St. Gallen is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and the capital of the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative divisions * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and entertainment * Canton (band), an It ...

of St. Gallen. It evolved from the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

age of

Saint Gall Gall (; 550 645) according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region betwe ...

, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large

urban agglomeration An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

(with around 167,000 inhabitants in 2019) and represents the center of

eastern Switzerland Eastern Switzerland (, , , ) is the common name of the region situated to the east of Glarus Alps, with the cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, and Glarus. The north of canton of Graubün ...

. Its economy consists mainly of the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

. The city is home to the

University of St. Gallen The University of St. Gallen (HSG) is a research university located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, that specialises in business administration, economics, law, international affairs, and computer science. It was established in 1898. It consistent ...

, one of the best business schools in Europe. The main tourist attraction is the

Abbey of Saint Gall 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 er ...

, a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

. The Abbey's renowned library contains books from the 9th century. The official language of St. Gallen is (the Swiss variety of Standard)

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, but the main spoken language is the local variant of Alemannic

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , ,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no #Conventions, defined orthography for any of them, many different spellings can be found. and others; ) is any of the Alemannic German, Alemannic ...

. The city has good transport links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany and Austria. It also functions as the gate to the Appenzellerland.

History

Early history

The town of St. Gallen grew around the

Abbey of St Gall 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 Renaissance, Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot wh ...

, founded in the 8th century. The abbey is said to have been built at the site of the hermitage of

Irish missionary The Hiberno-Scottish mission was a series of expeditions in the 6th and 7th centuries by Gaelic missionaries originating from Ireland that spread Celtic Christianity in Scotland, Wales, England and Merovingian lands. Catholic Christianity spread ...

Gallus, who according to legend had established himself by the river Steinach in AD 612. The monastery itself was founded by

Saint Othmar Othmar, (also ''Audomar'', 689 – 759) was a Medieval monk and priest. He served as the first abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall, a Benedictine monastery near where the city of St. Gallen, now in Switzerland, developed. Life Othmar was of Alema ...

in . The abbey prospered in the 9th century and became a site of pilgrimage and a center of trade, with associated guest houses, stables and other facilities, a hospital, one of the first monastery schools north of the Alps. By the tenth century, a settlement had grown up around the abbey. In 926 Magyar raiders attacked the abbey and surrounding town. Saint

Wiborada Wiborada of St. Gall (also Guiborat, Weibrath or Viborata; Alemannic: ''Wiberat'') (died 926) was a member of the Swabian nobility in what is present-day Switzerland. She was an anchoress, Benedictine nun, and martyr. Biography There are two ...

, the first woman formally

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

, reportedly saw a vision of the impending attack and warned the monks and citizens to flee. While the monks and the

abbey treasure A church treasury or church treasure is the collection of historical art treasures belonging to a church, usually a cathedral or monastery (monastery treasure). Such "treasure" is usually held and displayed in the church's treasury or in a dioces ...

escaped, Wiborada chose to stay behind and was killed by the raiders. Between 924 and 933 the Magyars again threatened the abbey, and its books were removed for safekeeping to Reichenau. Not all the books were returned. On 26 April 937 a fire consumed much of the abbey, spreading to the adjoining settlement. However, the library was spared. Muslim slave-raiders attacked the abbey in 939. About 954 a protective wall was raised around the abbey. By 975, Abbot Notker finished the wall, and the adjoining settlement began growing into the town of St. Gall.

Independence from the Abbey

From the later 12th century, the town of St. Gall increasingly pushed for independence from the abbey. In 1180, an imperial reeve, who was not answerable to the abbot, was installed in the town. In 1207, Abbot Ulrich von Sax was granted the rank of Imperial Prince (''Reichsfürst'') by

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

, King of the Germans. As an ecclesiastical principality, the Abbey of St. Gallen was to constitute an important

territorial state The term territorial state is used to refer to a state, typical of the High Middle Ages, since around 1000 AD, and "other large-scale complex organizations that attained size, stability, capacity, efficiency, and territorial reach not seen since ant ...

and a major regional power in northern Switzerland. The city of St. Gallen proper progressively separated itself from the rule of the abbot. Abbot

Wilhelm von Montfort Wilhelm I Count of Montfort (died 11 October 1301) was prince-abbot of Abbey of Saint Gall, Saint Gall from 1281 until 1301. Political situation at the end of the 13th century By the end of the abbacy of Berchtold von Falkenstein (died 10 June ...

in 1291 granted special privileges to the citizens. By about 1353 the

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s, headed by the cloth-weavers guild, had gained control of the civic government. In 1415 the city bought its liberty from the

German king This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

Ally of the Swiss Confederacy

In 1405, the

Appenzell Appenzell () was a cantons of Switzerland, canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by the canton of St. Gallen, in existence from 1403 to 1597. Appenzell became independent of the Abbey of Saint Gall in 1403 and entered ...

estates of the abbot successfully rebelled and in 1411 they became allies of the

Old Swiss Confederation The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...

. A few months later, the town of St. Gallen also became an ally. They joined the "everlasting alliance" as full members of the Confederation in 1454 and in 1457 became completely free from the abbot. However, in 1451 the abbey became an ally of

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

Schwyz Schwyz (; ; ) is a town and the capital of the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The Federal Charter of 1291 or ''Bundesbrief'', the charter that eventually led to the foundation of Switzerland, can be seen at the ''Bundesbriefmuseum''. The of ...

, and

Glarus Glarus (; ; ; ; ) is the capital of the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 1 January 2011, the municipality of Glarus incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern.Ulrich Varnbüler St. Gallen is a Switzerland, Swiss List of cities in Switzerland, city and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of St. Gallen, St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Tod ...

was an early mayor of St. Gallen. Hans, the father of Ulrich, was prominent in city affairs in St. Gallen in the early 15th century. Ulrich entered public affairs in the early 1460s and attained the various offices and honours that are available to a talented and ambitious man. He demonstrated fine qualities as field commander of the St. Gallen troops in the

Burgundian Wars The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in th ...

. In the

Battle of Grandson The Battle of Grandson was fought on 2 March 1476, during the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundian State, Burgundy, at the hands of the Old Swiss Confederacy. Background In 1475, the town of ...

