Museo Doganale Svizzero

On the shores of the Luganersees at Cantine di Gandria, the Schweizerisches Zollmuseum provides insights into the duties of customs authorities and into the everyday life of border guards. It is operated by the Bundesamt für Zoll und Grenzsicherheit (BAZG); the museum collaborates in part with the Schweizerisches Nationalmuseum and has received support from the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum since 1970.

The building itself is a former border-guard post on the lakefront opposite the village of Gandria. This post was used between 1857 and 1920 to curb smuggling along the border between Italy and Switzerland.

The collection originated when a border-guard post became vacant and a border-guard officer preserved personal work items from his service; from this, the customs museum developed in 1943. Since 1970 there has been institutional support from the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum.

The permanent exhibition reconstructs life and working conditions in a border-guard post of the 19th and 20th centuries and links historical accounts with current issues of border protection. Temporary special exhibitions address tasks such as preventing smuggling, drug investigations, uncovering product piracy, species protection, controls of precious metals and the checking of travel documents. A focal point is the import of untaxed or illegal goods; for this reason the institution is colloquially also referred to as the "Schmuggelmuseum." Visitors thus gain a practical impression of the work of customs and of the development of border protection.