Richard Zschokke

Richard Zschokke (born February 11, 1865 in Gontenschwil ; † May 25, 1946 in Gontenschwil) was a Swiss civil engineer and politician ( BGB ). From 1919 to 1935 he represented the canton of Aargau in the National Council . He became known in particular through the construction of the Jungfrau Railway .

biography

The grandson of the writer Heinrich Zschokke and son of the reformed pastor Achilles Zschokke grew up as the ninth of 15 children in simple rural circumstances. He graduated from the district school in Menziken and the canton school in Aarau . From 1883 to 1887 he studied engineering at the Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum in Zurich (today's ETH Zurich ). Thereupon he got a job with his cousin Conradin Zschokke in Aarau and took over the construction management of the second extension of the port facilities in Genoa from 1888 to 1892 .

After returning to Switzerland, he built various fortifications in the Gotthard massif and, in 1899, the Suworow monument in the Schöllenen Gorge . In 1901 he settled in Wengen and managed the construction of the Jungfrau Railway from there , which made him internationally known. In addition, he planned several power plants, the Schöllenenbahn and the never built mountain railway to the Pfänder . In 1914 he moved back to his home town of Gontenschwil and mainly dealt with water supply systems, spring catchments and pumping out.

In 1919 he was elected to the National Council as a representative of the Aargauer BGB . In Parliament he mainly dealt with structural engineering issues. As a passionate hunter, however, he was also instrumental in drafting a new hunting law. In 1935 he ended his political career.

His nephew Max Zschokke was also a well-known civil engineer.

literature

• Biographical Lexicon of the Canton of Aargau 1803–1957 . In: Historical Society of the Canton of Aargau (Ed.): Argovia . tape 68/69 . Verlag Sauerländer, Aarau 1958, p. 919-920 .

Web links

• Patrick Zehnder: Richard Zschokke. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .