Textilmuseum Sorntal
Technical textile museum in a spinning mill from 1850, with working machines that are demonstrated during tours.
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About the museum
Textiles have been produced in Sorntal since 1823; the water power of the Sornbach made the place an industrial site. An entire ensemble grew up: factory buildings, a factory owner's villa with a park, a washhouse, a farm and a boarding house for workers. From 1891 the Brunnschweiler family ran the business, and from 1969 to 2007 ZETAG AG produced knitting yarns here.
The collection goes back to Gottlob Lutz, who from 1979 gathered textile objects when businesses closed, at flea markets and from antique dealers. After ZETAG AG bought the 1850 spinning mill in 1993, it became a museum; the building was renovated inside and out in 1994. The museum is listed in the Swiss inventory as an item of national significance – the listing took five years after a first hearing in 2005 – and is considered the only technical textile museum in the canton of St. Gallen.
In August 2018 the Verein Textilmuseum Sorntal (association) was founded, which in 2019 acquired the property thanks to donors and sponsors; all museum objects passed to the association as well. On roughly 900 square meters, the museum shows working textile machines on the first floor, wooden tools of cottage industry on the second floor, and the archive, pattern books and library in the attic.
Highlights
- Working textile machines that run during tours
- 1850 mill hall with cottage-industry tools
- Hundreds of fabric pattern books, archive and textile library
- Cultural property of national significance
- Open Sunday tours with changing themes
Permanent exhibition
- Museumsfabrik mit Textilmaschinen – On roughly 900 square meters, working machines from the early days of industrialization to more recent times show how textiles were processed; the upper floor holds wooden cottage-industry equipment.
- Operated by
- Verein Textilmuseum Sorntal
Admission & discounts
| Adults | CHF 10 |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | CHF 10Children and young people up to 16 years on group tours, per additional person |
| Groups | –Group tour including admission: flat rate CHF 120 for up to 8 people; each additional person: adults from 16 years CHF 15, children and young people up to 16 years CHF 10. |
| Open Sunday tour (about 1.5 hours, incl. admission) | CHF 10Per person, no registration, only on the advertised dates |
| Group tour incl. admission (up to 8 people) | CHF 120Flat rate; each additional adult CHF 15, children up to 16 years CHF 10 |
| School class up to 15 people | CHF 120Flat rate; each additional person CHF 8, accompanying and teaching staff free |
Association members enter free. Groups of 8 or more can book an aperitif with the tour (surcharge depending on the variant, CHF 10 to 20 per person on top of admission).
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
By public transit
A postbus stop is directly in front of the museum on the route between Niederbüren and Bischofszell.
The museum is on St. Gallen territory, close to the border with the canton of Thurgau.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 1.5 hrs |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | The visit takes place as part of a tour in which the machines are demonstrated. Group tours by arrangement; contact for tours: fuehrungen@textilmuseum-sorntal.ch. A combination with a restaurant visit in Niederbüren is possible on request. |
