![The steamship brought in the golden age of peat. Illustration by Marco Heer.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/illu-torf-300x225.jpg)
The energy source from the moors
The threat of an energy shortage is nothing new to Switzerland, where demand has repeatedly exceeded supply over the years. However, one energy source that has always proved especially popular in times of crisis is now off limits – peat.
![Man cutting peat in Schwarzenegg, reportage photo by Hans Ruedi Bramaz, 1977.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/torfstechen-schwarzenegg-300x202.jpg)
![View from Mont Vully over the Great Marsh with the Broye Canal, coloured photo by Leo Wehrli, 1942.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/247-13168-grosses-moos-1-300x217.jpg)
![Peat extraction around 1920.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/energietrager-aus-dem-moor-torfabbau-300x186.jpg)
![Wachseldornmoos in the Zulg valley. Peat was cut there until the 1960s. Four ‘Turbenhäuschen’ where the peat was stored are in the background. Wachseldornmoos is now a protected fenland and raised bog area of national repute.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/wachseldornmoos-300x169.jpg)