in 2013, when she got married and when camera teams from all over the world came to us,” he said.

Mr. Ernst, who says he listened to Mrs. Turner’s music on cassette tapes and records as a teenager, said it was very special to meet her in person. “She had an incredible charisma, was very approachable and communicated with you in such a positive way,” he said.

And she also gave back to her community. “She was a great ambassador for our community, and she did it completely voluntarily,” said Mr. Ernst, referring to Ms. Turner’s habit of praising Switzerland and Küsnacht in the news media.

“With the death of Tina Turner, the world has lost an icon,” said Swiss President Alain Berset. posted on Twitter on Wednesday, adding: “My thoughts are with the relatives of this impressive woman who has found a second home in Switzerland.”

According to Mrs. Turner, one aspect of Swiss life was particularly important. “I have to say the priority is fresh air — it’s clean and I feel like I’m really breathing fresh air,” she says. told a Swiss journalist in 2014. She also noted that she felt safe enough in the country to go out in public without security.

When asked during that interview if there was anything about living in Switzerland that she didn’t like, she replied: “There’s absolutely nothing I don’t like because I found out I liked everything before I gave away the passport” , she said. said, referring to her US citizenship.

To obtain Swiss citizenship, Ms Turner had to show she spoke German, something she admitted took time and effort to learn.

During a vigil at Mrs Turner’s home on Wednesday night, neighbors shared ordinary stories about the extraordinary neighbour. One man told how Mrs. Turner offered coffee to people who worked in her house and even poured it herself. Another said she met her at the post office.

“It’s sad that we lost her,” one resident told one local news media. After a pause, he added: “Not just Küsnacht, but the whole world.”