The Telephone Collection: Switchboards

The museum's collection includes four original telephone switchboards. It is possible to see (by prior arrangement) a complete facility in operation on-site at four locations in Switzerland: Magden, Versam, Frieswil and Rifferswil.

1. Museum Telephone Switchboard Magden

The Museum Telephone Switchboard Magden in the Canton of Aargau, about 20 km from Basel, is one of the four on-site branches of the Museum of Communication. It was installed in 1928 as an automatic rural switchboard for a maximum of 2000 subscribers. Today it is still operational and can be demonstrated.

2. Museum Telephone Switchboard Versam

About 25 km from Chur there is another on-site branch of the Museum of Communication: the Museum Telephone Switchboard Versam in Graubünden, which started operating in 1935, still has a completely operational electro-mechanical transmitting system. In addition, about two dozen telephones from the same period are on display.

3. Museum Telephone Switchboard Frieswil

Frieswil was the first municipality to have a telephone station with a direct connection to Berne. Nowadays, it the location of the Museum Telephone Switchboard Frieswil. Here, it is possible to demonstrate on the original machine, 15 km from Berne, how electro-mechanical transmission functions.

4. Historical Telephone Switchboard Rifferswil

This fourth on-site branch of the museum is located about 10 km from Zug. The historical telephone switchboard Rifferswil was in operation from 1955 to 1984. This, too, is a relic of a technology which no longer exists: the so-called electro-mechanical automatic telephone switchboard.