Since the Second World War, Switzerland’s raw material imports have continued to increase. Until 1938, the iron works in Choindez still smelted their own iron ore. (Choindez, Von Roll, around 1940).
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
The pumping towers covering the boreholes at the Zurzach soda works are now a historic landmark – they were closed down in 1924. (Zurzach, 1978)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
The most monument-like slaughterhouse in Switzerland still looks impressive, thanks to a 1985 historical renovation project. (Zurich slaughterhouse, 1979)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Efficient working habits have their roots in the Maggi factory. Before electricity, mechanical systems powered conveyer belts for product packaging. (Kemtthal, Maggi archive, 1896)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
One of the last five active large-scale breweries was continuously built up between 1876 and 1970, eventually taking on the look of a castle for the Feldschlösschen brewery. (Rheinfelden, 1990)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Textile factories in Glarus once employed 6,000 people. Towers used for air drying are one of the most prominent features of the old textile buildings, and the first such tower built in 1865 is still preserved. (Ennenda, 1981)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Following the introduction of mechanised spinning and weaving, machinery caused a factory fire in Oberuster in 1832.
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Ciba and Geigy built their chemical factories on the right bank of the Rhine River, and Ciba installed 120 metre-high smokestacks in 1955.
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
The chemical industry survived a major downturn in profits but lost more than three-quarters of its jobs. (Lonza, Waldshut, 2005)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Tavannes Watch put the area with the same name on the map by building a network of factories, infrastructure and housing for workers. At its high point, the factory employed more than 2,000 people but closed its doors in 1986. (Tavannes, 2003)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
The Sulzer Group built its headquarters on 22 hectares of dense buildings in downtown Winterthur and on 55 hectares in Upper Winterthur. (Winterthur, 1960)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Von Roll bought the Monteforno Steel Works in 1977 and closed them in 1995. SwissSteel sold the land the factory stood on in 2005, and the mill has stood empty for more than 15 years. (Bodio, 1999)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Rieter employed as many as 2,700 people in Winterthur at one time. The factory was built on the space once occupied by the secular Töss monastery, and the company used the church as a gathering place. (Winterthur, 1905)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
The MFO building in Oerlikon was rescued from demolition in 2010 and its foundation was moved bit by bit in a May 2012 engineering feat to make way for railway renovations. The Oerlikon Engineering Works was a pioneer in worldwide electricity production. (Oerlikon, 1925)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
The BBC machine assembly plant was built in 1928 in a transparent steel-framed building. (Baden 1928)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
In 1908, the chain of power plants south of the Bernina Pass was Europe’s largest provider of electricity. The dam built in 1911 generates five times as much power today. (Lago Biancho Dam, 1990)
Arias, Buch Industrielle Schweiz
Just 50 years ago, industry generated half of Switzerland’s national income. Since then, many factories have been closed, but the great industrial age continues to mark the Swiss landscape and way of life.
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In Switzerland, land not suitable for agricultural purposes was used to practise trades and crafts, from which many industries emerged. Swiss industrialisation benefited from the country’s central position in Europe and from the absence of an aristocracy, which curbed private enterprise in other countries.
Until 1860, Switzerland was even self-sufficient, making use of the raw materials within its borders. The country was dotted with hundreds of mineral and metal mines, including iron, lead, zinc and gold. Timber, coal and hydropower ensured Switzerland’s energy needs were met.
The advent of the railroad brought an end to mining activities since imported raw materials cost less, but it also allowed Swiss industrial products to conquer foreign markets. Spared from the World Wars, Swiss industry became among the ten most important in the world in the 1960s.
These images are taken from the book “Industrial Switzerland, from the 18th to the 21st Century “, published in 2011 by Hans-Peter Bärtschi. (Images were made available by the author unless otherwise noted.)
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Urban development emerges from wasteland
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Switzerland is under pressure – demographic pressure, that is. This summer the population passed the eight-million mark, three million more than 50 years ago. But it faces other forms of pressure due to lifestyle changes. Over the same time, the living space each person now needs has risen from 30 to 50 square metres on…
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The brick building is 123 years old and is the last relic of Oerlikon’s 19th-century industrial zone. In 1876, the Oerlikon machine factory “Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO)” began manufacturing tool machinery, weapons and electric locomotives. When its recent owner ABB announced plans to tear it down, the public handed in a petition to save it, emphasising…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.