Last Sunday happened to be the first sunday of the month. And I happened to be at home. Which was perfect, because ever since we moved here I wanted to check out the small village museum. Which is only open on the first sunday of the month for 3 hours. Not an easy undertaking to visit it.

Source: http://www.museum.ch

To be honest, I didn’t expect much of the museum. After all, we are living in a small village on the outskirts of Zurich. There are only few of the old, charismatic farmhouses left, the rest has been overrun by modern apartment buildings and an industrial park. We happen to be among the lucky ones who look at green meadows and trees when we are sitting on the balcony, but only because we live in the last row of apartment blocks…So, considering that there is not that much going on here, I was really surprised by all the objects, information and details which were lovingly put on display in the museum. Turns out our village has some fascinating stories to share that you wouldn’t expect to find here! And I am not joking. You want an example? Well:

One of the most respected personalities in our village in the 1920s was Franz Josef Weck – who was, as far as I could gather, the son of Carl Johann Weck. Surely you have heard of Carl Johann Weck? No? I bet you have, though! In 1895, Carl Johann Weck bought the patent for conserving food in rubber-sealed jars. In the years to follow, he successfully sold (and exported) those jars which soon became known as Weck Jars. In German, even the word “einwecken” was invented based on his success (“einwecken” = preserving food in rubber-sealed jars…).

Source: http://www.google.de

He died in 1914, but his son continued the business. He was the owner of a respectable property in our village and the first person here to own an automobile. That might have been the beginning of the end, though….the main road on the old etchings looks so much more picturesque with horse carriages than the motorway feeder today!