Gottlieb Ott

Gottlieb Ott (1832, Worb – 4 December 1882) was a Swiss building contractor. Ott and his company are credited with planning and constructing many buildings and structures in and around Berne, including the church field bridge. He also supervised the removal of the Christoffelturm, a local tower built in the 14th century.

Ott's great grandfather had migrated from Swabia in Germany to Jegenstorf in 1782, and it was his grandfather who established the Otts in Worb. Ott's schooling was based in Berne, and he later studied at the polytechnic institute of Karlsruhe. After he finished his studies, he dabbled in several enterprises before opening a private construction 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 in 1866, a year after he removed the Christoffelturm. Within this group was Jakob Stämpfli, a well-known Swiss politician.

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

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: