Schweizer Strohmuseum

The SCHWEIZER STROHMUSEUM (Swiss Straw Museum) pays homage to the hat industry of the Freiamt, a region of the Canton of Aargau in the German speaking part of Switzerland. In no other part of the world were such delicate hat materials and trimmings created as in this region during the 1800s. Straw, such a humble material, was the foundation of a blooming industry which spanned over 200 years. What began as a cottage industry eventually grew into a far-reaching international business.

Visitors are invited to take an exciting journey that commences in the rural craft of the 1700s and 1800s, through the times of industrial mass production that was at the mercy of the whimsy of international fashion, until the trade's downfall in the last quarter of the 20th century.

This museum greets you in the following languages: D/F/E
Opening 1976

Current exhibitions

Carbon Paper, Button Machines and Boy Urine. Contemporary witnesses remember the Hat Industry

10.09.2023 - 29.09.2024

What were everyday life and labour like 60 or 70 years ago? What skills did a plaiting machine operator require? And how do “Gold Vreneli” coins multiply without any outside intervention?
The special exhibition draws on the interviews held with over 30 contemporary witnesses of the hat plaiting industry and displays informative and anecdotal excerpts in an interactive film.
The exhibition illuminates yesteryear’s life and labour in the Freiamt region and brings them closer to a broad audience.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D
Guided tours are offered in the following languages: D

Carbon Paper, Button Machines and Boy Urine. Contemporary witnesses remember the Hat Industry

10.09.2023 - 29.09.2024

What were everyday life and labour like 60 or 70 years ago? What skills did a plaiting machine operator require? And how do “Gold Vreneli” coins multiply without any outside intervention?
The special exhibition draws on the interviews held with over 30 contemporary witnesses of the hat plaiting industry and displays informative and anecdotal excerpts in an interactive film.
The exhibition illuminates yesteryear’s life and labour in the Freiamt region and brings them closer to a broad audience.


The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D
Guided tours are offered in the following languages: D

Von Kohlepapier, Knöpflimaschinen und Knabenurin

10.09.2023 - 22.09.2024

Zeitzeuginnen und Zeitzeugen erinnern sich an die Hutgeflechtindustrie.

The exhibition is documented in the following languages: D
Guided tours are offered in the following languages: D