Abstract: A micromechanical electrostatic relay has a base substrate with a base electrode and a base contact piece. The relay also has an armature substrate with an armature spring tongue that curves away from the base substrate, and an armature electrode and an armature contact piece. When a control voltage is applied between the two electrodes, the spring tongue unrolls on the base substrate and thus closes the contact. The curvature of the spring tongue in the quiescent condition is produced by a coating with a compressive strain layer. In order to avoid undesired transverse arcs of the spring tongue, the compressive strain layer is subdivided into strips by slots in a longitudinal direction of the spring tongue. A tensile stress layer applied in surface-wide fashion over the strips and slots reinforces the compensation effect.