(1476) his troops were part of the advance units of the Confederation and took part in their famous attack. A large painting of Ulrich returning triumphantly to a hero's welcome in St. Gallen is still displayed in St. Gallen. After the war, Varnbüler often represented St. Gallen at the various parliaments of the Confederation. In December 1480, Varnbüler was offered the position of mayor for the first time. From that time on, he served in several leadership positions and was considered the city's intellectual and political leader. According to Vadian, who understood his contemporaries well, "Ulrich was a very intelligent, observant, and eloquent man who enjoyed the trust of the citizenry to a high degree." His reputation among the Confederates was also substantial. However, in the late 1480s, he became involved in a conflict that was to have serious negative consequences for him and for the city. Sankt Gallen Stumpf 1548

In 1463, Ulrich Rösch had assumed the management of the abbey of Saint Gall. He was an ambitious prelate, whose goal was to return the abbey to prominence by every possible means, following the losses of the Appenzell War. His restless ambition offended the political and material interests of his neighbours. When he arranged for the help of the Pope and the Emperor to carry out a plan to move the abbey to Rorschach on

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

, he encountered stiff resistance from the St. Gallen citizenry, other clerics, and the Appenzell nobility in the Rhine Valley, who were concerned for their holdings. At this point, Varnbüler entered the conflict against the prelate. He wanted to restrain the increase of the abbey's power and at the same time increase the power of the town that had been restricted in its development. For this purpose he established contact with farmers and Appenzell residents (led by the fanatical

Hermann Schwendiner Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Mis ...

) who were seeking an opportunity to weaken the abbot. Initially, he protested to the abbot and the representatives of the four sponsoring Confederate cantons (Zürich, Lucerne, Schwyz, and Glarus) against the construction of the new abbey in Rorschach. Then on 28 July 1489 he had armed troops from St. Gallen and Appenzell destroy the buildings already under construction, an attack known as the Rorschacher Klosterbruch. When the Abbot complained to the Confederates about the damage and demanded full compensation, Ulrich responded with a countersuit, and in cooperation with Schwendiner rejected the arbitration efforts of the non-partisan Confederates. He motivated the clerics from Wil to Rorschach to abandon their loyalty to the abbey and spoke against the abbey at a meeting of the townspeople at Waldkirch, where the popular league was formed. He was confident that the four sponsoring cantons would not intervene with force, due to the prevailing tensions between the Confederation and the

Swabian League The Swabian League () was a military alliance of Imperial State, imperial estates – Free imperial city, imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early Middle Ages, medieval stem duchy of S ...

. He was strengthened in his resolve when the people of St. Gallen re-elected him as their highest magistrate in 1490.

Invasion of 1490

Ulrich Varnbüler had made a serious miscalculation. In early 1490, the four cantons decided to carry out their duty to the abbey and to invade the St. Gallen canton with an armed force. The people of Appenzell and the local clerics submitted to this force without significant resistance, while the city of St. Gallen braced itself for a fight to the finish. However, when they learned that their compatriots had given up the fight, they lost confidence, and they agreed to a settlement that greatly restricted the city's power and burdened the city with serious penalties and reparation payments. Ulrich, overwhelmed by the responsibility for his political decisions, panicked in the face of the approaching enemy who wanted him apprehended. His life was in great danger, and he was forced to escape from the city disguised as a messenger. He made his way to

Lindau Lindau (, ''Lindau am Bodensee''; ; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Lindou'') is a major Town#Germany, town and Lindau (island), island on the eastern side of Lake Constance (''Bodensee'' in German) in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital ...

and to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

and the court of King Maximilian. The victors confiscated those of his properties that lay outside of the city of St. Gallen and banned him from the Confederation. Ulrich then appealed to the imperial court (as did Schwendiner, who had fled with him) for the return of his property. The suit had the support of Friedrich II and Maximilian and the trial threatened to drag on for years: it was continued by Ulrich's sons Hans and Ulrich after his death in 1496, and eventually the Varnbülers regained their properties. However, other political ramifications resulted from the court action, because the Confederation gained ownership of the city of St. Gallen and rejected the inroads of the empire. Thus, the conflict strengthened the relationship between the Confederation and the city of St. Gallen. On the other hand, the matter deepened the alienation between Switzerland and the German

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, which eventually led to a total separation after the

Swabian War The Swabian War of 1499 ( (spelling depending on dialect), called or ("Swiss War") in Germany and ("War of the Engadin" in Austria) was the last major armed conflict between the Old Swiss Confederacy and the House of Habsburg. What had begun ...

. Despite the unpropitious end of his career, Ulrich Varnbüler is immortalized in a famous woodcut by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

, which is now part of the Smithsonian Institution's woodcut collection in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. Among Varnbüler's sons, the eldest (Hans/Johann) became the mayor of

. He is the patriarch of the

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

and

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

Varnbülers.

Reformation

Starting in 1526 then-

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

and

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

Joachim von Watt (Vadian) introduced the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

into St. Gallen. The town converted to the new religion while the abbey remained

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. While

iconoclastic Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...

riots forced the monks to flee the city and remove images from the city's churches, the fortified abbey remained untouched.Switzerland is yours.com-St. Gallen History
accessed 20 November 2008 The abbey would remain a Catholic stronghold in the Protestant city until 1803.

Modern history

In 1798 the French invaded Switzerland, destroying the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

. Under the

Helvetic Republic The Helvetic Republic (; ; ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...

both the abbey and the city lost their power and were combined with Appenzell into the

Canton of Säntis Säntis was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, consisting of the territory of St. Gallen, Appenzell Appenzell () was a cantons of Switzerland, canton in the northeast of Switzerland, and entirely surrounded by ...

. The Helvetic Republic was widely unpopular in Switzerland and was overthrown in 1803. Following the

Act of Mediation The Act of Mediation () was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte, French Consulate, First Consul of the French Republic on 19 February 1803 to abolish the Helvetic Republic, which had existed since the invasion of Old Swiss Confederacy, Switzerland by F ...

the city of St. Gallen became the capital of the Protestant Canton of St. Gallen. One of the first acts of the new canton was to suppress the abbey. The monks were driven from the abbey; the last abbot died in Muri in 1829. In 1846 a rearrangement in the local

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s made St. Gall a separate

, with the abbey church as its

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and a portion of the monastic buildings designated the bishop's residence. Gustav Adolf IV, former king of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, spent the last years of his life in St. Gallen, and died there in 1837. In the 15th century, St. Gallen became known for producing quality textiles. In 1714, the zenith was reached with a yearly production of 38,000 pieces of cloth. The first depression occurred in the middle of the 18th century, caused by strong foreign competition and reforms in methods of cotton production. But St. Gallen recovered and an even more prosperous era arrived. At the beginning of the 19th century, the first embroidery machines were developed in St. Gallen. In 1910 the embroidery production constituted the largest export branch (18% of the total export value) in Switzerland and more than half of the worldwide production of embroidery originated in St. Gallen. One fifth of the population of the eastern part of Switzerland was involved with the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

. However,

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

caused another severe crisis for St. Gallen embroidery. Only in the 1950s did the textile industry recover somewhat. Nowadays, because of competition and the prevalence of computer-operated embroidery machines, only a reduced textile industry has survived in St. Gallen; but its embroidered textiles are still popular with Parisian

haute couture (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design. The term ''haute couture'' generally refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the ...

designers.

