Swiss Historical Village & Museum

05/30/2026

During the month of May, the Swiss Historical Village hosted several area school districts for a hands-on “Country School Field Trip Day” experience. This year over 175 enthusiastic fourth and fifth grade students from New Glarus, Belleville and Monticello participated over a period of several days. I think staff and volunteers had just as much fun as the kids!

The full story will be available to historical society members in our June newsletter, out next week! Not a member yet? Visit our website to join the historical society today!

https://swisshistoricalvillage.org/membership/

05/23/2026

We've been hard at work preparing the grounds and buildings for our opening weekend! Hope to see you soon!

05/15/2026

We love hosting County School Days every spring! It's a great experience for both students and museum staff.

05/14/2026

We are having ongoing issues with our email account. If you need to contact us, please leave a message at 608-527-2317.

05/07/2026

TONIGHT!

Please join us for a very special presentation by Dr. Melanie Lorenz! She'll be talking about the historical context of Swiss immigration to New Glarus in the 19th century.

This talk brings the rich local history of New Glarus in connection with broader developments in Switzerland and in the United States in the nineteenth century, focusing on how the Swiss migration to New Glarus developed, how it was shaped by state iniatives and how it compared to other immigration movements in the nineteeth century.

This event will meet in the Village Hall community room. Please enter through the back doors.

05/06/2026

Board members planted a hydrangea near the entrance building, in memory of late Board President Larry Klassy.

05/05/2026

Sending a huge THANK YOU to the high schoolers who came up to the museum on Friday to help clean up the grounds!

04/30/2026

We hope you can attend!

Coming up one week from today!

Curious about the social, political, and economic factors that led to settlement of our community? Join us on May 7th at 6 PM for a presentation by Swiss historian Dr. Melanie Lorenz. She'll be talking about the historical context of Swiss immigration to New Glarus in the 19th century.

This talk brings the rich local history of New Glarus in connection with broader developments in Switzerland and in the United States in the nineteenth century, focusing on how the Swiss migration to New Glarus developed, how it was shaped by state iniatives and how it compared to other immigration movements in the nineteeth century.

Dr. Melanie Lorenz was born and raised in Switzerland. She is a trained historian with a Master of Arts degree from Boston College and recently defended her dissertation in history at Marquette University. Her master's thesis focused on state-sponsored migration in Switzerland and the United States during the nineteenth century. Her broader work focuses on the history of immigration in the United States, as well as the history of immigrant midwives in the nineteenth and early twentieth century.

This event is free and open to the public. We will be meeting in the Village Hall community room. Please enter through the back doors.

Many thanks to our generous sponsors:

Swiss Historical Village Museum
Jackie's European Imports
Chalet Landhaus
Sportsman's Reloaded