Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ST GALLEN & APPENZELL CANTONS
The cultural high point of a journey around the extreme northeast of the country is a visit to
St Gallen's legendary abbey, with its extraordinary rococo library.
Locals go to great lengths to preserve their heritage and this green, hilly region is
sprinkled with beautiful, timeless villages. Both cantons are criss-crossed by endless hik-
ing, cycling and mountain-biking trails.
St Gallen
POP 72,700 / ELEV 670M
St Gallen's history as the 'writing room of Europe' is evident in its principal attraction
today: the sublime rococo library of its huge Catholic abbey, which rises gracefully above a
fountain-dotted courtyard.
Local lore has it that St Gallen began with a bush, a bear and an Irish monk who should
have watched where he was going. In AD 612, the tale goes, itinerant Gallus fell into a bri-
ar and considered the stumble a calling from God. After a fortuitous encounter with a bear,
in which he persuaded it to bring him a log, take some bread in return and leave him in
peace, he used the log to begin building the hermitage that would one day morph into St
Gallen's cathedral.
Sights
Many houses of Old St Gallen boast elaborate
Erker
(oriel bay windows), especially
around Gallusplatz, Spisergasse, Schmiedgasse and Kugelgasse. The city's tourism folk
have counted them all up and reckon there are 111 oriel windows! Some bear the most ex-
traordinary timber sculptures - a reflection of the wealth of their one-time owners, mostly
textile barons.
Multilingual guided tours of the Old Town (Sfr20 per person) kick off at the tourist of-
fice at 2pm Monday to Saturday from May to October.
DOM
(Klosterhof; 9am-6pm Mon, Tue, Thu & Fri, 10am-6pm Wed, 9am-4pm Sat, noon-5.30pm Sun)
The
twin-towered cathedral is only slightly less ornate than the library, with dark and stormy
frescos and aqua-green stucco embellishments. Entry is by two modest doors on the north
| Cathedral
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