Geography and climate

Topography

St. Gallen is situated in the northeastern part of Switzerland in a valley about above sea level. It is one of the highest cities in Switzerland and thus receives abundant winter snow. The city lies between

and the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

of the Appenzell Alps (with the

Säntis At above sea level, Säntis is the highest mountain in the Alpstein massif of northeastern Switzerland. It is also the culminating point of the whole Appenzell Alps, between Lake Walen and Lake Constance. Shared by three cantons, the mountain ...

as the highest peak at ). It therefore offers excellent recreation areas nearby. As the city center is built on an unstable turf ground (its founder Gallus was looking for a site for a hermitage, not for a city), all buildings on the valley floor must be built on

piles Hemorrhoids (or haemorrhoids), also known as piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. They become a disease when swollen or inflamed; the unqualified term ''he ...

. For example, the entire foundation of the train station and its plaza are based on hundreds of piles. St. Gallen has an area, , of . Of this area, 27.7% is used for agricultural purposes, while 28.2% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 42.1% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (1.9%) is non-productive (rivers or lakes).

Climate

St. Gallen has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Dfb DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...

) with short, warm summers and long, moderately cold winters. Precipitation is very high year round. St. Gallen has a very cloudy climate. Between 1981 and 2010 St. Gallen had an average of 141 days of rain or snow per year and on average received of

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

. The wettest month was July during which time St. Gallen received an average of of rain. During this month there was precipitation for an average of 13.8 days. The months with the most days of precipitation were May, June and July. The driest month of the year was February with an average of of precipitation over 9.1 days.

Radioactivity

St. Gallen is notable for reporting the highest maximum radioactivity measurements of any Swiss city, as published in the 2009 yearly report by the

Federal Office of Public Health The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) is the Swiss federal government's centre for public health and a part of the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs. In addition to developing national health policy, it also represents the intere ...

. While the daily average level of gamma-ray radioactivity in the city is unremarkable at 105 nSv/h, the maximum can reach 195 nSv/h, as high as the average for

Jungfraujoch The Jungfraujoch (German language, German: lit. "maiden saddle") is a Saddle (landform), saddle connecting two major Four-thousander, 4000ers of the Bernese Alps: the Jungfrau and the Mönch. It lies at an elevation of above sea level and is dir ...

, the location with the highest reported level of radioactivity in Switzerland, due to its high elevation and therefore greater exposure to cosmic rays. The same report explains that the unusually high spikes of radioactivity measured in St. Gallen are due to radioactive products of

radon Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only Rn has a sufficiently long half-life (3.825 days) for it to b ...

gas being washed to the ground during heavy storms, but does not explain where the sufficient quantities of radon gas and its products to account for the anomaly would come from. The yearly report for 2009 on risks associated with radon published by the same governmental agency shows St. Gallen to lie in an area of the lowest level of radon exposure. In addition to the measured gamma-radiation, the city may be subject to radioactive

tritium Tritium () or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with a half-life of ~12.33 years. The tritium nucleus (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of the ...

pollution in Teufen, a satellite town situated 4 km south of the city in the canton of Appenzell Outer Rhodes (this pollution is also covered in the report).

Politics

Coat of arms

The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

of the municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is ''Argent a Bear rampant Sable langued and in his virility Gules and armed and gorged Or.''

Subdivisions

Government

The City Council (Stadtrat) constitutes the

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

government of the City of St. Gallen and operates as a collegiate authority. It is composed of five councilors (), each presiding over a directorate. The president of the presidential directorate acts as

(''Stadtpräsident''). In the mandate period 2017–2020 (''Legislatur'') the City Council is presided by ''Stadtpräsidentin''

Maria Pappa Maria Pappa (born 1971) is a Swiss-Italian politician. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland, she was elected to the City Parliament of St. Gallen in 2013 and to the St. Gallen City Council in 2017. As a city councilor, she se ...

. Departmental tasks, coordination measures and implementation of laws decreed by the City Parliament are carried by the City Council. The regular election of the City Council by any inhabitant valid to vote is held every four years. Any resident of St. Gallen allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Council. The current mandate period is from 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2024. The mayor is elected as such by public election by means of a system of Majorz, while the heads of the other directorates are assigned by the collegiate. The delegates are elected by means of a system of Majorz. , St. Gallen's City Council is made up of two representatives of the SP (

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

) of which one is the mayor, one member of the FDP (

FDP.The Liberals FDP.The Liberals (, , , ) is a liberal political party in Switzerland. The party was formed on 1 January 2009, after two parties, the Free Democratic Party (FDP/PRD) and the smaller Liberal Party (LPS/PLS), united. In Vaud and Valais, the parti ...

), one of the GLP ( Green Liberal Party), and one independent. The last regular election was held on 27 September 2020. Manfred Linke is City Chancellor (''Stadtschreiber'') since for the City Chancellary.

Parliament

The City Parliament (Stadtparlament) holds

legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...

. It is made up of 63 members, with elections held every four years. The City Parliament decrees regulations and by-laws that are executed by the City Council and the administration. The delegates are selected by means of a system of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

(Proporz). The sessions of the City Parliament are public. Unlike members of the City Council, members of the City Parliament are not politicians by profession, and they are paid a fee based on their attendance. Any resident of St. Gallen allowed to vote can be elected as a member of the City Parliament. The parliament holds its meetings in the ''Waaghaus'' once a week on Tuesdays. The last regular election of the City Parliament was held on 27 September 2020 for the mandate period () from January 2021 to December 2024. Currently the City Parliament consists of 17 members of the Social Democratic Party (SP/PS) and one of its junior section, the ''JUSO'', 11 The Liberals (FDP/PLR), 8 Green Liberal Party (GLP/PVL), 8 Christian Democratic People's Party (CVP/PDC), 8 Swiss People's Party (SVP/UDC), 7 Green Party (GPS/PES) and 1 of its junior section, the ''JungeGr'', one representative of the Evangelical People's Party (EVP), and one member of the ''Politische Frauengruppe (PFG)'' (Political Women Group).

