From whiling away the time on the abbey square and enjoying views over to Lake Constance, to eating in charming taverns and learning about a unique textile heritage – St Gallen is always worth a visit.
Once you have passed Zurich, what comes next? Winterthur. Wil. Then St Gallen. The inhabitants of St Gallen sometimes have to explain themselves in this way to other people in Switzerland – and to themselves. Certainly, the city is a little off the beaten track. Tourists tend to bypass St Gallen, even though the city is eminently worth a trip – as is immediately apparent when you roll into the station and spot the Lokremise on the left-hand side. This building – a pioneering piece of rail infrastructure – is Switzerland’s largest surviving circular locomotive depot. The Lokremise is now a multi-genre cultural centre and the venue of Eastern Switzerland’s most important arthouse cinema.
Leave the train and you will notice the big neon sign hanging over the eastern end of St Gallen’s listed station hall. It reads “Chocolat Maestrani” – a reminder that exquisite confectionery used to be produced not far away. On reaching the top of the escalator, you will suddenly catch the aroma of bratwurst wafting in the air. St Gallen is famous in Switzerland for its sausages. The rule for eating St Gallen bratwurst is: no mustard.
What else does this city of 80,000 people have to offer? Certainly the 111 beautifully preserved oriels (bay windows) overlooking the cobblestone streets of an old town endowed with a remarkable concentration of eateries and taverns. The area between Marktplatz and the abbey is a haven for pedestrians and home to the ubiquitous “Erststockbeizli”, or ”first-floor restaurants”, which offer a variety of menus ranging from haute cuisine to more rustic local fare.
St Gallen also boasts an interesting climate and topography – with ski lifts situated just on the outskirts. The city is nestled lengthways between two hills: Rosenberg to the north and Freudenberg to the south. The Drei Weieren recreation area at the foot of Freudenberg in nearby St Georgen offers views of Lake Constance and Germany beyond. Countless steps lead to the top of both these hills, which is why St Gallen is also referred to as the “city of a thousand steps”.
St Gallen is easy to explore on foot. From the railway station, you pass the Neumarkt shopping complex before reaching St Gallen’s “open-air lounge”, Roter Platz. Designed by artist Pipilotti Rist and architect Carlos Martinez, this space in the middle of the city has oversized lighting elements hanging above sofas, chairs, tables, couches and even a Porsche – all of which are covered in a spongy red tennis-court carpet.
Now to the abbey district (Stiftsbezirk) – a UNESCO world heritage site that consists of the baroque Abbey Cathedral and the world-famous Abbey Library. The latter is not only Switzerland’s oldest library but also one of the oldest and most important libraries in the world. Its valuable book collection documents the history of European culture as well as the cultural role of St Gallen Abbey from the eighth century until secularisation in 1805. The Egyptian mummy Shep-en-Isis also lies within the library’s baroque interior alongside her twin sarcophaguses. Debate is currently raging on whether to return Shep-en-Isis to Egypt (see “Swiss Review” 2/2023).
St Gallen also used to be called the “white city”, says Walter Frei, an 87-year-old theologian known for his guided cultural heritage tours. This is not only because it snows more than in other Swiss cities, due to the higher altitude. It is also a nod to St Gallen’s textile past. Local monks began weaving linen in the Middle Ages, laying the basis for prosperity. After cotton displaced linen in the 18th century, embroidery became the speciality instead. By around 1910, embroidery was Switzerland’s number one export product, accounting for 18 per cent of the total value of everything sold abroad. Over 50 per cent of the global embroidery output at the time came from St Gallen. The Great Depression of 1929 put an abrupt end to this boom.
Finally, St Gallen has a lot of culture to offer. Apart from the Museum of Textiles, which is dedicated to the textile history of Eastern Switzerland and holds one of Switzerland’s most important textile collections, there is a Museum of Art, a Museum of Culture and a Museum of Natural History, a theatre, and a concert hall – all situated in the city’s own museum quarter.
* Janina Gehrig is a journalist based in St Gallen
An adventurous Irish monk called Gallus stumbled over a thorn bush in 612 AD at the waterfall at Mühleggschlucht gorge, not far from today’s Gallusplatz square in the old town. He considered this a sign from God and decided to stay and establish a monastic cell. (JG)
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