Gottlieb Ott was a Swiss

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 building contractor

General contractor

A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...

. Ott and his company are credited with planning and constructing many buildings and structures in and around Berne

Berne

The city of Bern or Berne is the Bundesstadt of Switzerland, and, with a population of , the fourth most populous city in Switzerland. The Bern agglomeration, which includes 43 municipalities, has a population of 349,000. The metropolitan area had a population of 660,000 in 2000...

, including the church field bridge. He also supervised the removal of the Christoffelturm

Christoffelturm

The Christoffelturm was a tower built between the years 1344 and 1346. It was located in the old part of the Swiss city of Bern, in the upper section of Spitalgasse, near Holy Spirit Church....

, a local tower built in the 14th century.

Life and family history

Ott's great grandfather had migrated from Swabia

Swabia

Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 to Jegenstorf

Jegenstorf

Jegenstorf is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-History:Jegenstorf is first mentioned in 1131 as Igistorf. In 1255 it was mentioned as Jegistorf.-Geography:...

 in 1782, and it was his grandfather who established the Otts in Worb

Worb

Worb is a municipality in the Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.-Geography:Worb has an area of . Of this area, 64.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while 21.1% is forested...

. Ott's schooling was based in Berne, and he later studied at the polytechnic institute of Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe

The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...

. After he finished his studies, he dabbled in several enterprises before opening a private construction

Construction

In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...

 company. In 1864, this company evolved into Ott & Cie, which would become one of the best known and most successful manufacturing and construction outfits of its time, and visibly impacting the city. From there, Ott expanded and was taken into a tight fold of advice on Berne's infrastructure

Infrastructure

Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...

 in 1866, a year after he removed the Christoffelturm. Within this group was Jakob Stämpfli

Jakob Stämpfli

Jakob Stämpfli was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council .He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 6 December 1854, and handed over office on 31 December 1863...

, a well-known Swiss politician.

Ott in popular culture

A song or ode was written about Ott, inspired by his influence on Berne:

Suicide

In 1865, Ott entered politics by joining the Burgergemeinde Berne. In 1881 he suffered a great political defeat, having lost an election. Coupled with large financial stress, this loss caused Ott to become suicidal. He took his life on 4 December 1882.

The suicide was described by the federation: