The gentle renewal of a monument

The historic Untermüli building is currently being renovated. This valuable contemporary witness of the past century will become part of the Industrial Trail of the City of Zug in the coming spring - at the initiative of its forward-looking owner.

The Industriepfad Lorze (Lorze Industrial Path) was created in 1994 by the association with the same name, and is an elaborate project which, over a total length of 30 kilometres, brings history buffs closer to historical objects that have had a significant impact on the recent history of the Canton of Zug. Around 70 informative information boards vividly explain the importance of buildings with an industrial background.

The separately listed Industriepfad Stadt Zug (City of Zug Industrial Path) sees itself as a feeder to the Lorze Industrial Path. It was developed by the City Archive of Zug in 2008/09 following the same concept, and currently consists of ten objects and display boards. It is an openly-conceived cultural project and will be supplemented by other historically-important objects at random intervals. One of them is the Untermüli, which will probably be part of the City of Zug Industrial Path from next spring.

The stately building from the end of the 19th century, which was inspired by the Nordic Gothic Brick architecture, has been wrapped in scaffolding for some time now. On the initiative of the owner Hans Voorgang, the building complex is undergoing a gentle renovation. In addition to other measures, an important step is the replacement of the acrylic-based plaster with a purely mineral plaster that is suitable for historic masonry.

Prepared for a clean-up: the more than 120 years old Untermüli in Zug.

Hans Voorgang is known for his careful handling of historic buildings, and planned the renovation of the listed Untermüli in close cooperation with the Denkmalpflege (historic preservation department). It was also his wish that the Untermüli should be included in the City of Zug Industrial Path. Art historian Brigitte Moser, a specialist in historic buildings and tenant of an office in the Untermüli, will work out the content of the information board. She welcomes the project: "The building is of immense architectural importance for Zug, and is worthy of an appropriate presentation."

The Untermüli was built on the initiative of the Zug master miller and entrepreneur Johann Michael Stadlin (1845-1909) shortly after the new Zurich - Thalwil - Zug - Arth - Goldau railway line had been put into operation in 1897. It was only the second fully-automatic mill in Switzerland, making Stadlin a pioneer in the canton of Zug. The power for the operation was supplied by the Lorze power station. After the mill ceased operation in 1929, the Orris Fettwerk AG company moved into the building and produced margarine here. An old company sign on the front of the building harks back to this time.

Today, the rooms in the Untermüli are mainly rented to people and small businesses working in cultural field. "That was and is due to the convictions of the owner," says Brigitte Moser. And this makes the prominent L-shaped building, which is still largely preserved in its original condition, with its characteristic gables, what it is: a valuable architectural witness of the industrial history of Zug with a new, sustainable function.