With the signing of the transfer agreement, ownership of the collection will be transferred to Usakos Town Council. In the future, it will thus be accessible where its references lie: in Usakos, for the local people and future generations. You can find out more about this from 18 September 2026 in the exhibition “Destination: Usakos. Journey home to Namibia – the future of a colonial legacy”.
In 1906, the Swiss couple Victor and Marie Solioz brought an extensive collection of cultural heritage from Namibia to Bern: the Usakos Railway Workers’ Collection. The railway engineer Solioz was involved as a leading figure in the construction of the Otavi Railway in the then German colony. The creation of the collection is anchored in a historical context that was marked by colonial violence and the exploitation of land, resources and labour.
The long-term cooperation project around the Usakos Railway Workers’ Collection is the result of a research initiative by the Bernisches Historisches Museum on colonial cultural heritage and was developed together with the Museums Association of Namibia. The research on the collection was developed over the course of several years of collaboration with various Namibian partners. In the process, their close historical connection to the everyday and social history of the workers who were involved in the construction of the railway around 1900 was revealed.
