18 Sights in St. Gallen, Switzerland (with Map and Images)
Legend
Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in St. Gallen, Switzerland! Whether you want to discover the city's historical treasures or experience its modern highlights, you'll find everything your heart desires here. Be inspired by our selection and plan your unforgettable adventure in St. Gallen. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.
Sightseeing Tours in St. Gallen1. Stiftsbezirk
The Abbey of Saint Gall is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his hermitage. It became an independent principality between 9th and 13th centuries, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. The library of the Abbey is one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world.
2. St. Laurenzen
The Church of St. Laurenzen is the Protestant Reformed parish church of the city of St. Gallen. The construction of the first church is estimated to date back to the middle of the 12th century. For centuries, the church was the political, religious and social centre of the city republic of St. Gallen and has had a lasting influence on the history of the city. Even today, it is the meeting room of the town's local citizens. The church takes its name from the martyr Lawrence of Rome, to whom it was dedicated. It is classified as a building worthy of national protection and is therefore under federal monument protection as an architectural monument of national importance.
3. Abbey Library
The abbey library of Saint Gall is a significant medieval monastic library located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 1983, the library, as well as the Abbey of St. Gall, were designated a World Heritage Site, as "an outstanding example of a large Carolingian monastery and was, since the 8th century until its secularisation in 1805, one of the most important cultural centres in Europe". It is one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world.
4. Kulturmuseum St.Gallen
The Kulturmuseum St. Gallen, until the end of 2022 Historisches und Völkerkunde Museum St. Gallen, HVM for short, is a museum located in the city park of the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It was opened in 1921 and today has the most important cultural-historical collection in northeastern Switzerland; one focus is on the history of the city of St. Gallen.
5. Museum im Lagerhaus
The open art museum in St. Gallen in Switzerland is a museum for Swiss naïve art and art brut. The sponsor is the Foundation for Swiss Naïve Art and Art Brut, which was founded on 1 February 1988 by the collector couples Erna (1907–1995) and Curt Burgauer (1908–2002), Wilhelmina (Mina) and Josef John as well as Simone and Peter Schaufelberger-Breguet. Originally founded as a museum in the warehouse, the museum changed its name to open art museum on January 16, 2023.
6. Naturmuseum St. Gallen
The St. Gallen Museum of Nature is a natural history museum in St. Gallen. Covering an area of 2000 m2, it offers access to the local flora and minerals. The new building was opened in 2016 and enables an open exhibition presentation with walk-in room images and interactive learning elements.
7. Bruder-Klaus-Kirche St. Gallen-Winkeln
The Bruder-Klaus-Kirche Winkeln is the Catholic church of the St. Gallen district of Winkeln. It was built between 1958 and 1959 and is dedicated to St. Brother Klaus. The architectural style is extremely modern. The architects were Ernest Brantschen and Alfons Weisser from St. Gallen. The extremely complicated calculation of the church's landmark, the columnless concrete roof, was carried out by Heinz Hossdorf from Basel. Because of the strange shape of the roof, the church is also popularly known as the soul launch pad.
8. Kinderfestwiese
The St. Gallen Children's Festival is a festive event in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It has been held every three years since 1824. At the Children's Festival, the schoolchildren of the municipal schoolhouses in festive costumes parade through the city to the children's festival site to perform various performances. More than 30,000 people gather on the large meadow above the city. The festival has been included in the list of living traditions in Switzerland.
9. Stadttheater
The Theater St. Gallen is a performing arts center for opera, musical, ballet, and theatre in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and considered to be the oldest professional theatre in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.
10. Wildpark Peter und Paul
The Peter and Paul Wildlife Park is located on the Rosenberg hill northeast of St. Gallen in the Rotmonten district. It is part of an important local recreation area of the city. The wildlife park is home to various mainly native animal species, such as ibex, chamois, lynx, deer, wild boar, marmots and wild cats. Admission is free and possible around the clock and all year round. The wildlife park has a visitor centre. The park has a restaurant with a terrace. It is owned by the local community of St. Gallen.
11. St. Leonhardskirche
The Protestant St. Leonhard's Church in St. Gallen was designed by the Berlin architect Johannes Vollmer in neo-Gothic style; the construction was supervised by the St. Gallen architect Ferdinand Wachter. After two years of construction, the church was consecrated on May 1, 1887. The parish of St. Gallen sold the church to private individuals in 2004; since then, the building has been used for cultural events.
12. Lokremise
The Lokremise is a former Lokremise in the city of St. Gallen. The building, which is now set up as a cultural centre, is a cultural monument of national importance, together with the adjacent water tower for the water tanks of the steam locomotives. It is the largest preserved locomotive ring depot in Switzerland.
13. Christuskirche
The Christuskirche St. Gallen is the church of the Christian Catholic parish of St. Gallen. It was built in 1889 by the South Tyrolean architect Pietro Delugan as the "Concert House on the Rosenberg" and is a brick building in the Florentine villa style. In 1895 it became the property of the Christian Catholic parish, for which it has served as a place of worship, community centre and rectory ever since. Until 1895, the parish had enjoyed hospitality in the Protestant Reformed Church of St. Mangen.
14. St.Martin
The Catholic Church of St. Martin Bruggen is located in the St. Gallen district of Bruggen, on the territory of the formerly independent municipality of Straubenzell. As Bruggen's third church, it was built between 1935 and 1936 next to its predecessor church. The first chapel was consecrated in 1600, and in 1639 it was converted into a real church. The second church was built on the site of the first between 1783 and 1785 and received a new tower in 1808. After the new building and the consecration of the present church, the old church to the southwest was demolished.
15. Reformierte Kirche
The Reformed Church of Bruggen in today's city of St. Gallen was built between 1903 and 1906 in the then still independent municipality of Straubenzell. It was also the first Reformed church of the Protestant Reformed parish of Straubenzell, founded in 1902. The church consists of a cross-shaped central building, to which a tower with a pointed roof was added on the side.
16. Pfarrkirche St. Otmar
The Catholic parish church of St. Otmar in the city of St. Gallen was built between 1905 and 1908 in the then still independent municipality of Straubenzell. It is named after St. Otmar, patron saint of the city and first abbot of the Princely Abbey of St. Gall.
17. Cathedral
The Stiftskirche St. Gallus und Otmar is a Roman Catholic church in the city of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Once part of the Abbey of St. Gall, it has been the cathedral of the Diocese of St. Gallen since 1847. It is considered one of the last great sacred structures of the Baroque era, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
18. Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, is a Swiss art museum founded in 1877 and located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. It is an important museum within Eastern Switzerland because of their expansive European art collection.
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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.