The river Lorze and the mill

Virtual Museum

The river Lorze and the mill

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At the beginning was the river

The paper mill was built on the banks of the river Lorze in order to make use of hydropower. Although it is relatively small, the Lorze ended up providing the power for the mill for many centuries – and, to some extent, continues to do so today.

When, in 1657, two young men from the city of Zug wanted to establish the first paper mill in the area, they looked to nearby rivers for unused hydropower. A very modest business evolved first into a small factory, and then a large one, with up to 1,000 staff. It was at this point that the hydropower no longer met the mill's energy needs and a coal and heavy oil power station was built.

Today, the entire Papieri site is powered 100% with renewable energies, including solar and hydropower provided by the modernized hydropower plant. And so it has come full circle: all of the environmentally harmful drive systems have now disappeared and hydropower has become more important again.

Images

Industry harnessed the Lorze with weir structures, as here in Hagendorn. (1920)
The weir at the lake's outflow turned Lake Zug into a reservoir for industrial production.
Attractive loft apartments and studios in the former paper machine halls 1–4, right on the Lorze.
Further north, in a later construction phase, spaces right on the Lorze will also be created in the former paper machine hall 5.
The northern Lorze area was renaturalised with an additional river branch for animals and plants.
A 130-metre-long fish ladder and a beaver ramp allow various animals to pass upstream to Lake Zug.

Location

Life along the river and how the Papieri uses hydropower. More information is available at the hydroelectric power plant.

Like to find out more?

For more detailed information on the river Lorze and hydropower, take a look here: