Museum Neuthal Textile and Industrial Heritage

Between Bäretswil and Bauma the former Neuthal spinning mill is situated. The historically important factory ensemble is wonderfully embedded in the hilly landscape of the Zurich Oberland and is classified as a site of national importance. The region experienced an incredible boom in the textile industry in the 19th century thanks to readily available hydroelectric power. Over time, the textile industry developed into the important Swiss engineering industry, with names such as Rieter (spinning machines) and Rüti (weaving machines). Since 1991 more than 70 volunteers have been running a unique museum of industrial culture in Neuthal.

Visitors are immersed in a fascinating world and in a bygone age which forms the basis of our present prosperity. Still numerous machines clatter and process cotton into high-quality fabric. An ingenious system of ponds, pressure pipes and turbines vividly illustrates how energy was generated around 1900.

In the spinning mill, functioning, historical machines from different times can be used to trace the path from raw cotton to yarn. In the weaving mill it is possible to trace how productivity increased rapidly due to technical developments and with which sophisticated ideas a high-quality piece of fabric is woven. Embroidery shows how fabrics were finished with hand embroidery machines.