# Production plants of the brick manufacture industry A thematic map of the Atlas of Switzerland, the national atlas published by ETH Zurich. The map is drawn in the browser; this file describes it and lists its variants and links, but not the data values shown on the map. - Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/production-plants-of-the-brick-manufacture-industry/ - Short title: Brickworks - Map id: 194 - Categories: Nature and Environment › Geology and raw materials › Mineral raw materials - Keywords: Geology, Rocks - Published: 2010-11-26 - Last revised: 2022-02-03 - Content language: English - Other languages: [Deutsch](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/de/thema/produktionsstandorte-der-ziegeleiindustrie.md), [Français](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/fr/theme/sites-de-production-de-lindustrie-de-la-terre-cuite.md), [Italiano](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/it/tema/siti-di-produzione-dellindustria-dei-laterizi.md) ## Description Products made from fired clay have always been intimately entwined with the history of civilisation. The oldest objects, mostly ritual figurines of in the shape of animals or humans, as well as ceramic containers, are many thousands of years old. Construction materials of fired clay have been used in the Middle East since 4000 BC. The use of roof tiles made of fired clay, a Greek invention, has been ascertained in ancient Greece since the middle of the 7th century BC and in Rome since the early 4th century BC. The production of bricks became predominant in Rome and in the provinces from the 2nd century BC. In our regions, roofs with tiles were very common in Roman times, with the most frequent use in Geneva, Avenches and Strasbourg. Up until the middle of the 19th century, clay roof tiles were fashioned by hand. Small hand brickyards were often located near clay deposits, where bricks were fired in wood burning kilns. Thus a large number of villages and towns had their own brickyards. From the middle of the 19th century, clay roof tiles and bricks began to be more and more often machine made. This was made economically possible after the invention of a steam-powered stamping machine as well as the introduction of new drying and firing methods which led to enormous increases in productivity. In Switzerland, an increase in productivity of 60% was registered due to the use of new production processes between 1890 and 1896. At the beginning of the 20th century, approximately 350 brickyards were in service in Switzerland. The number of production centres for the brick industry then began to decrease continuously, especially the small brickyards with limited production capacity which were increasingly replaced by larger, mechanised factories. Since 1968, brick making by hand has practically disappeared. Economic advances brought about by the introduction of tunnel ovens in 1960, which permit the continuous firing of bricks, led to continued automation and rationalisation of brick making. The comparison of relative outputs over the last 30 years permits an appreciation of these rationalisation and modernisation processes. Over the last few years, energy consumption in new brickyards has clearly decreased through further technical developments. ## Sources - SGTK (1915): Die natürlichen Bausteine und Dachschiefer der Schweiz - SGTK, Schweizerische Geotechnische Kommission (ed.) (1997): Die mineralischen Rohstoffe der Schweiz. Zürich: Schweizerische Geotechnische Kommission ## Data sources - SGTK (1915): Die natürlichen Bausteine und Dachschiefer der Schweiz - SGTK, Schweizerische Geotechnische Kommission (2015): [Rohstoffinventar der Schweiz](http://www.sgtk.ch/) ## Data owners - [Swiss Geotechnical Commission, ETH Zurich (SGC)](http://www.sgtk.ch/) ## Citation The terms of use ask to name the Atlas of Switzerland and the data owners, and to keep the source references in exports, screenshots and embeds. Cite the map as: > Atlas of Switzerland (2022): Production plants of the brick manufacture industry. ETH Zürich. Map data © SGC. https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/production-plants-of-the-brick-manufacture-industry/ ## Variants The map has 5 variants. Levels: time. The `u` value of a variant selects it in the links below. - 1907: `u=AC4AAAAA` - 1935: `u=AC0AAAAA` - 1965: `u=ACwAAAAA` - 1995: `u=ABUAAAAA` - 2015: `u=AmAAAAAA` (default) ## Links Replace `{u}` with the `u` value of a variant above, or leave out `u={u}` for the default variant. The map opens at its full extent; a link cannot set the map position. - Map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/production-plants-of-the-brick-manufacture-industry/?u={u} - Short link, stays valid when the title changes: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/t/194/?u={u} - Side by side with another map: https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/comparison/?lt=194&lu={u}&rt={id of the other map}&ru={u of the other map, or leave out} Embed in another website (allowed by the terms of use, as long as the source references stay visible): ```html ``` In the embed URL, `dm` sets what is shown: `e` the map with its title bar (default), `p` also the values of an object clicked on the map, `m` only the map with a button that opens it in the atlas. `ig=1` (default) lets the map react to scrolling and dragging only after a click into it, `ig=0` right away. The size can be changed in `style`. ## Maps to compare with - [Quarries: extraction of stones](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/quarries-extraction-of-stones.md) (id 191) - [Extraction of clayey rocks](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/extraction-of-clayey-rocks.md) (id 193) - [Genesis: origin of rocks](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/genesis-origin-of-rocks.md) (id 167) - [Deposits of industrial minerals and other useful rocks](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/deposits-of-industrial-minerals-and-other-useful-rocks.md) (id 142) - [Chronostratigraphy: age of rocks](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/chronostratigraphy-age-of-rocks.md) (id 164) - [Classification of rocks](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/theme/classification-of-rocks.md) (id 353) For the use and citation of maps and data, see the [terms of use](https://atlasderschweiz.ch/en/terms-of-use/).