The Militärhistorische Stiftung des Kantons Zug MHSZ (''Foundation of Military History of the Canton of Zug'' in English) is a foundation consisting of a group of Military Museums in the canton of Zug with the purpose of safeguarding and cultivating the military heritage of the

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Confederation in the

canton of Zug The canton of Zug, also Zoug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: , rm, Chantun Zug, french: Canton de Zoug, it, Canton Zugo) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland. It is located in central Switzerland and its capital is Zug. At the canto ...

Activities

The MHSZ secures and maintain the historical remains of buildings from the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

in the canton of Zug, making them accessible to historians, scientists, and the public. The MHSZ is concerned with preserving the cantonal and federal military heritage in its broadest sense; acquiring, securing, preserving, and maintaining the fortifications and opening them to the scientific community and the public. The foundation also manages the Bloodbound museum in the municipality of

Menzingen Menzingen is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. History Menzingen is first mentioned around 1217-22 as ''Meincingin''. The traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X, which is said to have broken with the Vatican over "doctrinal ...

Organization

The foundation was established in January 1994 by 25 people as a civil-law institution in accordance with Art. 80 et sqq. of the Swiss Civil Code. The MHSZ consists of *The Board of Trustees *The

Fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

department *The

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

department *The external auditors

Membership of the Foundation

The MHSZ is a member of ‘’FORT - CH / Festungen – Schweiz’’, the national umbrella organisation of Swiss civilian fortress organisations, who maintain the fortresses and other infrastructures of the

Swiss army The Swiss Armed Forces (german: Schweizer Armee, french: Armée suisse, it, Esercito svizzero, rm, Armada svizra; ) operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, re ...

and make them publicly available.

Military heritage of Canton Zug

Fortresses

The MHSZ has now acquired over 35 local fortifications which are preserved and displayed on guided tours. 40 more fortresses are to be acquired. The acquired fortresses all date from the Second World War and continued operation during the post-war years and were fitted with more advanced arms. These facilities were to be used by the 6th Field Division as part of the Swiss National Redoubt, an attempt to prevent rapid enemy advancement through the pre-alpine part of the canton Zug into the basin of

Schwyz The town of Schwyz (; french: Schwytz; it, Svitto) is the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the '' ...

, and from there on towards the Gotthard Pass, in the case of an invasion. The fortifications consist of dragon's teeth and other obstacles e.g. ditches, walls, bunkers fitted with

machine guns A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

Anti-tank weapons Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first deve ...

, various artillery installations including 7.5 cm and 15 cm

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

weaponry. The inventory of the acquired facilities is as follows:

Bloodhound

The MHSZ has acquired the air defense control armament position BL-64 ZG "Bloodhound" in the municipality of Menzingen. The facility can be visited via guided tours. The BL-64 ZG "Bloodhound" is the last of six air defense control armament positions of the British type ''Bloodhound Mark II'', which had been spread across the Swiss Plateau and the

Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...

, that is still in good condition. The ''Bloodhounds'' had been built for the protection of the Swiss airspace, together with Mirage III combat aircraft and the FLORIDA Airspace monitoring and management system. From the 1960s until the end of the millennium, these three systems had been in service. They have since been replaced by

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...

combat aircraft and the new radar system FLORAKO. The ''Bloodhounds'' have not received a successor. The entire facility remains the property of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport. One of the former two units is under cantonal

Cultural heritage management Cultural heritage management (CHM) is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management (CRM), although it also draws on the practices of cultural conservation, restoration, museology, archae ...

. In the summer several of the eight launchers are equipped with original, but inert missiles. The complete electronic and mechanical facilities are at their original location. The main components of the SAM system are a command center with deployment point, a radar, a power supply with diesel units, the launcher, an underground missile storage, a communication tower and transmission systems. Within the outpost there is a well-developed street network, and the military camp by the entrance is still used by the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport. Today the BL-64 ZG ''Bloodhound'' is the last of its kind.David Külling, Manfred Hildebrand, Maurice Lovisa: Military monuments in the area of the Luftwaffe. VBS 2008

Zuger Depot Technical History

The MHSK is a founder and member of the Verein Zuger Depot Technikgeschichte ZDT (English ''Depot of Technical History of Zug Foundation'') in the former Zeughaus

Neuheim Neuheim is a municipality in the canton of Zug in Switzerland. History Neuheim is first mentioned in 1080 as ''Niuheim''. In 1173 the parish church of St. Blasien was built and Neuheim became the center of the parish of Neuheim. The parish wa ...

