Things to see and do St Gall

The portal of the hall bears the inscription Psyches latreion (Pharmacy of the Soul), borrowed from the library of Ramses II. The library was built between 1758 and 1767 and is the finest secular Baroque building in the country. The architecture of the room, by Peter Thumb, is baroque and the decoration rococo. The ceiling paintings are by Joseph Wannenmacher and represent the four councils. Under each of these frescoes, the parquet floor, also superb, is decorated with a star. The columns are surmounted by cherubs in different outfits, which were used to indicate the different categories of works by speciality, before the alphabetical classification. Three of the columns are movable and reveal the list of works that were contained in the related display cases. Beyond the beauty of the "packaging", the library, which is not a simple museum, is above all a treasure trove for medievalists, with an impressive collection of original manuscripts. Some of them are on display in the main hall in an exhibition that is renewed every year; the rest are carefully preserved on the floors. In total, the library holds more than 160,000 works. A model of the abbey church, a plan of the former abbey and a gift brought back from France by the mayor when the canton of St. Gallen was founded are on display in a corner of the library: a mummy inherited from Napoleon's campaigns in Egypt. As the mayor did not want it in her home, the mummy is kept in the library with the sarcophagus.

Like the abbey, St. Gallen Cathedral is one of the city's highlights. It is a fine example of late Baroque in the Bodensee Baroque style. The first part is particularly beautiful, with its two towers, but the second part had to undergo a restoration (1961-1967) which made it lose the charm of the old. Built in 1755 to a design by Peter Thumb, the cathedral is richly decorated with figures, frescoes, sculptures and altarpieces illustrating the history of the abbey, particularly through the figures of Gallus and Otmar. The most remarkable elements are certainly the confessionals, the rococo pulpit and the rood screen. The artists who worked on the decorations include the painter Joseph Wannenmacher, the stucco artists Johann Georg and Mathias Gil from Wessobrunn and the woodcarvers Fidel Sporer and Gabriel Loser. The high altar (1808-1810) is also noteworthy, but in a different style from the rest of the building. Note the many roses carved in the wood of the confessionals, the rose being the flower of secrets. Another interesting detail for the French: the small size of the cathedral's entrance door would have been intended to prevent Napoleon from entering with his horse!

Lapidarium: it is located at the west entrance and contains a precious collection of building stones, covering a period from the 8th to the 17th century (open every day from 2 to 4 pm).

Located near Oberberg Castle, Walter Zoo is Switzerland's largest private zoo, with 500 animals and 130 different species: camels, wolves, tigers, leopards, llamas, kangaroos, jaguars, pumas, zebras, yaks, parrots, bears and many birds, not to mention a 1,250 m² chimpanzee park. Before your visit, don't forget to check the program on the website, as each day is punctuated by a series of appointments: pony rides in the morning, tiger meals in the morning, chimpanzee meals in the afternoon... These are moments not to be missed.

Not far from the Ostfriedhof cemetery is the St. Gallen Botanical Garden, a beautiful and well-maintained place. To make the most of its treasures, a visit in spring is recommended. Around 8,000 plants from all over the world are presented to the public here. Divided into several sections, the garden is a place to relax, to meet, but also to learn. Indeed, many exhibitions and guided tours are organized to familiarize visitors.

This is a most unusual museum! The Museum of Beer Bottles in St. Gallen is the first of its kind in Switzerland. Here you will find Christian Bischof's impressive collection of over 3,000 bottles from 260 different breweries. The oldest samples, clay bottles, are over 140 years old. A visit is worthwhile for Swiss beer lovers and the curious.

The im Lagerhaus museum and its foundation have changed their name to Open Art Museum. They were founded in 1988 by a couple of collectors, with the aim of introducing visitors to many local artists from the Swiss naïve and outsider art scene. The exhibitions present different aspects of this " Outsider " art: art that fascinates through its plurality, its extraordinary content and its almost limitless creative richness. The exhibitions will appeal to lovers of contemporary art. There's a cosy little café on the first floor.

Founded in 1886 by the Commercial Corporation, a kind of chamber of commerce, this museum is dedicated to the textile tradition of the city and Eastern Switzerland. The museum manages a collection of 56,000 objects. Donations from wealthy manufacturers enable the museum to exhibit some very fine collections of lace and embroidery. The museum organizes two to three thematic exhibitions a year, complementing the permanent exhibition. It also offers an extensive program of events, educational activities and a gift store.

St. Gallen's tourist office organizes a variety of interesting guided tours to find out all about the city's anecdotes. You'll also find all the documentation you need for a pleasant stay. The friendly, qualified staff will be happy to give you suggestions and advice on excursion destinations that will make your stay in the St. Gallen region a unique and unforgettable vacation experience.

Founded in 1921 with the collections of the Historical Society of the Canton of St. Gallen, it is the most important museum of the history of civilization in Eastern Switzerland. It consists of a History Museum and an Ethnological Museum. The former houses documents relating to the history of the town and the canton, as well as refurbished period rooms (notably the Prince-Abbot's Room). The second houses the collection brought back from all over by the city's merchants.

This art museum was built in 1877, at the end of the classicist period, to house a collection of art objects assembled by the Art Society founded in 1827. It mainly brings together works from the 19th and 20th centuries. The paintings of the Munich Academy, which had a strong influence on Swiss painters, are widely exhibited. Through successive additions to the collection, the museum has been enriched with works from the German and French schools, and later with works inspired by Alpine life.

The Abbey of St. Gallen is very large and still has the same dimensions as when it was founded. On the left, you will notice a door with a coat of arms; it marks the boundary between the buildings belonging to the state (towards you) and those belonging to the church (beyond the door). As you leave the library to the left, you will see the cell of Gallus, who arrived in St. Gallen with relics of two saints, Didier and Maurice, who are today the city's patrons.

The Abbey of St. Gallen is a remarkable architectural ensemble that dates back to 747 and consists of several buildings grouped around the monastery square. Its main components are the magnificent Baroque cathedral and the former cloister, whose wings house the abbey library, one of the oldest in the world. A perfect example of the great Carolingian monastery, the complex has been one of the twelve Swiss sites listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. THE recommended visit to St. Gallen.