Swiss Agriculture: Development from the Ice Age to World War I

Description

Around 5,500 BC, the first people settled in the area of present-day Switzerland. What might have motivated the hunters and gatherers to give up their nomadic lifestyle and instead cultivate grain and keep animals in stables?

This course section illustrates the origin and development of Swiss agriculture based on the most important biological, technical, and social changes from the Ice Age to the year 1900.

After the last Ice Age, the climate and the import of grain and livestock from the Near East enabled people to settle in the area of present-day Switzerland. The Bronze Age and the Romans also brought important innovations for crop farming and animal husbandry. The three-field system of the Middle Ages allowed the growing population to be fed but prevented productivity improvements. The first agricultural revolution around 1850 brought higher yields through mechanization and the use of fertilizers. Farmers were no longer just self-sufficient but produced for the growing market of the new industrial society.
Agricultural policy of the 20th/21st century is discussed in the fourth course section.

Course instructor: Franziska Borer, Dipl. Ing. Agr. ETH, agricultural and environmental educator

Highlights

• Development of Swiss agriculture from the Ice Age to 1900
• Course series focusing on biological, technical, and social changes
• Led by Dipl. Ing. Franziska Borer, ETH graduate

General Information

The course covers the history of agriculture in Switzerland, starting with settlement about 5,500 years ago up to the first agricultural revolution around 1850. It highlights the most important developments and innovations in crop farming and animal husbandry. The event takes place at the Volkshochschule Solothurn.

Location

Hauptbahnhofstrasse 8, 4500 Solothurn, Schweiz

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