In 1868 Kölla committed an offense of making counterfeit bank bills and was sentenced to eighteen months in prison and 10 years banishment from the Canton of St. Gallen.

She rented the house Kunstgüetli on Seequai, at the pier of the present Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG) probably to benefit from the excursion traffic and increasing tourism.

From this point, Alwina led the business successfully as a freelance photographer and businesswoman, initially under the name of her husband, Kölla, later under her unmarried name Gossauer.

Kölla did not pay alimony, sold his studio in Richterswil and the photographic equipment loaned from his wife, and in vain Alwina sued her ex-husband in the civil courts.

[3] In the 1870s, the divorce was expensive and forfeited Gossauer's independence: as it was customary at that times, a legal guardian was assigned, and every contract had to be confirmed by the custodian.

[4] In 1892 Gossauer was able to fulfil a long-cherished wish, thanks to her successful work as a photographer and businesswoman: at the Obere Bahnhofstrasse lane she bought land and built a three-storey commercial and residential building.