Franz Josef Bucher[1] (17 January 1834 – 6 October 1906) was a Swiss business magnate, politician and patron who built his wealth in hotels and railroads.

[4] Bucher was born in Kerns, Obwalden, a small town roughly 22 km (15 miles) south of Lucerne.

The boy attended the school in Kerns and then went on to college in the cantonal capital, Sarnen, a short distance further up the valley to the south.

[4] An additional use for the power supply came with the construction in 1905 of the remarkable Hammetschwand Lift / Elevator, an outdoor device that carries visitors up a vertical distance of more than 100 meters on order to access a look-out position with views across Lake Lucerne.

The railway opened in 1893 and attracted much interest due to its technical innovations, notably in respect of the braking system (Zangenbremsen).

In Genoa he built the funicular at the Mura delle Chiappe (1896) and an electric tramline, necessary to provide adequate access to his newly purchased hotel in the city.

[6] This he placed in a large linen sack which he took back to Kerns, proudly showing fellow villagers his first million and buying drinks for many.

[6] He also had himself photographed in his garden at home, accompanied by the cash, his wife, and two of their children, using a new medium to provide visual evidence of his enhanced credit-worthiness.

[6] Having celebrated his triumph with his neighbours he set off with his bag of cash for Rome, where he used it to buy the Hotel Quirinal.

Despite the importance within his hotels empire of Ticino, Rome and Genoa, it was said that the only word of Italian that he uttered with any frequency was "Avanti!".