You think you know St.Gallen? We have compiled ten amazing facts about the city of St.Gallen that might surprise you as a St.Gallen fan.
1. fact: Thanks to St.Gallen, once extinct ibexes live again in the Swiss wilderness
The Peter and Paul Wildlife Park was founded in 1892 on the initiative of Martin Wild. The park was intended to provide a habitat for native wild animal species in an environment that was as close to nature as possible. The game park became really famous through the successful breeding of ibexes. At the end of the 19th century, the animal had been wiped out in Switzerland due to excessive hunting and the attempt to raise the young animals from the hunting grounds of the Italian King Victor Emmanuel lll failed. However, the king refused to let the St.Gallen people have young animals from his hunting ground. Members of the game park commission decided to breed ibexes in the game park. To this end, they persuaded a poacher to smuggle young animals from the king's hunting ground into the game park. Five years later, the first ibexes were released into the wild. Today, the ibex is again so numerous in Switzerland that shooting is necessary.
Fact 2: Adrenaline rush in a kayak - river rafting through the city
Ruedi Gamper from St.Gallen likes it extreme: He drifts through the rivers of St.Gallen with his kayak.
Picture 1: Under the historically significant "Hüslibruggen".
Picture 2: Only for professionals: River rafting in the Goldach, Sitter, Rotbach and Mühleggbach should not be underestimated and requires a lot of experience.
Picture 3: With the kayak through the steep Mühlenen Gorge near St.Georgen.
Fact 3: Relic of a dispute - Schiedmauer once separated Catholics from the Reformed
In 1566 a dividing wall was built between the abbey and the town. The wall was built because of disputes between the reformed town and the Catholic monastery with its prince abbot. However, the construction did not settle the conflicts, but only "froze" them. The wall was intended to prevent serious confrontations and violence. In the 19th century it was largely demolished. In 2010, in the course of upgrading the city center, the old course of the wall was made visible again. The rest of the Schiedmauer can be found on Gallusstrasse near the Zeughaus restaurant.
Fact 4: Drei Weieren - Once a water supply for textile town, today a recreational area
South of the old town on the slopes of the Freudenberg there are man-made ponds, the "Drei Weieren", which invite bathers in summer. The first two ponds were created around 1610 to secure the town's water supply. This was especially important for the linen trade located in the city. A lot of water was needed for bleaching. Especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, this was important for the trade. In addition, one wanted to have enough water to be able to fight against possible fires. In 1658, the third pond was finally excavated, which gave the "Drei Weieren" its current name.
Fact 5: St.Gallen - Paris; without stop in Zurich
Crazy: Until just over 100 years ago, there was a direct train connection between St.Gallen and Paris without a stop in Zurich. St.Gallen was a well-connected trading city for a long time. With the linen trade, it established contacts with France and the north in the Middle Ages, and later with embroidery there were contacts all over the world.
Fact 6: Weird story - Slate floor in first floor restaurant
For over 500 years, an unusual house has stood in the old town of St.Gallen: the former guild hall of the butchers is quite crooked. The floor of today's Restaurant zum goldenen Schäfli on Metzgergasse has probably become tilted due to a lowering of the groundwater level in the course of the city's canalization. Now, table neighbors "upstairs" sit about 20 centimeters higher than the guests "downstairs." If you measure from wall to wall, the difference is as much as 33 centimeters. But you can still eat without any problems, the plates hold and the soup stays in the plate.
7th tip: Akris - St.Gallen fashion for first lady and other successful women
The St.Gallen fashion house Akris was founded in 1922 by Alice Kriemler-Schoch in St.Gallen and is now run by the third generation. In recent decades, Akris has developed into a high fashion label. The collections from St.Gallen make statements for self-confident and successful women: Angelina Jolie, Amal Clooney, Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys and other stars like Nicole Kidman or Susan Sarandon already showed themselves in creations by Akris.
8th tip: Ghost train under the city
A disused railroad tunnel runs under the city of St.Gallen. The tunnel is six meters underground, inside there are rusty transport cars that remind of times gone by. It lies under the roadway of Unterer Graben and is 134.5 meters long. The tunnel begins at the pedestrian crossing between the Alpenchique and the Augustbar and ends at the front of the Palace. The railroad line that used to pass through there was opened in 1856 and ran from St.Gallen to Rorschach. The last train passed through this tunnel over a hundred years ago. In 1912, the Rosenberg Tunnel was completed and the old railroad line was shut down and largely filled in - except for the section of the tunnel that still stands today. For a while, it was used by the wine merchant Martel as a wine warehouse, many wine barrels and around 300,000 bottles of wine were stored there. After that, the tunnel became a training ground for the professional fire department. After that, with the start of the operation of the Grabenhalle, rumors circulated that wild parties were celebrated there, and this was true. However, the authorities quickly intervened and prevented this. Today, it's mostly quiet in the tunnel - apart from technicians checking the district heating pipes from time to time, there's not much going on.
Fact 9: Cross-country skiing through the city
St.Gallen is known for snowy winters: Five cross-country ski trails of different lengths invite sports enthusiasts. The trails are regularly prepared for classic style and skating when snow conditions are good and the weather is suitable. There are the following locations: the city cross-country trail in Kreuzbleiche, the cross-country trails Unterer Brand, Notkersegg, Peter and Paul and the cross-country trail on the Kinderfestplatz. The total length of all trails is 8422 meters, or 8.4 kilometers. All trails can be found on the city map.
Fact 10: Staggering at dizzying heights over the "Ganggelibrugg
The Haggen Bridge is called "Ganggelibrugg" by the people of St.Gallen. Actually it is called Haggenbrücke or officially Eisensteg Zweibruggen. "Ganggelibrugg" comes from "ganggelen", to sway, because the bridge swayed during the opening ceremony due to the load of the visitors. Built in 1936 and 1937, the viaduct for pedestrians and cyclists leads across the Sitter from the Haggen district into Appenzellerland. The view over the Sitter and Wattbach ravines and the slight swaying when strong winds blow make the "Ganggelibrugg" a popular destination for excursions.
