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Time capsule from 1900 discovered in Lausanne wall

Construction workers restoring walls at Ouchy, the lakeside district of Lausanne, stumbled across a blast from the past when they found a 117-year-old time capsule hidden in the concrete, the city authorities said on Monday.

Time capsule from 1900 discovered in Lausanne wall
The letter dated 1900. Photo: Ville de Lausanne
Preserved inside a glass jar was a letter from the workers who built the concrete wall, stamped by the Lausanne building works office, as well as a copy of the first edition of socialist anarchist newspaper Le Réveil, dated July 7th 1900.
 
Speaking to news agencies, Lausanne official Patrick Etournand said the papers were very well conserved.
 
Though difficult to read, the letter mentions a cementer called Frédéric and says “hello to whoever will have the honour of finding this note,” said Etournand. It is dated 1900.
 
The newspaper Le Réveil was printed between July 7th 1900 and August 28th 1940. 
 

The glass container was found inside a concrete wall. Photo: Ville de Lausanne
 
The walls of the lake promenade at Ouchy were built between 1896 and 1901, according to Lausanne city authorities. 
 
Works began to restore them in 2015 and will continue until 2020. 
 
The contents of the time capsule will be kept in the city archives.
 
 

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