Das Laboratorium des Fortschritts

How did the small state of Switzerland become a significant economic power? Anyone who seriously confronts the major questions of the present cannot avoid looking back at their own history. To this day, most Swiss railway lines follow the routes established by the pioneers of the 1850s and 1860s. The country's most magnificent hotels are the palaces of the Belle Époque that have withstood the storms of time. However, we do not live in the Switzerland of that era. What was once a country of emigration has become a destination for immigration, and the driving force of industrialization has transformed into a post-industrial repurposing zone. Joseph Jung uncovers the sources and processes that initiated this development in the 19th century. The book is a true pleasure to read.