BIC Museum of Microscopy – Wild Heerbrugg

Wild Heerbrugg

The Wild Heerbrugg company was founded in 1921 in Switzerland by Heinrich Wild. Heinrich Wild (1877–1951) was a leading designer of geodetic and astronomical instruments. In 1908, having invented a military rangefinder and after convincing Zeiss to manufacture it, Wild moved to Jena and became head of GEO, the new Zeiss branch responsible for surveying instruments. Wild returned to Switzerland after the First World War.

In 1921 he established a Werkstätte für Feinmechanik und Optik in Heerbrugg, in the Rhine Valley. In the early 1930s, having recognized that he was not cut out to be a factory manager, Wild moved to Zurich, severed his connections with the firm in Heerbrugg, and designed instruments for Kern & Co in Aarau. His old firm became Wild Heerbrugg in 1937. Wild Heerbrugg merged with the optical firm of Ernst Leitz of Wetzlar in 1987, was renamed to Wild Leitz AG in 1989, and became part of the Leica holding company in 1990.

We have two Wild Heerbrugg microscopes:

Wild Heerbrugg M20              Wild Heerbrugg M20-EB