National elections

National Council

In the 2019 federal election for the

Swiss National Council The National Council (; ; ; ) is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, representing the people. The other house, Council of States, represents the states, preventing more populous parts of the country overpowering the rest. As the p ...

the most popular party was the PS which received 24.4% (-3.8) of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

(17.5%, +8.3), the SVP (16.5%, -4.6), FDP (14.4%, +0.1), the CVP (12.6%, +0.4), and the GLP (10.9%, +4.4). In the federal election a total of 18,821 votes were cast, and the

voter turnout In political science, voter turnout is the participation rate (often defined as those who cast a ballot) of a given election. This is typically either the percentage of Voter registration, registered voters, Suffrage, eligible voters, or all Voti ...

was 42.9%. In the 2015 election for the

the most popular party was the SPS which received 28.1% of the vote. The next five most popular parties were the SVP (21.1%), the FDP (14.3%), the CVP (12.2%), the

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

(9.2%), and the GLP (6.6%). In the federal election, a total of 20,768 voters were cast, and the voter turnout was 46.0%.

International relations

St. Gallen is twinned with:

Demographics

Population

St. Gallen has a population (as of ) of . , about 31.4% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. The population has grown at 4.4% per year. Most of the population () speaks German (83.0%), with Italian being second most common (3.7%) and Serbo-Croatian being third (3.7%).Swiss Federal Statistical Office
accessed 11 January 2010 Of the Swiss national languages (), 60,297 speak

, 575 people speak

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, 2,722 people speak

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and 147 people speak Romansh. The age distribution, , in St. Gallen is: 6,742 (9.3%) between 0 and 9 years old; 7,595 (10.5%) between 10 and 19; 12,574 (17.3%) between 20 and 29; 11,735 (16.2%) between 30 and 39; 9,535 (13.1%) between 40 and 49; 8,432 (11.6%) between 50 and 59; 6,461 (8.9%) between 60 and 69; 5,633 (7.8%) between 70 and 79; 3,255 (4.5%) between 80 and 89; 655 (0.9%) between 90 and 99; 9 people (0.0%) aged 100 or more.Canton St. Gallen Statistics-Hauptergebnisse der Volkszählung 2000: Regionen- und Gemeindevergleich-Personen
accessed 30 December 2009 there were 16,166 people (22.3%) who were living alone in private dwellings; 17,137 (or 23.6%) who were part of a couple (married or otherwise committed) without children, and 27,937 (or 38.5%) who were part of a couple with children. There were 4,533 (or 6.2%) people who lived in single parent home, while there are 419 persons who were adult children living with one or both parents, 475 persons who lived in a household made up of relatives, 2,296 who lived household made up of unrelated persons, and 3,663 who are either institutionalized or live in another type of collective housing.

Historical population

The historical population is given in the following table:

Economy

, St. Gallen had an unemployment rate of 2.69%. , there were 336 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 95 businesses involved in this sector. 11,227 people are employed in the

secondary sector In macroeconomics, the secondary sector of the economy is an economic sector in the three-sector theory that describes the role of manufacturing. It encompasses industries that produce a finished, usable product or are involved in constructi ...

and there are 707 businesses in this sector. 48,729 people are employed in the

tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the ...

, with 4,035 businesses in this sector. the average unemployment rate was 4.5%. There were 4857 businesses in the municipality of which 689 were involved in the secondary sector of the economy while 4102 were involved in the third. there were 28,399 residents who worked in the municipality, while 8,927 residents worked outside St. Gallen and 31,543 people commuted into the municipality for work. Helvetia Insurance is a major company headquartered in St. Gallen.

Religion

According to the , 31,978 or 44.0% are

, while 19,578 or 27.0% belonged to the

Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), formerly named Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches until 31 December 2019, is a federation of 25 member churches – 24 cantonal churches and the Evangelical-Methodist Church of Switzerland. The P ...

. Of the rest of the population, there are 112 individuals (or about 0.15% of the population) who belong to the Christian Catholic faith, there are 3,253 individuals (or about 4.48% of the population) who belong to the Orthodox Church, and there are 1,502 individuals (or about 2.07% of the population) who belong to another Christian church. There are 133 individuals (or about 0.18% of the population) who are

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 4,856 (or about 6.69% of the population) who are

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. There are 837 individuals (or about 1.15% of the population) who belong to another church (not listed on the census), 7,221 (or about 9.94% of the population) belong to no church, are

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, and 3,156 individuals (or about 4.35% of the population) did not answer the question.

Education

St. Gallen is known for its business school, now named the

(HSG). It was ranked as the top business school in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

by ''

Wirtschaftswoche ''Wirtschaftswoche'' is a German weekly business news magazine published in Germany. ''Wirtschaft'' means “economy” (including business), and ''Woche'' is “week”. History and profile For many years, ''Wirtschaftswoche'' was published ...

'', a weekly

business news magazine and is highly ranked by several other sources. Recently, HSG has been building a reputation for Executive Education, with its International MBA recognised as one of Europe's leading programmes, and runs a PhD programme. HSG is a focused university that offers degrees in business and management, economics, political science and international relations as well as business law. The Master in Management course was Ranked number 1 in 2014 by The Financial Times ahead of HEC Paris. It is comparatively small, with about 6,500 students enrolled at present, has both

EQUIS The EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS) is a business school accreditation managed by Brussels based EFMD. It provides accreditation for higher education institutions of management and business administration and is run by the European Fou ...

and

AACSB The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is an American professional and accreditation organization. It was founded as the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business in 1916 to provide accreditation to business ...

accreditations, and is a member of CEMS (Community of European Management Schools). The university maintains student and faculty exchange programs around the world. The University of St. Gallen is also famous for its high density of clubs. Particularly well known is the International Students’ Committee, which has organised the St. Gallen Symposium for over forty years. The St. Gallen Symposium is the leading student-run economic conference of its kind worldwide and aims to foster the dialogue between generations. St. Gallen's state school system contains 64

kindergartens Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, 21

primary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

and 7

secondary schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

and about 6,800 students. In addition to the state system, St. Gallen is home to the

Institut auf dem Rosenberg Institut auf dem Rosenberg is a private International school, international boarding school located near Lake Constance in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Founded in 1889, it is one of the oldest boarding schools in Switzerland and reportedly the most ex ...

