The Laboratory of Progress: Switzerland in the Nineteenth Century, Volume 1

313 Pages·2022·9.383 MB·English

by  Joseph Jung

“Jung is an outstanding storyteller. Here he offers up an economic,
transport, tourism and emigration history of Switzerland, well embed-
ded in its context. The work is easy to read; Jung captivates the reader
with his tales of the successes and failures of his pioneers.”
Michael Kitzing, Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Germany
“This book presents the brilliant transformation of Switzerland in the
19th century, in which this country and its political system surpassed
most other European nations in democratic progress.”
Holger Böhning, Jahrbuch für Kommunikationsgeschichte
“An excellent, carefully illustrated and excitingly written panorama of
an important chapter in Swiss history.”
Jürg Müller, Schweizer Revue

The Laboratory of Progress
The Laboratory of Progress: Switzerland in the 19th Century tells the
improbable story of how a small, backward, mountainous agricultural
country with almost no raw materials became an industrial powerhouse,
a hub of innovation, a touristic mecca and a pioneer in transportation –
all in the course of a single century.
That a tiny landlocked country should become a dominant steamship
builder for the rest of the world; that a country that had never seen a cot-
ton plant should become the world’s second-largest textile producer; that
a country with hardly any level terrain should come to boast the world’s
most highly developed railway network; and that a country whose main
export was impoverished emigrants should be transformed into one of
the world’s major fnancial centres – these astonishing developments,
among many others, are explored and explained, both through the spe-
cifc stories of individual innovators and through a prescient analysis of
the political, economic, societal and cultural structures that formed the
context in which Switzerland’s astonishing transformation took place.
The book is a compelling read both for professional historians and for
general readers with an interest in Switzerland; it highlights the roles of
transport networks and individual pioneers in industrial and political
development.
Joseph Jung is Professor Emeritus at the University of Fribourg and the
author of bestselling biographies of the preeminent Swiss politician Al-
fred Escher and his daughter Lydia Welti-Escher, among many other
works. He has received numerous awards for his pioneering research
into 19th-century Swiss economic and cultural history.
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Edited by Lucia Coppolaro and Helen Kavvadia
92 European Integration and Disintegration
Essays from the Next Generation of Europe’s Thinkers
Edited by Nick Cohen and Ayana Dootalieva
93 The Laboratory of Progress
Switzerland in the Nineteenth Century, Volume 1
Joseph Jung
94 Border Regimes in Twentieth Century Europe
Péter Bencsik
95 Catalonia: A New History
Andrew Dowling
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.
routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-in-Modern-European-History/
book-series/SE0246
The Laboratory of Progress
Switzerland in the Nineteenth Century,
Volume 1
Joseph Jung
Translated by Ashley Curtis
First published in English 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
English language translation © 2023 Ashley Curtis
The right of Joseph Jung to be identifed as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The right of Ashley Curtis to be identifed as translator of this
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identifcation and explanation without intent to infringe.
2nd, revised edition published in German by Schwabe
Verlagsgruppe AG 2020.
© 2019 NZZ Libro, Schwabe Verlagsgruppe AG, and Joseph
Jung, Walchwil/Zug.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jung, Joseph, 1955- author. | Curtis, Ashley, translator.
Title: The laboratory of progress : Switzerland in the nineteenth
century / Joseph Jung ; translated by Ashley Curtis.
Other titles: Laboratorium des Fortschritts. English
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. |
Series: Routledge studies in modern European history ; 93 | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2022005671 (print) | LCCN 2022005672 (ebook)
| ISBN 9781032152240 (v. 1 ; hardback) | ISBN 9781032152264
(v. 1 ; paperback) | ISBN 9781032152271 (v. 2 ; hardback) |
ISBN 9781032152288 (v. 2 ; paperback) | ISBN 9781003243137
(v. 1 ; ebook) | ISBN 9781000624724 (v. 1 ; adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781000624731 (v. 1 ; epub) | ISBN 9781003243144 (v. 2 ; ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Switzerland—Economic conditions—19th century. |
Economic development—Switzerland—History—19th century.
Classifcation: LCC HC397 .J8613 2022 (print) | LCC HC397 (ebook)
| DDC 330.9494—dc23/eng/20220330
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022005671
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022005672
ISBN: 978-1-032-15224-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-15226-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-24313-7 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003243137
Typeset in Sabon
by codeMantra
For my son, Benedict Jung (1994–2020)

Contents
List of Figures xiii
List of Milestones xvii
List of Tables xix
Preface xxi
Acknowledgements xxiii
1 The Discovery of the Mountains 1
1.1 A Terrible Beauty: The Alps 1
1.1.1 The Power of Symbols 1
1.1.2 Ambivalence towards the Majestic 5
1.1.3 Key Points: An Overview of Trends and Epochs 8
1.2 A Polyphonic Promotional Campaign: The
Marketing of Switzerland 11
1.2.1 Grand Tours and Pleasure Journeys 11
1.2.2 Naturalists and Scientifcally Motivated Alpinism 14
1.2.3 Literati and Philosophers 18
1.2.4 World Literature 20
1.2.5 The Kleinmeister: Enthusiasm for Switzerland
in the Arts 22
1.2.5 Travel Guides 27
1.3 The Development of Tourism 28
1.3.1 Routes and Destinations 28
1.3.2 Accommodations 33
1.3.3 Travel Reports and the Tourist Experience 34
1.3.3.1 Christoph Meiners in the Bernese Oberland 35
1.3.3.2 Zermatt: From Parsonage to Hotel 35
1.3.3.3 Mayr Goes to the Spa 37
1.3.4 Export Product: Switzerland as Chalet 39
1.3.5 On the History of the Hotel Industry:
The Beginnings 42
1.3.5.1 Inns and the First Hotels 42
1.3.5.2 Grand Hotels 43
1.3.5.3 Mountain Inns and Hotels 47