233:, claimed to be the first electric railway in Switzerland, was opened in 1888. After early technical challenges had been overcome, the funicular became a highly effective tourist magnet. The BĂĽrgenstock also featured electric lighting and electric elevators many years before these features became mainstream, and long before public power supplies became the norm. Bucher built a hydro-electric generating plant, which came into operation in 1886/87, for the growing complex. An additional use for the power supply came with the construction in 1905 of the remarkable
316:, proudly showing fellow villagers his first million and buying drinks for many. He also had himself photographed in his garden at home, accompanied by the cash, his wife, and two of their children, using a new medium to provide visual evidence of his enhanced credit-worthiness. Asked why he had nevertheless, as usual, traveled home in a third class railway carriage, he is said to have explained that the
226:(mountain). Here he built the 220 bed "Grand Hotel Kurhaus", subsequently renamed "Grand Hotel BĂĽrgenstock", which opened in 1873. Bucher oversaw the construction himself. The luxury hotel was a success, which led to expansion. Between 1887 and 1905, the BĂĽrgenstock Hotel grew into a substantial hotel resort-complex. To improve access to the inherently inaccessible mountaintop hotel, a
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Bucher's portion of the business was renamed "Schweizerische
Hotelgesellschaft", which by the start of the twentieth century had become the largest hotels undertaking in the world, as Franz Josef Bucher, supported by his growing family, constructed a succession of luxury hotels in and beyond Europe. Particularly high profile creations included the Hotel Quirinal in Rome and the
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312:(1896) and an electric tramline, necessary to provide adequate access to his newly purchased hotel in the city. On its completion, he sold the tramline to the municipality for one million Swiss francs, which he insisted on receiving in cash. This he placed in a large linen sack which he took back to
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Despite commercial success, Josef Bucher always retained an underlying humility. He never ate with the guests in his hotel dining rooms, but insisted on eating with the hotel personnel. Various legends circulate in this connection. On one occasion he noticed that only one of the tables in the
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During the 1880s, the business activities of Bucher and his partner Joseph Durrer diverged, with Durrer focusing on timber based building and construction, while Bucher concentrated on the hotel business. However, it was only in 1895 that the business of "Bucher & Durrer" was formally split.
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Sources differ as to whether by his two marriages, Bucher had 14 or 15 recorded children. Six of his sons took leading positions in his hotels business and which also employed his sons-in-law and many remoter kinsfolk. Following his death, his sons Fritz and Arnold took over leadership of the
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and was the owner and patron of Europe's largest hotel company in the 19th century. At the time of his death, his net worth was estimated at 14 million Swiss Francs (equal to about 160 million Swiss Francs in 2023). Between 1886 and 1896, Bucher served as a member of the
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did not offer a fourth class. Having celebrated his triumph with his neighbours he set off with his bag of cash for Rome, where he used it to buy the Hotel
Quirinal. This was not the only time that Josef Bucher drew attention with his unconventional business methods.
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staff canteen had a tablecloth on it. He was given to understand that the table with the cloth on it was set aside for senior staff, whereupon he seized one end and pulled the cloth, together with the contents of the table, onto the floor.
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After some years working as a herdsman and farmer he teamed up with Joseph Durrer, his future brother in law to form, in 1864, the business "Bucher & Durrer". In 1868, the two of them opened a factory on the edge of Sarnen, at
384:, reflecting the custom sometimes adopted in German speaking countries of merging the family names of husband and wife on marriage. Bucher was married twice. Both his wives, like his mother, were born with the surname "Durrer".
527:"Hotellerie: König der Berge: Der Deal um das Berner "Bellevue Palace" zeigt einmal mehr: Man setzt wieder auf renovierte Luxuspaläste, wie sie Wirtschaftspionier Franz Josef Bucher um 1900 für adelige und neureiche Gäste baute"
253:, where it is reported that he simultaneously employed 300 European construction workers together with a further 1,000 Egyptians: Bucher himself died shortly before the Semiramis opened in 1906.