— an élite

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

attracting students from all over the world. The Institut provides an education in English, German and Italian and prepares the students to enter: American, British, Swiss, Italian, German and other European university programmes. The canton's ''Gewerbliches Berufs- und Weiterbildungszentrum'' is the largest occupational school in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

with over 10,000 students and various specialty institutes. One for example, the ''GBS Schule für Gestaltung'' teaches students design fundamentals in the practice of graphic design. The school is located in Riethüsli, a small section of the city of St. Gallen. In St. Gallen about 68.8% of the population (between age 25–64) have completed either non-mandatory

upper secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...

or additional higher education (either university or a ''

Fachhochschule A (; plural ), abbreviated FH, is a university of applied sciences (UAS), in other words a Hochschule, German tertiary education institution that provides professional education in many applied sciences and applied arts, such as engineering, te ...

''). Out of the total population in St. Gallen, , the highest education level completed by 15,035 people (20.7% of the population) was

Primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

, while 27,465 (37.8%) have completed their secondary education, 10,249 (14.1%) have attended a

Tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

school, and 2,910 (4.0%) are not in school. The remainder did not answer this question.

Culture and sightseeing

Stadtlounge auf dem Raiffeisenplatz in St

After the years of Gallus' death, the place became one of the centers of Germanic culture. This is because of the creative works of the monks who followed the footsteps of the city's founder Gallus. This resulted to numerous heritage sites of national significance of the country. In 1992, St. Gallen was awarded the

Wakker Prize The Wakker Prize (German: ''Wakkerpreis'', French: ''Prix Wakker'', Italian: ''Premio Wakker'') is awarded annually by the Swiss Heritage Society to a Municipality of Switzerland for the development and preservation of its architectural herita ...

for the city's effort to create a unified structure and appearance in current and future construction.

Heritage sites of national significance

There are 28 sites in St. Gallen that are listed as Swiss heritage sites of national significance, including four religious buildings; the Abbey of St. Gallen, the former Dominican Abbey of St. Katharina, the Reformed Church of St. Laurenzenkirche and the Roman

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

of St. Maria Neudorf. There are six museums or archives in the inventory. This includes the ''Textile museum'', the ''Historical and ethnographical museum'', the Cantonal library and city archives, the ''Art and Natural History museum'', the Museum in Lagerhaus and the St. Gallen State Archive. The entire city of St. Gallen is the only archeological heritage site. Two bridges are listed, the Eisenbahnbrücke BT (railroad bridge) and the ''Kräzern-Strassenbrücke'' with a

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

. The twelve other sites include the main train station, main post office, University of St. Gallen, Cantonal School, City Theatre and two towers; the ''Lokremise'' with ''Wasserturm'' and the ''Tröckneturm''.

Theatre

* In the modern and somewhat extravagant building of the Theater St. Gallen operas, operettas, ballet, musicals and plays are performed. It has an average utilization of nearly 80 percent. * Since 2006 a series of open-air operas have been performed in front of the Cathedral starting around the last weekend of June.St. Gallen festivals
accessed 26 June 2010 * In the nearby concert hall, Tonhalle St. Gallen, with its grand

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

style, all sorts of concerts (classic, symphony, jazz etc.) are given.

Museums

* ''Historical and ethnographical museum'' (collections of regional early history, city history, folk art, cultural history as well ethnographical collections from all over the world) * ''

Art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

'' (painting and sculptures from the 19th and 20th century) * ''St. Gallen art gallery'' (national and international modern art) * ''Natural history museum'' (natural history collection) * ''Museum in the storehouse'' (Swiss native art and

art brut Art Brut is an English indie rock band. Their debut album, '' Bang Bang Rock & Roll'', was released on 30 May 2005, with its follow up, ''It's a Bit Complicated'', released on 25 June 2007. Named after French painter Jean Dubuffet's definition ...

) * ''Textile museum'' (historical laces, embroidery and cloth) * ''

Lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...

of the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

'' (building blocks from 8th to 17th century) * ''Point Jaune museum'' (

Mail Art Mail art, also known as postal art and correspondence art, is an artistic movement centered on sending small-scale works through the mail, postal service. It developed out of what eventually became Ray Johnson's New York Correspondence School and ...

, Postpostism,

'Pataphysics 'Pataphysics () is a sardonic "philosophy of science" invented by French writer Alfred Jarry (1873–1907) intended to be a parody of science. Difficult to be simply defined or pinned down, it has been described as the "science of imaginary solut ...

) * ''Beer bottle museum'' (located at the Schützengarten brewery—the oldest brewery in Switzerland)

Music

* The
symphony orchestra St. Gallen
' performs as the Orchestra of the City Theatre, presents numerous symphony concerts in the City Concert Hall. * During the summer open-air opera and various concerts are performed at numerous locations in town. * The well know
St. Gallen Open Air Festival
takes place in the nearby Sitter Valley the first weekend in July. * St. Gallen is home to th
Nordklang Festival
which takes place in February.

Buildings

* ''Drei Weieren'' (three artificial water basins from the zenith of the textile industry with Art Nouveau-

bath house Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

s; reachable by the

Mühleggbahn Mühleggbahn is a funicular in the city of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It leads from a lower station south of the old town, near the abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbo ...

(train) from 1893). The Drei Weieren is a water park by day and a gathering place for young people by night. This results in many complaints by people who live in the vicinity about noise, drug abuse and vandalism. Locals jokingly call the three basins "Lakes with the most THC in the country". The young people who spend their time there claim that the Drei Weieren is a place where they can spend their time in a consumer-free environment. * ''Convent of St. Gall'' with the famous ''library'' and ''

'' (

) * ''Greek Orthodox Church of St.Constantine and Helena'', Athonite icons and a stained glass window of the Last Judgement. * '' Wegelin & Co.'', the oldest

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

in Switzerland, founded in 1741 * ''Tröckneturm Schönenwegen''; the tower was built 1828 and was used to hang up freshly colored cloth panels for drying. * ''Protestant church Linsebühl'', an impressive new

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

building dating from 1897 * ''

'' (HSG; University for Business Administration, Economics and Law with an excellent reputation in the German-speaking world), founded 1898. * ''Embroidery exchange'', splendid building with the god of trade

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

on its roof. * ''Volksbad'', the oldest public bathhouse still in operation in Switzerland dating from 1908. * ''Catholic church of St. Martin'' in the Bruggen district; the concrete church built in 1936 was at that time glaringly modern. * 1992 the city of St. Gallen received the

. * Stadtlounge (City Lounge) – a pedestrian area in the city center designed to represent a lounge room, but in the street. * Synagogue St. Gallen – Built by the architects Chiodera and Tschudy, it is the only synagogue in the Lake Constance region that has been preserved in its original state.

Parks

* '' Wildlife park Peter and Paul'' * City park at the theater * Cantonal school park

Regular events

* The St. Gallen Symposium attracts about 600 personalities from economics, science, politics and society to the University of St. Gallen every year. It hosts the world's largest student essay competition of its kind with about 1,000 participants, of whom the 100 best contributions are selected to participate in the St. Gallen Symposium. The Symposium celebrated its 40th anniversary in May 2010. * OLMA, traditional Swiss Fair for Agriculture and Nutrition in autumn as well as numerous other exhibitions at the OLMA Fairs St. Gallen. * OpenAir St. Gallen is an annual open air festival in the Sitter Valley. * Children's Feast, a triennial observance, originally a product of the textile industry. * Nordklang Festival takes place in multiple sites around St. Gallen.

Sport

* The

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

FC St. Gallen Fussballclub St. Gallen 1879, commonly known as St. Gallen, is a Swiss professional football club based in the city of St. Gallen, Canton of St. Gallen. It is the oldest football club in continental Europe after Kjøbenhavns Boldklub. The tea ...

play in the

Swiss Super League The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...

. They are the oldest football club in Switzerland and oldest in continental Europe, founded in 1879. Their stadium is the

kybunpark The Kybunpark, formerly known as AFG Arena, is a multi-use stadium in St. Gallen, Switzerland, completed in 2008. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of FC St. Gallen of the Swiss Super League. It replaces the Es ...

. * The

club

SC Brühl Sportclub Brühl St. Gallen, commonly known as SC Brühl is a football club based in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The team competes in the Promotion League, the third tier of Swiss football. History SC Brühl was founded in 1901. In 1915, the c ...

play in the

Promotion League The Promotion League, named the Hoval Promotion League for sponsorship reasons, is the third tier of the Swiss football league system. Eighteen clubs compete in the league, playing each other twice over course of the season. The champions are prom ...

. Their stadium is the

Paul-Grüninger-Stadion Paul-Grüninger-Stadion is a association football, football stadium in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The stadium is named after Swiss police captain, football player, and Righteous Among the Nations Paul Grüninger. It is the home of SC Brühl and has ...

. * EHC St. Gallen plays in the Swiss Second League, the fourth tier of Swiss ice hockey. * The Rugby Club St. Gallen Bishops (Men) was founded in 1990 and Cindies (Women) in 2014. They play at the Grundenmoos sports fields. * TSV St. Otmar St. Gallen play in the

Swiss Handball League The Swiss Handball League (SHL) is the name of the professional handball league of Switzerland. It is divided into two divisions: * Quickline Handball League * Nationalliga B Current season Teams for season 2024–25 * BSV Bern * GC Amicit ...

and has won multiple Swiss championships

Transportation

The large urban area of Zurich is south-west of St. Gallen, a 60-minute drive or

train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

ride ( ICN train).

Road transportation

The A1 motorway links St. Gallen with

St. Margrethen St. Margrethen (Saint Margrethen/Sankt Margrethen) is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Rheintal in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. It is located on the Swiss–Austrian border. Geography St. Margrethen has an ar ...

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. In 1987, the city motorway was opened, which conveys the traffic through two tunnels (Rosenberg and Stefanshorn) almost directly below the city center.

Air transportation

The Airport St. Gallen-Altenrhein, near

Lake of Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

, provides scheduled airline flights to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and other destinations.

Public transport

By rail

St. Gallen railway station, the city's main

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, is part of the national

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

(SBB CFF FFS) network and has

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

(IC) connections to and

Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...

every half-hour, in addition to

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

(EC) trains to Zürich HB and , via ,

InterRegio The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...

(IR) trains to Zürich HB and , and

RegioExpress RegioExpress, commonly abbreviated to RE, is a Train categories in Europe, category of fast regional train service in Switzerland, run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) or other railway companies (such as Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia, ...

(RE) trains to . There are several other railway stations within the city, such as , , and , which are only served by regional trains of St. Gallen S-Bahn (overground

local trains Regional rail is a public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connecting smaller cities a ...

), which connects St. Gallen with municipalities in

Eastern Switzerland Eastern Switzerland (, , , ) is the common name of the region situated to the east of Glarus Alps, with the cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, and Glarus. The north of canton of Graubün ...

. Apart from SBB, St. Gallen is also the hub for two private

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

, the

Südostbahn The Südostbahn (German language, German, ) – commonly abbreviated to SOB – is a Switzerland, Swiss railway company, and a network in Central Switzerland, Central and Eastern Switzerland. It resulted from the merger of the Schweizerische S ...

(SOB), connecting St. Gallen with

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

and

(

Voralpen-Express The ''Voralpen-Express'' (''VAE'') is a named train connecting small to medium-sized cities and villages in Central Switzerland, Central and Eastern Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland on a scenic route, carrying this name since 1992. It is operated ...

), and the

Appenzell Railways Appenzell Railways (, AB) is a Swiss railway company with headquarters in Herisau. It operates a network of railways and a bus line in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen and Thurgau. It was founded in 2006 ...

(AB), which operates the Appenzell–St. Gallen–Trogen railway, connecting to

and Trogen, and also serves as a

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

in downtown St. Gallen.

By bus

The city has a dense local bus system, including the city's trolleybus network, which is operated by the VBSG and is well established on the valley floor, but less so on the hills. As St. Gallen is located near the Appenzell mountain area, it offers also many

PostAuto PostAuto Switzerland, PostBus Ltd. (known as in Swiss Standard German (), in Swiss French (), in Swiss Italian (), and in Romansh () is a subsidiary company of the Swiss Post, which provides regional and rural bus services throughout Switz ...

connections.

Expansion - St. Gallen 2013

The "St. Gallen 2013" project aimed to improve local rail services, with infrastructure upgrades and new rolling stock. By December 2013,

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

services would run on six lines, at intervals of 15 to 30 minutes.

Notable people

Early times

Joachim Vadian Joachim Vadian (29 November 1484 – 6 April 1551), born as Joachim von Watt, was a humanist, scholar, mayor and reformer in the free city of St. Gallen. Biography Vadian was born in St. Gallen into a family of wealthy and influential linen ...

(1484–1551), humanist, scholar, mayor and reformer in St. Gallen * Johannes Zollikofer (1633–1692), reformed vicar * Georg Gsell (1673–1740), Baroque painter, art consultant and art dealer * Michael Schlatter (1716–1790), American German Reformed clergyman * Rev.

John Joachim Zubly Reverend John Joachim Zubly (August 27, 1724 – July 23, 1781), born Hans Joachim Züblin, was a Swiss-born American pastor, planter, and statesman during the American Revolution. Although a delegate for Georgia to the Continental Congress in 1 ...

