As Switzerland's largest urban centre, Zurich can look back on a long history of industrial and economic feat. However, Zurich's industrial importane is not limited to the city itself. The rural Zurich OBerland, for example, was home to many important industrial businesses, especially in textile production.
The Swiss Railcar and Lift Factory Coorporation (SWS, colloqually known as "wagi"), founded in 1899 in Schlieren, has played a decisive role in shaping Switzerland's transport system. Up until the Second World War, SWS was the main manufacturer of Swiss trams, railway carriages and railcars. In 1917 the company started to also manufacture electric lifts, thus setting up a second branch of business. After having been taken over by the lift manufacturer Schindler in 1960, SWS shut down production permanently in 1985.
The WAGI Museum in Schlieren recounts the eventful history of SWS. Its collection presents SWS's broad range of products: In addtion to the core business of railway carriages and lifts, the company also produced coaches, escalators, and aircraft components. This display of historical objects takes you back to a time when Schlieren was still a bustling production site.
If you wish to dive even deeper into SWS-history, you can also visit their archives. The holdings are being kept at the WAGI.
The financial sector benefited indirectly from the continuing growth of industry. Major corporations expanded and new ventures set up shop. Most of them depended on loans to keep up with their investments – a lucrative business for banks. In addition, a lot of industrial companies obtained a stock exchange listing. Finally, the continuing mechanisation came with a number of new risks that companies wanted to be insured against. In short, the boom of industry led to a steady growth of the financial sector.
The Swiss Finance Museum in Zurich is dedicated to Switzerland's history as a financial centre. The permanent exhibitions highlights the close link between the success of Swiss banks and insurance companies and industrialisation. The growth of textile companies, the railway and power plants led to a surge in demand for capital. It was the age of industrialisation that turned Switzerland into a world-famous financial hub.
The industiral revolution created new opportunities of prosperity. However, this is only one side of the story. This narrative of industiral prospects ignores the fate of the factory workers. They often had to work under precarious conditions and barely earned a living wages. As industrialisation progressed, the social conflict between factory owners and the workforce further accentuated.
The Swiss Social Archives in Zurich document these increasing problems and conflicts. The Social Archives keep files on numerous workers' organisations trade unions, employee and migrant associations as well as socio-political initiatives. A broader understanding of industrial history can only be gained by taking in to account the many social issues tied to it.
Contrary to popular imagination of factories and workers' settlement, early industrialsation first gained pace in rural areas. Only the textile traders, who sold the goods, were located in the cities. But production remained in the countryside. This was also the case for Zurich: even before mechanisation gained speed, large textile manufactures emerged along the streams of the Töss and the Aabach in the Zurich Oberland. The streams powered spinning wheels and looms. The cottage industry further supplemented the production of textile goods in the region.
The Neuthal Museum takes you back to a time when the rattle of looms echoed throughout the Zurich Oberland.
The history of the Uerikon-Bauma Bahn is intertwined with the textile boom in the Zurich Oberlandor. It was Adolf Guyer-Zelller, the owner of the Neuthal spinning mill, who initiated its construction. His goal was to gain railway access for his factory. The railway section opened in 1901.
Today, only historic trains still operate on this route. The Zurich Oberland Steam Train Society (DVZO) bought the track from the Swiss railway operator SBB. On select Sundays during the summer months, you can travel the route aboard historic steam trains. Sit back and enjoy a unique ride through the rich industrial history of this rural area.
Transport history meets textile industry
This tour focuses on Zurich and the surrounding area. There is an abundance of transport routes. You can travel by public transport, car, bicycle or a combination of these.
If you wish to visit one of the archives, we recommend that you plan your visit in advance. Check the online catalogues of the Social Archives and/or the SWS-Archive and pre-order the archive material you wish to consult. You can always ask the archive staff if you have any questions. They will be happy to help.
Please take note of the varying opening times of the individual institutions. In particular, we would like to point out that the historic trains of the DVZO only run on selected Sundays during the summer months. Please check their time tables in advance.
