In 1872 contact between San Francisco and Glarus stopped. It seems Rudolph Heer wanted to finally cut all ties to his old life…

After arriving in America in 1868, Swiss emigrant Rudolf Heer was unable to find work in the east of the country. So he and his family moved further west.

In 1868, Rudolf Heer and his family emigrated to America. In five letters home to his mother he described his life in the New World, allowing us a glimpse into the life of an emigrant.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the general enthusiasm for aviation also found its way into the military. After a tentative start, in 1914 Switzerland began to assemble a fleet of its own.

In 1850, Switzerland got its first national postage stamp. But it took a long time to persuade everyone to use it. The reason for this was, as usual, money…

Switzerland’s first international treaty was signed with Austria in July 1849. It was an agreement on the regulation of postal relations.

In 1853 efforts got under way to ‘break the stone’ that stood between the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Solothurn. Five years later the Hauenstein, Switzerland’s first real railway tunnel, was opened.

Francs or guilders? In the mid-19th century, this question divided Switzerland. In the end it was the franc, but further dispute erupted over the design of the new national currency.