Child labour in 19th and 20th centuries

Making hay, herding cattle, cutting peat, spooling and tatting – children have always supported their families in work, especially in farming. With the rise of industry, children were often exploited as cheap labour, above all in textile mills, and not least in Switzerland. They were forced to work long hours, took on dangerous or unhealthy tasks, and were often prevented from going go to school. Only after the introduction of compulsory schooling in 1874 and the adoption of the Federal Factory Law in 1877, education became a basic human right in Switzerland and children under the age of 14 were prohibited from working.

The exhibition shows many aspects of child labour in those early days and explains how children's rights were regulated in Switzerland. Special attention is given to the conditions in central Switzerland at that time.