The ‘Alte Sust Brunnen’ is an important historical relic from the late-medieval era of trading goods in Central Switzerland and has therefore been declared an architectural monument of national significance by the cantonal monument preservation office.

The Old Canton of Schwyz built the Dorfsust (literally ‘village goods warehouse’) directly by the lake in 1631. It served not only as a goods warehouse, but also as the local marksmen’s clubhouse, from where they practised their shooting while facing towards Axen. The building also served as a customs house until 1848. Following the abolition of internal tariffs, the building became the site of the ‘Restaurant zum Schiff’. The first post and telegraph office was set up on the ground floor in 1883. Following the construction of the Axenstrasse road, the sust faded in importance and was considered ripe for tearing down. However, it was instead purchased by Dr Joseph Schelbert ‘marked for demolition’. He had it torn down and rebuilt on what is today the Suststrasse road, using some of the original materials. In 1990, this building of cultural-historical significance was carefully restored by its current owner.

Constructed in 1470, the stately sust was presumably set up to serve Milanese trading interests – at least, the Alte Sust’s architecture would suggest this. The goods were unloaded from the boats at the landing place by the ‘Schroten’ and brought to what was then a relatively large, stone building with a shingled roof (a so-called ‘Tätschdach’ in the vernacular). The old storage rooms lost their importance with the construction of the village sust in 1631. The building later served as a dwelling up until 1960, when it was vacated. For around 40 years, the Alte Sust was left to the ravages of nature and time. Numerous efforts to save this venerable architectural monument met with failure for a long time. In 2010, the ‘Foundation to Preserve the Alte Sust Brunnen’ was finally established, and the building was renovated in collaboration with the cantonal monument preservation office.