(1724–1781), American pastor, planter and statesman during the American Revolution * Adrian Zingg (1734–1816), painter, draftsman, etcher and engraver * Prof Christopher Girtanner FRSE (1760–1800), author, physician and chemist *

Johann Baptist Isenring Johann Baptist Isenring (12 May 1796, Lütisburg - 9 April 1860, St. Gallen) was a Swiss landscape painter and printer. He was also the first Daguerrotypist in Switzerland. Life and work As a boy, he completed a carpentry apprenticeship in ...

(1796–1860), landscape painter, printer and

Daguerrotypist Daguerreotype was the first publicly available photographic process, widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, th ...

19th century

Gall Morel Gall Morel, O.S.B., was a poet, scholar, aesthete, and educationist, born at St. Gallen, Switzerland, on 24 March 1803; died at the Abbey of Einsiedeln on 16 December 1872. Biography Benedict Morel was born on 24 March 1803 in St. Gallen, Sw ...

(1803–1872), poet, scholar, aesthete and educationist *

Arnold Otto Aepli Arnold Otto Aepli (22 August 1816 in St. Gallen – 4 December 1897) was a Swiss jurist and statesman. Aepli was president of the Swiss Council of States The Council of States is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the other hou ...

(1816–1897), jurist and statesman, President of the Swiss Council of States 1868–1869 *

Johann Jakob Weilenmann Johann Jakob Weilenmann (24 January 1819 in St. Gallen – 8 June 1896 in St. Gallen) was a Swiss mountaineer and Alpine writer. Weilenmann accomplished many first ascents in the Alps, amongst which are: * 1859 - Muttler in the Samnaun Alps * 1 ...

(1819–1896), mountaineer and Alpine writer * Karl Hoffmann (1820–1895), politician, President of the Swiss Council of States, 1877–1878 and 1889–1890 *

Ernst Götzinger Ernst Götzinger (23 September 1837, in Schaffhausen – 10 August 1896, in St. Gallen) was a Swiss German studies, Germanist and historian. He was the son of philologist Maximilian Wilhelm Götzinger (1799–1856). He studied philology at th ...

(1837–1896), Germanist and historian *

Alphonse Bory Alphonse Bory (15 October 1838 – 8 April 1891) was a Swiss politician and President of the Swiss Council of States The Council of States is a house of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, the other house being the National Council. As the ...

(1838–1891), politician, President of the Swiss Council of States 1886–1887 *

Johannes Dierauer Johannes Dierauer (20 March 1842 – 14 March 1920) was a Swiss historian and librarian. He taught history classes at the Cantonal School in St. Gallen from 1868 to 1907 and, from 1874 to 1920, served as the head of the City Library of St. Ga ...

(1842–1920), historian and librarian of the Stadtbibliothek Vadiana * Samuel Oettli (1846–1911), Protestant theologian *

Adolf Schlatter Adolf Schlatter (16 August 1852 – 19 May 1938) was a well-known Swiss-born German Protestant theologian and professor specialising in the New Testament and systematics at Greifswald, Berlin and Tübingen. Schlatter has published more than 400 s ...

(1852–1938), Protestant theologian and professor of the New Testament *

Arthur Hoffmann Arthur Hoffmann may refer to: *Arthur Hoffmann (politician) Arthur Hoffmann (19 June 1857 in St. Gallen – 23 July 1927 in St. Gallen) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1911–1917). Hoffmann was the son of Kar ...

(1857–1927), politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council 1911–1917 * Robert Emden (1862–1940), astrophysicist and meteorologist *

Julius Billeter Julius Billeter, Jr. (October 14, 1869 – July 9, 1957) was a Swiss genealogist. Biography Billeter was the second of ten children and eldest son of Julius Billeter Sr. (1842–1922) and Barbara Billeter (; 1843–1930). Barbara Zweifel Billet ...

(1869–1957), genealogist and

Mormon missionary Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...

* Ernst Rüdin (1874–1952), German psychiatrist, geneticist, eugenicist and Nazi * Martha Cunz (1876–1961), artist and printmaker, mastered the modernist woodcut * Joseph Joos (1878–1965), German intellectual, politician and MP in Weimar, lived in St. Gallen 1960–1965 *

Franz Riklin Franz Beda Riklin (; 22 April 1878, St. Gallen – 4 December 1938, Küsnacht) was a Swiss psychiatrist. Early in his career, Franz Riklin worked at the Burghölzli Hospital in Zurich under Eugen Bleuler (1857–1939), and studied experimen ...

(1878–1938), psychiatrist * Otto Schlaginhaufen (1879–1973), aanthropologist, ethnologist and eugenicist *

Heinrich Greinacher Heinrich Greinacher (May 31, 1880 in St. Gallen – April 17, 1974 in Bern) was a Swiss physicist. He is regarded as an original experimenter and is the developer of the magnetron and the Greinacher multiplier. Greinacher was the only child of ...

(1880–1974), physicist *

Fritz Platten Fritz Platten (8 July 1883 – 22 April 1942) was a Swiss communist politician and one of the founders of the Communist International. Early life Platten was born in the village of Tablat, now part of St. Gallen, on 8 July 1883, to an Old Catho ...

(1883–1942), Communist politician * Regina Ullmann (1884–1961), poet and storyteller *

Paul Scherrer Paul Hermann Scherrer (3 February 1890 – 25 September 1969) was a Swiss physicist. Born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, he studied at Göttingen, Germany, before becoming a lecturer there. Later, Scherrer became head of the Department of Physics ...

(1890–1969), physicist, proponent of Switzerland developing its own nuclear weapons *

Karl Kobelt Karl Kobelt (1 August 1891, in St. Gallen – 5 January 1968) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collect ...

(1891–1968), politician, President of the Confederation in 1946 and 1952 *

Paul Grüninger Paul Grüninger (; 27 October 1891 – 22 February 1972) was a Swiss police commander in St. Gallen. He was recognized as one of the Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial foundation in 1971. Following the Austrian ''A ...

(1891–1972), police captain,

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

Charles Stoffel Charles Stoffel (5 April 1893 – 30 July 1970) was a Swiss sportsman. He competed in the four-man bobsleigh event at the 1924 Winter Olympics and 1928 Winter Olympics. He also competed in the equestrian The word equestrian is a reference t ...

(1893–1970), bobsledder and equestrian *

Walter Mittelholzer Walter Mittelholzer (2 April 1894 – 9 May 1937) was a Swiss aviation pioneer. He was active as a pilot, photographer, travel writer, as well as of the first aviation entrepreneurs. Life Mittelholzer was born on 2 April 1894 in St. Gallen, th ...

