Barrier Stoss

Various large fortifications in Switzerland, for example on the Gotthard, at Gondo in Ticino, and at Saint Maurice VS, were already built in the late 19th century. On the eastern border, however, the obsolete barrier on the Luziensteig was the only fortification until shortly before the Second World War. The seizure of power by the National Socialists in Germany and the annexation of Austria to the German Reich made our politicians prick up their ears and drastically demonstrated to the Federal Council and Parliament the need for stronger border protection in the east. The "Construction Program for Border Fortifications" approved in February 1935 finally gave the "green light" for the project planning of fortifications in the Rhine Valley. But before that, extensive reconnaissance was necessary. It was not until shortly before the start of the war that construction work began. Among others, also at the Stoss, which as the most important passage from the Rhine Valley into the Appenzellerland, was of significant strategic importance.