Jakob Oberholzer (1862–1939) [1]

Jakob Oberholzer was an art master who described and mapped the Canton Glarus (Switzerland) very precisely. In 1917 Jakob Oberholzer became a honorary doctor of the University Zurich for his contributions to geological research. A collection of his beautiful drawings coloured according to geological features was published in "Glarner Alpen" 1933 [2]. In the village of Ennenda, Glarus, a commemorative plaque reminds on his life's work.

Relief Canton Glarus

Terrain model made by Jakob Oberholzer, Canton Glarus (Switzerland), 1911, scale 1:50,000, 112 x 88 cm, geologically coloured by Max R. Geiser.

Oberholzer's graphic skills and his ability of detailed observation play a crucial role not only in designing geological maps, but also creating various reliefs. In 1911 he carved from plaster a terrain model of his home canton of Glarus in the scale of 1:50,000. Nearly 100 years later, this handmade model was used as an intermediate piece for a huge terrain model automatically carved by a milling machine with a final dimension of ca. 70 x 500 cm. The model is displayed at the permanent Focus Terra exhibition at ETH Zurich.

[1] Räber, Stefan; Hurni, Lorenz. An ambitious Relief Model Project. 2008, pdf.

[2] Oberholzer, Jakob. Geologie der Glarneralpen, Beiträge zur geologischen Karte der Schweiz. Geologische Kommission der Schweiz. Naturforschenden Gesellschaft. 1933.