2   Kornhaus (granary)

Buying and selling grain

The municipality of Zug built its first granary in 1427/28. Apparently, it was only at this point, 200 years after the town’s foundation, that the need for a granary arose. Four adjacent plots of land were bought for the purpose. Forming a square, two faced the lane and the other two, separated by an Ehgraben (a narrow alleyway often used as a sewer), also known as the “Schissigässli” (Little Shit Alley), faced the lake. The new building took up two of the plots. Stretching from the lane on one side to the lake on the other, it was a large edifice. Built entirely of wood, the massive post and plank structure was typical of three-storey town houses of the day, its upper floors projecting over the street. The ground floor was a single, hall-like space. Its enormous depth meant the ceiling beams had to be supported by wooden pillars and joists. The large, high-ceilinged room was used for receiving and dispatching grain consignments. The Kornhaus (granary) was the only place in the town where grain was allowed to be bought or sold. Sales could be conducted only at regulated times and were subject to a tax known as the “Immi”. This was levied in kind and the grain thus acquired by the town authorities was immediately stored in the Kornhaus.

In 1535, the town council issued new regulations for grain sales. Millers and bakers had to swear that they would pay the Immi tax on all grain sales, including those not conducted at the Zug market. Millers were responsible for ensuring that the correct Immi was levied on all the grain brought to them for milling; only grain purchased for domestic use was exempt. Grain sales had to be conducted at the weekly market, held on Tuesdays, which began in the summer months (Easter to Michaelmas [29 September]) at 9 am, and in the winter months (Michaelmas to Easter) at 10 am. Anyone who did not observe these times or did not pay the Immi, would be charged the very considerable fine of 10 gulden.

Running out of space

The Kornhaus was not only used for grain sales, but also as the municipal grain store. In years when the harvest failed, the town authorities supplied the market with grain in order to keep prices down and deter speculation. The grain was probably stored in the upper floors of the Kornhaus, which were divided up into rooms of unusually small size. This was the town’s actual granary.

In 1500, around 70 years after it was built, the available storage space became too small and so the Kornhaus was considerably enlarged with the addition of a rectangular stone extension. To make room for this, the original building had to be shortened a little. This was when the Kornhaus acquired its present L-shaped floor plan.

Just 30 years later, space seems to have become tight again. To solve the problem the town built an enormous new granary on St.-Oswalds-Gasse, next to the Oberwilertor gate in 1530. This was intended, in particular, for storing grain levied by Zug each year as tithes from communities in the Ennetsee district along the shores of Lake Zug. The custodian of St. Wolfgang’s church in Hünenberg was responsible for collecting the tithes, which was why the new building, erected by master builder Ulrich Giger, was also known as the “St. Wolfgangshaus”.

Temporary accommodation

As well as presumably storing grain, the rooms on the upper floors of the Kornhaus were used as temporary accommodation for people in need. In 1615, for example, a midwife was allowed to move in, obliging a women named “Blunschi” to move out. A year later, the town council permitted a certain Lieutenant Küng to live here, on the understanding that he would have to leave if he behaved badly – which is what happened shortly afterwards. In 1618, the council turned down a request for accommodation at the Kornhaus from a certain Hans Jost Durner. In 1623, a street watchman named Wolfgang Feyss was given refuge and allowed to stay temporarily. In 1626 one Paul Twerenbold was allowed to move in, obliging two women already in residence to share a room in order to give him the other one.

The founding of the Zug Fisheries Association

The alterations to the Kornhaus in 1500 involved shortening the end next to the lake and building a stone extension at right angles to the original building, giving it the L-shaped ground-plan and external appearance it still has today. The canton’s fish hatchery was installed in the extension in 1883, with the aim of improving fish stocks in Zug’s rivers and lakes. In 1892, the Fisheries Museum was added. Both were taken over in the 1890s by the Zug Fisheries Association, which ran them from then on.

As a result of industrialisation, the building of hydro-electric power plants and the increasing pollution of lakes and rivers, fish stocks in Switzerland began to decline steadily from the mid-19th century onwards. They continued to fall, despite the enactment of a federal law for the protection of lakes and rivers in 1875. The cause was taken up by the Swiss Fisheries Association (SFV), formed at a national level in 1883. This developed into an umbrella organisation for cantonal fishermen’s associations and later the Swiss Fish-Breeder’s Association (founded in 1915) and the Swiss Professional Fishermen’s Association (founded in 1924).

The Zug Fisheries Association was founded in 1888 to protect and maintain fish stocks. From its very inception, its members included not only fishermen, but other interested members of the public and friends of the Fisheries Museum. The association’s aims were to promote and practice the art of fishing, cultivate comradeship, nurture fish stocks, protect lakes, rivers, nature and the landscape, represent the interests of anglers and professional fishermen, and support Zug’s show hatchery and Fisheries Museum.

A new use for the building

In 1976, the town authorities put the Kornhaus at the disposal of the Zug Art Association to house the town’s first art gallery. After the necessary alterations to the building, the gallery opened in 1977 with a major exhibition on Zug art, from Romantic to modern.

The Zug Art Association was founded in 1957 to “promote the practice and public appreciation of the visual arts” and dedicated itself to organising events, lectures, excursions and exhibitions. It also came up with the idea for a municipal art collection with a focus on regional art, as well as Swiss Surrealism and fantastic art. The voluntary committee succeeded in achieving major goals with modest resources, expanding the collection, employing curators and staging well-regarded exhibitions. 1981 saw the foundation of the Friends of Kunsthaus Zug, a trust dedicated to growing the collection and acquiring a purpose-built gallery. In 1983 the building known as the “Hof” on Dorfstrasse was purchased and the architect Franz Füeg was commissioned to adapt and renovate it. Building work started in 1988, and in 1990, the Kunsthaus was placed under professional management.

Visible construction history

The Kornhaus façade, hardly changed since it was first built in 1427/28, conveys an impression of what the town must have looked like in those days. Typical of town houses of its day, it is a post-and-plank construction with several storeys, the upper ones projecting out over the street. The posts of the ground-floor façade are still the originals. Upstairs, however, the original façade is concealed behind a modern imitation dating from the 1920s, with painted floral decoration in the style of the 16^th century.

Inside, much of the wooden construction is original; for example, the beautiful and once ornately painted wooden post and joist on the ground floor. On the upper floors, various original posts and even wall planks have survived. Numerous grooves and slots in the edges of the wall plates and posts, dating from the time of the original building, bear witness to the unusually large number of small rooms into which these floors were once partitioned.

On the second floor, the roof truss of the original building is visible, with its ridge beams, tie beams and characteristic rafters. The various building phases are still impressively reflected in the intricate joinery. Originally enormous, the roof truss was shortened when the extension was added to the western end in 1500.