Keyvisual of the exhibition «Experiences of Switzerland – Water, power and resistance»

Water, power and resistance

Experiences of Switzerland

Installation | accessibility.time_to

accessibility.sr-only.body-term

Installation

The 1950s saw a sharp rise in demand for electricity, including in Switzerland. Dams started to be built in the Alps on a grand scale. Once-in-a-generation projects such as the Grande Dixence dam, but also the flooding of the village of Marmorera in 1954 and the Mattmark disaster in 1965, fundamentally changed the lives of people in the Alpine regions. The video installation looks at the economic momentum, recalls the political disputes and addresses the logistical challenges. Contemporary witnesses talk about their various experiences relating to hydropower in the Alps, from the incredible feats of engineering to the tough working conditions on the construction sites. They describe the expansion of the infrastructure, but also how it impacted the world they lived in. And they look back at the resistance movement that developed against resettlement and at the calls for environmental protection.

About the format
Sometimes objects fail to tell the full story behind formative developments in Switzerland’s recent past. The ‘Experiences of Switzerland‘ format focuses on contemporary witnesses. Their fates and experiences, which in most cases are not found in any archives or records, provide visitors with a multifaceted and emotional insight into Swiss history. Featuring a different topic every year, the format does away with exhibits and consists of a large-format, immersive projection with sound delivered through headphones. Meanwhile, an exploration station features information on the latest research findings in the area and places the topic in its cultural-historical context.

Schools

Keyvisual of the exhibition «Experiences of Switzerland – Water, power and resistance»

Self-led visits

Upon notification, teachers have the opportunity to explore the installation with their school class independently.

Booking:  

at least 2 weeks in advance

Languages:

 

English, German, French and Italian.

accessibility.sr-only.person_card_info Reservations desk

+41 44 218 66 00 reservationen@nationalmuseum.ch

Blog posts

Media

Experiences of Switzerland – Water, power and resistance

National Museum Zurich | 4.7.2025 - 2.11.2025
published on 2.7.2025

The harnessing of hydropower in the Alps bears testament to the ingenuity of Swiss engineering and the success of renewable energy. The building of dams and hydropower plants, however, is also a tale of expulsion, expropriation and resistance. A new video installation features ten contemporary witnesses talking about their personal experiences.

The latest edition of the ‘Experiences of Switzerland’ exhibition series addresses a prominent subject in past and present-day Switzerland: alpine hydropower. The video installation shares the stories of ten contemporary witnesses talking about hydropower from a broad range of perspectives. They cover subjects including personal loss, political struggle, feats of engineering and ecological issues – and by doing so draw attention to a multilayered chapter in Swiss energy history.

Almost 60 per cent of electricity produced in Switzerland comes from hydropower. The dams and power plants, most of which were built after the Second World War, are not just once-in a-generation projects. They are also the driving force behind the economic miracle. The accounts of Amédée Kronig and Eric Wuilloud show the potential of hydropower. Amédée Kronig was director of Grande Dixence SA from 2011 to 2023. The dam constructed from 1951 to 1961 is still the world’s highest gravity dam at 285 metres. Eric Wuilloud managed the pumped-storage power station ‘Nant de Drance’, which is one of the most powerful of its kind in Europe. Wuilloud advocates the responsible use of resources: pumped-storage power stations enable the storage of excess electricity as a reliable, renewable-energy-based supply source in winter.

Resistance to hydropower projects is as old as hydropower itself. It initially took the form of people protesting about losing their homes and since the 1940s it has become more of an environmental movement. Protestors have sought, unsuccessfully in most cases, to oppose the construction of new plants by democratic means. The nationwide environmental movement, which arose in the 1970s, was to protect the Alps. It achieved a notable success in the 1980s, when plans for a reservoir placed the Greina Pass in jeopardy. Gallus Cadonau, CEO of the Greina Foundation, was one of the organisers of that particular protest. He proposed new solutions to preserve the landscape, for example the ‘Landschaftsrappen’, which was basically compensation for the mountain communities in return for foregoing hydropower projects. This gave them an alternative path out of poverty, so they didn’t have to sell authorisation.

The construction work and its inherent dangers also impacted the mountain communities. A disaster in the village of Saas-Almagell in the canton of Valais demonstrates that. Vreni Zengaffinen talks in the video about the catastrophe at the nearby building site for Mattmark reservoir: on 30 August 1965, 88 people were killed when part of the Allalin Glacier broke off and buried the workers’ quarters. Zengaffinen’s father and uncle were among the dead. Italian Armando Lovatel also witnessed the Mattmark catastrophe. He was 16 at the time and working on the building site over the summer to support his family. He saw the disaster up close.

The video installation plus an interactive station providing additional information demonstrate the complexity of hydropower and everything that goes with it. The videos span the divide between then and now, showing how hydropower is not just a technological or environmental issue but also has a social and cultural side. It affects people, villages, landscapes – in the past and present. Whether as a source of hope for a sustainable energy future or a warning about the dangers of interfering with nature, the contemporary witnesses’ voices are an invitation to listen, reflect and discuss.

The video installation is on display from 4 July to 2 November 2025 and from 13 January to 26 April 2026 in the National Museum Zurich.

Images

Grande Dixence

From 1951 and 1961, three thousand men and women worked at the construction site of the Grande Dixence dam. Located at a height of 285 metres, Grande-Dixence remains the highest gravity dam in the world to this day. Dam worker, Grande Dixence, undated.

© Oswald Ruppen, Mediathek Wallis – Martigny

Grande Dixence: Lac de Dix

The Grande Dixence is the tallest gravity dam in the world. It retains 400 million m3 of water. It forms the largest artificial lake in Switzerland (in volume). Flooding of the Grande Dixence dam, 1957

© Swiss National Museum, ASL

Opposition

In December 1958, around 40 Engadin women in Graubünden traditional costume demonstrate in Zurich against the power plant on the Spöl mountain stream in the Swiss National Park.

© Schweizerisches Sozialarchiv, Urheber:in unbekannt/F 5067-Fb-105

Hydropower from the Swiss National Park

Despite local opposition, two reservoirs – one right outside and the other inside the Swiss National Park – were commissioned at the end of the 1960s: the Ova Spin equalising reservoir and Lago di Livigno. Most of Lago di Livigno is on Italian territory. The national border between Italy and Switzerland runs through the Punt dal Gall dam. Punt dal Gall dam, Lago di Livigno, 1976

© ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv/Stiftung Luftbild Schweiz / LBS_L1-769620

Sihl reservoir in Schwyz

Between 1932 and 1937, the Sihlsee was created in the Pre-Alps — still the largest reservoir in Switzerland by area. In all, 1,762 people were forced to relocate and 55 farms were flooded. Several families who had been stripped of their livelihood emigrated to the US. Road at the height above the level of the future water surface and the farms that had to make way for the dam project, before 1935

© Schweizerisches Sozialarchiv, Bild: Karl Saurer, Einsiedeln/F 5067-Fb-222

Power for the city

To meet the electricity needs of the city of Zurich, the Zurich Electricity Company wanted to build a dam in Marmorera. On October 17, 1948, the men of Marmorera approved the dam by a vote of 24 to 2 and granted EKZ the concession for its construction. The village of Marmorera, the hamlet of Cresta, and around 140 hectares of meadow- and woodland were flooded to make way for the reservoir. Demolition of the church tower of Marmorera, 05.07.1954

© Stadtarchiv Zürich, V.G.c.161.:4.9.1.03966.

The Mattmark disaster

Shortly before the end of a shift on 30 August 1965, part of the tongue of the Allalin Glacier broke away. An ice and debris avalanche came crashing down onto the barracks, workshops, and canteen of the Mattmark construction site. Eighty-eight people died. Destroyed barracks accommodation, salvage and clean-up operations after part of the Allalin Glacier broke away, 1965

© ETH-Bibliothek Zürich, Bildarchiv / Com_L14-0616-0002-0002

Opposition

From the 1940s onwards, protests were organised against hydropower stations over their impact on the environment. Political initiatives were launched against the construction of new plants, but most failed to win majority support. In the 1970s, a nationwide environmental movement emerged that campaigned against nuclear power and for the protection of the Alps. Protest against the Ilanz power plants, 17.06.1979.

© Schweizerische Greina-Stiftung (SGS)

Trift

The Trift mountain landscape in the Bernese Highlands is still evolving owing to the retreat of the Trift Glacier. The Oberhasli Power Station AG (KWO) is planning to build a dam and a new hydropower station in the area. Environmental organisations opposed to these plans. Trift, 2019

© Mary Leibundgut

National Museum Zurich press contact

+41 44 218 65 64 medien@nationalmuseum.ch

Exhibition imprint

  • Overall management Denise Tonella

  • Project direction and curator Marina Amstad

  • Idea and Concept Erika Hebeisen, Elisabeth Joris

  • Scenography Alex Harb

  • Interviews Marina Amstad, Michelangelo de Dona, Maurizio Drei, Erika Hebeisen, Elisabeth Joris, Sebastian de Pretto

  • Projection Maurizio Drei, Michele Innocente

  • Voice-over Tweaklab AG: Lambert Bastar (FR), Lotti Happle (DE), Andrea Samborsky (EN), Christina Zamboni (IT)

  • Scientific advisors Elisabeth Joris, Sebastian de Pretto

  • Advisory committee Roman Aebersold, Günhan Akarçay, Heidi Amrein, Beat Högger, Sabrina Médioni, Denise Tonella

  • Controlling of project Sabrina Médioni

  • Technical management Mike Zaugg

  • Exhibition construction Ira Allemann, Sophie Lühr, Marc Hägeli, Dave Schwitter, Philippe Leuthardt

  • IT | Web | Media stations Thomas Bucher, Danilo Rüttimann, Alex Baur, Thomas Bucher, Ueli Heiniger, Immensive SA

  • Marketing and Communication Andrej Abplanalp, Anna-Britta Maag, Sebastiano Mereu, Carole Neuenschwander, Alexander Rechsteiner

  • Advertising graphic Resort GmbH für Visuelle Kommunikation

  • Translations Barbara Meglen, Laurence Neuffer, Interserv AG, Language Factory 

We thank the eyewitnesses for their precious participation: Ursula Bianchi, Thomas Burgener, Gallus Cadonau, Marcel Dora, Stefan Engler, Amédée Kronig, Armando Lovatel, Salome Steiner, Eric Wuilloud, Vreni Zengaffinen