Textile & Industrial Culture in Neuthal

The famous entrepreneur Adolf Guyer-Zeller lived and worked in the modest village of Neuthal. Today, 200 years later, this pearl of the past offers a fascinating all-round experience from hydroelectric power to weaving.

After Adolf Guyer-Zeller had been trained in various textile and machine factories around the world, he took over his father's cotton spinning mill in Neuthal in 1863. In addition to extensions to the factory building, he built a proud villa with a magnificent front garden, which still exists today. Adolf Guyer-Zeller was also the founder of the Uerikon-Bauma railway, on whose tracks the steam train from Hinwil to Bauma still runs today. Guyer-Zeller had cotton delivered from faraway countries, which the spinning mill workers processed into yarn. To make it easier for his workers to get to the spinning mill, Guyer-Zeller had tracks built for them, which are still used as hiking trails today. It is only thanks to the tireless efforts of over 80 volunteers that it is possible to keep the hydroelectric plant and the complex textile machines in operation today. "We are fascinated by these engineering achievements and we would like to maintain them and pass them on to other people", explains Reinhard Furrer, President of the Neuthal Textile and Industrial Culture Association.

On running machines, you can see how cotton is turned into yarn and a piece of fabric is made from a thread. The museum is divided into four themed worlds: water power and labour, spinning, weaving and embroidery. A guided tour with the experts is highly recommended. They are familiar with the historical background and the facilities and can tell you fascinating stories of the past.

Current events:

The special exhibition “The Fibre Cabinet“ offers an insight into the diversity of textile raw materials, their natural or artificial origin and their processing from fibre to yarn to fabric. Another focus of the exhibition is issues of environmental compatibility of the different textile materials.

An exhibition of the Textile Museum St. Gallen: from 1 May to 30 October 2022 at the Textile & Industrial Culture museum in  Neuthal.

The museum is open every Sunday from May to October from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.  

Groups and schools
Guided tours for groups can also be booked outside the usual opening hours. Please check the flyer for information on group visits.   Flyer Gruppen (292 KB) .