Watchtowers, the alarm system of the Old Swiss Confederacy
Whereas sirens sound the alarm nowadays, hundreds of years ago it used to be watchtowers. Beacons could mobilise troops within a few hours, from the Rhine to Lake Geneva.
![Watchtower map for the Canton of Zurich, 17th century.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/karte-4-1-300x256.jpg)
![Watchtower, reconstruction.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/illustration-hochwacht-16-9-1-300x169.jpg)
![Genevan soldiers being called to the border in 1871.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/soldaten-an-der-grenze-1870-1-1-300x198.jpg)
![Albis watchtower, 1935, photo by Leo Wehrli.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/albis-hochwacht-1-300x207.jpg)
Whereas sirens sound the alarm nowadays, hundreds of years ago it used to be watchtowers. Beacons could mobilise troops within a few hours, from the Rhine to Lake Geneva.