From the moment the German Confederation and France declared war to the end of the conflict, only a week passed. The Liberal Cantons put up almost no resistance.
The months of war had already drained Switzerland's coffers. In truth, those coffers had never been particularly full. Part of the reason was geography: Switzerland could be said to be nestled among mountains and rivers, with lovely scenery—or that it was a land of barren hills and treacherous waters, breeding crafty folk.
A mountainous country was poor in natural resources to begin with. Then there was the second reason: the rise of industry in the Austrian Empire.
Whether in textiles, dyeing and printing, or ironworking—even the watchmaking industry the Swiss took such pride in—Franz had beaten them all into disarray.
By contrast, agriculture, wool, and livestock had bucked the trend and grown, while tourism had entered a period of rapid expansion. Yet the reputations of certain "shepherds" and shady inns were so terrible that the industry could not realize its full potential.
Tourist traps were hardly uncommon. But some places took your money, while others took your life. Deep in the mountains, where few ever ventured, you could marvel at nature's grandeur—or find the perfect place for a killer to dump a body.
Besides, the Alps were not only in Switzerland. You could enjoy the same scenery in Austria, and under Franz's plans and reforms, Austrian tourism was in a league of its own compared with Switzerland's.
Almost all of Austria's tourism industry was under Franz's control. Its scale lowered costs and gave it greater bargaining power.
Standardized, professional, safe, and affordable, the new tourism companies—guided by modern principles—completely outclassed the fledgling private firms.
Still, tourist traps existed here too. The difference was that professionals had plenty of ways to make people