281:, which was also constructed by Bucher's firm. The railway opened in 1893 and attracted much interest due to its technical innovations, notably in respect of the braking system (
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Although he did business in many countries across two continents, Josef Bucher never bothered to master foreign languages. Instructions were habitually delivered in the
193:. His father, SĂ©bastien Bucher, was a farmer and local councilor. The boy attended the school in Kerns and then went on to college in the cantonal capital,
164:(17 January 1834 – 6 October 1906) was Swiss business magnate, politician and patron who built his wealth in hotels and railroads. Bucher established the
237:, an outdoor device that carries visitors up a vertical distance of more than 100 meters on order to access a look-out position with views across
593:"Hammetschwand Elevator: The tallest outdoor elevator in Europe rockets passengers on a dizzyingly precarious ride to the top of a mountain"
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Josef Bucher was a local councillor in Kerns, also serving, between 1884 and 1896, on the
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638:"Hotel-Pioniere: Die Geschichte des Schweizer Tourismus ist voller grosser Leistungen"
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In 1869/70, "Bucher & Durrer" built their first hotel, the "Sonnenberg-Hotel" in
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451:"Franz Josef Bucher-Durrer (1834–1906): Nicht nur auf dem Bürgenstock ein Pionier"
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It was on Bucher's personal initiative that "Bucher & Durrer" constructed the
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615:"Bucher and Durrer: The Forming of the Bucher-Durrer Hospitality Empire"
668:. Oliver Martin & Reto MĂĽller iA Bundesamt fĂĽr Kultur, Bern. 2011
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529:. Bilanz – Das Schweizer Wirtschaftsmagazin, Zürich. Archived from
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Bucher's railway building was not restricted to
Switzerland. In
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301:(1899) and the Vevey–Chardonne–Mont-Pèlerin funicular (1900).
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571:"1871: The then 31-year-old Bucher purchases the "Trittalp""
285:). Further railways constructed by the firm included the
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489:(in French). Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, Berne
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Business magnate, hotel and railroad pioneer, politician
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617:. The Most Famous Hotels in the World. 12 March 2006
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456:. Albert Koechlin Stiftung, Luzern. Archived from
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660:"Reichenbachfallbahn, Meiringen, Standseilbahn"
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273:quay at the southwestern end of
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689:"Es war einmal ein Grand Hotel"
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449:Erika FlĂĽckiger Strebe (2015).
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640:. Weltwoche Verlags AG, ZĂĽrich
573:. BĂĽrgenstock Resort, ObbĂĽrgen
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394:Roland Sigrist (8 June 2004).
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277:with the base station for the
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418:"Hotellerie: König der Berge"
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287:Monte San Salvatore funicular
279:Stanserhorn funicular railway
235:Hammetschwand Lift / Elevator
171:Cantonal Council of Obwalden
44:Cantonal Council of Obwalden
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299:Reichenbach Falls funicular
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487:"Bucher, Franz Josef"
396:"Bucher, Franz Josef"
741:Swiss businesspeople
731:People from Obwalden
736:Swiss-German people
533:on 17 November 2015
261:The railway pioneer
247:Hotel Palace Luzern
181:Bucher was born in
691:. Il Paese, Lugano
325:The quirky magnate
162:Franz Josef Bucher
74:Franz Josef Bucher
23:Franz Josef Bucher
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297:(1886), the
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275:Lake Lucerne
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103:(1906-10-06)
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721:1906 deaths
716:1834 births
345:, Rome and
224:BĂĽrgenstock
710:Categories
695:3 December
672:3 December
644:3 December
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599:3 December
577:3 December
537:3 December
493:3 December
467:3 December
428:2023-06-22
402:3 December
369:References
257:business.
136:Occupation
80:1834-01-17
42:Member of
228:funicular
220:Engelberg
144:Signature
126:Parent(s)
56:1884–1896
52:In office
353:Politics
208:Kägiswil
187:Obwalden
118:Children
91:Obwalden
231:railway
191:Lucerne
555:, 1948
343:Ticino
291:Lugano
201:Career
195:Sarnen
461:(PDF)
454:(PDF)
347:Genoa
314:Kerns
306:Genoa
251:Cairo
183:Kerns
108:Cairo
87:Kerns
697:2015
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98:Died
70:Born
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