Ferdinand Vetter and the Gottfried Keller Foundation. The early days of historic preservation in Switzerland.

A hundred years ago, the Gottfried Keller Foundation, in collaboration with the Canton of Schaffhausen and the town of Stein am Rhein, acquired the buildings of the former St. George’s Abbey in Stein am Rhein from the Vetter family. The Reverend Ferdinand Vetter (1811–1888) had purchased these buildings from the town in 1875, thereby saving them from demolition. His son, Ferdinand Vetter (1847–1924), a professor of classical German literature in Bern, inherited them in 1888, restored them and converted them into a historical museum. In 1891, St George’s became the first cultural property of national importance to be placed under the protection of the Confederation.

The exhibition highlights the important role played by the Vetter family from 1875 onwards and by the Gottfried Keller Foundation after 1926 in the protection of Switzerland’s cultural heritage and the preservation of St. George’s Abbey.

Guided tours, information: ksg.vermittlung@bak.admin.ch