Research
The Ziegelei-Museum Foundation employs researchers who study ceramic building materials, an under-appreciated cultural material. It also manages a specialised library and holds a comprehensive collection of objects. The machine collection is located on the site of Ziegelei Keller, Werk Paradies. (Visits to the machine collection are currently not possible.)
The library and reference collection are open to all interested parties by appointment. Please contact us if you are planning a visit.
Our publications are available open access on E-Periodica.
Brick and tile collection
The term ‘brickwork ceramics’ refers to everything produced in brickworks, such as roof and floor tiles, bricks and pipes. These seemingly ordinary products have fascinating stories to tell.
The Ziegelei-Museum Foundation aims to be a centre of documentation about the brickmaking trade and industry in Switzerland. For this reason, it has a specialised library and a reference collection.
The object database currently contains over 11 000 entries, covering the fields of brickwork ceramics, tools, machines, art objects, engravings, folk art and archaeological objects. The objects are described in detail, allowing them to be compared and studied according to different questions. The objects in our collection are either on display in the permanent exhibition or stored in mobile shelving, making them accessible and able to be viewed by appointment.
Specialised library
The research library contains publications on brickwork ceramics, brick production and the brickmaking trade and industry. The archive contains original texts, image and audio documents.
All publications and archive materials have been recorded in a library database. As this is a reference library, the documents can be viewed but not borrowed.