. The ZDT is interdisciplinary and includes army,

fire department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

and public transport. The MHSZ shows various projects, equipment and weapons of the Swiss Army, with the main focus on infantry, armored personnel, aviation, artillery and armored vehicles. The equipment, guns and armored vehicles are maintained, restored and kept available for guided tours and open days for the interested public by the ZDT. The exhibition includes the following vehicles: *

Saurer MH4 The Saurer MH4 was a military vehicle of the Swiss Army that was produced by the company Saurer, and was used from 1945 to 1985 as troop transport. History and description The M4, Saurer Factory designation 4MH, 4-wheeled vehicle (M for militar ...

Saurer M6 The Saurer M6 (also called Saurer M6 M) is a 6x6 truck model, which established the Adolph Saurer AG in 1940. The payload of 2.5 tons. The Swiss Army ordered 338 Saurer M6s in 1940; an additional 16 came with solid construction as radio trucks. ...

Mowag T1 4x4 MOWAG is a Swiss company which develops, designs and produces armoured vehicles for military applications in both land-only and amphibious configurations. These vehicles have gross vehicle weights ranging from 9 tonnes to 30 tonnes. The company ...

Mowag W300 The Mowag W300 is a fire-fighting vehicle from Switzerland. It is a rebadged variant of the Dodge W-Series trucks. History and development Since 1955 fire engines have also been constructed at Mowag in Kreuzlingen in the Canton of Thurgau. Ofte ...

Entpannungspanzer 65 The Entpannungspanzer 65 (EntpPz 65) is a Swiss armored recovery vehicle developed by '' Eidgenoessische Konstruktionswerkstaette Thun'' in the late 1960s. The vehicle served as a traveling workshop for the Swiss military. The prototype for the ...

* Brückenpanzer 68 * Berna L275/10 Truck from 1937 * GMC AC 454 Trucks of 1940 * Canadian Military Pattern truck * Saurer D 330 N * Motor-Gebirgskanone 1938 L22 (7.5 cm MotGeb Kan 38 L22) * 20mm Fliegerabwehr cannon 1938 (Flab Kan 38) W + F Berne * Orion Autobus 1904 *

Saurer 5 DUK The Saurer 5 DUK is a bus of the Swiss manufacturer Adolph Saurer AG, from Arbon. History and development The Saurer 5 DUK is a left-steered bus and PostBus type of the former PTT operations and various regional bus / transport companies in ...

1965 * APE 4.80 Zugerland Verkehrsbetriebe ZVB passenger trailer *

AGP 3 AGP may refer to: Science and technology * Accelerated Graphics Port, a high-speed point-to-point channel for attaching a graphics card to a computer's motherboard * Advance Game Port, a third-party GameCube accessory * Aerosol-generating procedu ...

Zugerland Verkehrsbetriebe ZVB cargo trailer * Motor vehicle CFe 4/4 "elephant" 1913 of the electric tramway in the canton of Zug (ESZ) *

FBW 91U EU4A The FBW 91U EU4A is a bus of the Swiss manufacturer Franz Brozincevic Wetzikon (FBW), from Wetzikon. History and development The FBW 91U EU4A is a left-steered bus type used by various regional bus / transport companies in Switzerland. The b ...

Flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

Unit

Volkswagen Transporter The Volkswagen Transporter, based on the Volkswagen Group's T platform, now in its seventh generation, refers to a series of vans produced for over 70 years and marketed worldwide. The T series is now considered an official list of Volkswagen Gr ...

1961 * ADL ADL 1979 * Reconstruction truck Magirus-Deutz Muni 1957 * SCBA Transporter Geser F-250 4x4

References

Citations

Bibliography

David Külling, Manfred Hildebrand, Maurice Lovisa: ''Militärische Denkmäler im Bereich der Luftwaffe''. VBS 2008
* Silvio Keller, Maurice Lovisa, Thomas Bitterli: ''Militärische Denkmäler in den Kantonen Uri, Schwyz und Zug. Inventar der Kampf- und Führungsbauten.'' (Hrsg.) Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, Bern 200

Patrick Jordi: Militärhistorische Stiftung und die Festungen im Kanton Zug, Baar 2002

External links

Official MHSK Website

Official ZDT Website

Official FORT Website
{{coord missing, Switzerland Military and war museums in Switzerland Zug Military equipment of Switzerland Military history of Switzerland Foundations based in Switzerland Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zug