(1894–1937), aviation pioneer, pilot, photographer and travel writer *

Ottó Misángyi Ottó Misángyi (; 20 April 1895 – 30 November 1977) was a Hungary, Hungarian athletics coach, sports official, university professor and writer. Born in Pécs, Misángyi was notary in the Hungarian Athletics Association (HAA) before World War ...

(1895–1977), Hungarian athletics coach, sports official and university professor *

Thomas Holenstein Thomas Holenstein (7 February 1896 – 31 October 1962) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1955–1959). Holenstein studied law at the University of Bern, finishing in 1920. He then worked as a lawyer in his ...

(1896–1962), politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council 1955–1959

20th century

Jolanda Neff Jolanda Neff (born 5 January 1993) is a Swiss cyclist, who primarily rides in the cross-country cycling and cyclo-cross disciplines, for the Cannondale Factory Racing team. She won the gold medal in the Cycling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Wom ...

(born 1993), cross-country cyclist *

Berta Rahm Berta Rahm (October 4, 1910 – October 10, 1998) was a Swiss architect, writer, publisher, and feminist activist. Life and career Rahm was born on October 4, 1910 in St. Gallen. With some influence from her uncle Arnold Meyer, who owned a succe ...

(1910–1998), architect, writer, publisher and feminist activist *

Bärbel Inhelder Bärbel Elisabeth Inhelder (15 April 1913 – 17 February 1997) was a Swiss psychologist most known for her work under psychologist and epistemologist Jean Piaget and their contributions toward child development. Born in St. Gallen, Switzerland, ...

(1913–1997), psychologist and epistemologist *

Peter Maag Ernst Peter Johannes Maag (10 May 1919 – 16 April 2001) was a Swiss conductor. Early life Peter Maag was born on 10 May 1919 in St. Gallen, Switzerland and died on 16 April 2001 in Verona, Italy. His father, Otto, was a Lutheran minister, ...

(1919–2001), conductor *

Walter Roderer Walter Roderer (3 July 1920 – 8 May 2012) was a Swiss actor and screenwriter. He played several leading film roles including the 1959 comedy '' The Model Husband''.Goble p.228 Selected filmography Actor * '' The Venus of Tivoli'' (1953) * ...

(1920–2012), actor and screenwriter *

Kurt Furgler Kurt Furgler (24 June 1924 – 23 July 2008) was a Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council (1972–1986). He was elected to the Federal Council of Switzerland on 8 December 1971 and handed over office on 31 December 1986. He wa ...

(1924–2008), politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council 1972–1986 *

Fred Iklé Fred Charles Iklé (né Fritz Karl Iklé; August 21, 1924 – November 10, 2011) was a Swiss-American sociologist and defense expert. Iklé's expertise was in defense and foreign policy, nuclear strategy, and the role of technology in the emergin ...

(1924–2011), sociologist and defense expert *

Fred Hayman Fred Jules Pollag (May 29, 1925 – April 14, 2016), known professionally as Fred Hayman, was a Swiss-born American fashion retailer and entrepreneur, founder of Giorgio Beverly Hills in 1961 in Beverly Hills, California. He was also known as "Mr. ...

(1925–2016), American fashion retailer and entrepreneur *

Hansrudi Wäscher Hansrudi Wäscher (5 April 1928, in St. Gallen, Switzerland – 7 January 2016, in Freiburg im Breisgau) was a Swiss-German comics artist and comics author. Life Background and education Wäscher was the son of a German father and a Swiss m ...

(1928–2016), Swiss-German comics artist and comics author *

Peter Hildebrand Meienberg Peter Hildebrand Meienberg (27 November 1929 – 3 December 2021) was a Swiss Benedictine missionary who spent more than 50 years in East Africa working on refugee aid, prison reform, education, and other social determinants of health. He is know ...

(1929–2021), Benedictine Missionary *

Ines Torelli Ines Torelli (née Ines Stierli; 14 June 1931 – 21 August 2019) was a Swiss comedian, radio personality, and stage, voice and film actress starring usually in Swiss German language cinema and television and stage productions. Early life and ed ...

(1931–2019), comedian, radio personality and actress *

Max Meier Max Meier (born 20 May 1936) is a Swiss boxer. He competed in the men's welterweight event at the 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), we ...

(born 1936), boxer * Hugo Tschirky (1938–2020), scientist in the field of management science * Hans Eugen Frischknecht (born 1939), composer and organist *

Niklaus Meienberg Niklaus Meienberg (11 May 1940 – 22 September 1993) was a Swiss writer and investigative journalist. Meienberg lived in Zürich and published 14 books in his lifetime. His works were primarily about recent Swiss history. His texts are use ...

(1940–1993), writer and investigative journalist *

Ruth Dreifuss Ruth Dreifuss (born 9 January 1940) is a Swiss economist, unionist and politician who served as a member of the Federal Council from 1993 to 2002. She served as Vice President of Switzerland in 1998 and as President of Switzerland in 1999 for t ...

(born 1940), politician, member of the Swiss Federal Council 1993–2002 *

Dieter Mobius Dieter Moebius (16 January 1944 – 20 July 2015) was a Swiss-born German electronic musician and composer, best known as a member of the influential krautrock bands Cluster and Harmonia. Career Moebius was studying art at Berlin's Akademie Gra ...

(1944–2015), German electronic musician and composer * Daniel Thürer (born 1945), jurist and law professor *

Karl Ammann Karl Ammann is a Swiss conservationist, wildlife photographer, author and documentary film producer. He initiated a campaign focusing on the African bush meat trade, which gained worldwide attention. As a conservation activist, he has specialized ...

(born 1948), conservationist and wildlife photographer * Josef Flammer (born 1948), ophthalmologist * Paola del Medico (born 1950), singer *

Christophe Boesch Christophe Boesch (11 August 1951 – 14 January 2024) was a French-Swiss primatologist who studied chimpanzees. He and his wife worked together, co-wrote articles and co-directed documentaries about chimpanzees. Biography Boesch was born in St. ...

(1951–2024), primatologist * Peter Liechti (1951–2014), movie director *

René Tinner René Lee Tinner (born February 18, 1953, in St. Gallen) is a Swiss recording engineer and producer who has produced over 200 studio records and numerous live performances. Career Tinner began his career as the audio engineer of the noted G ...

(born 1953), recording engineer and producer * Hans Fässler (born 1954), historian, politician and satirical revue artist *

Simone Drexel Simone Drexel (born 13 May 1957 in St. Gallen) is a Swiss singer and songwriter. In 1975 she represented Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest with her self penned entry Mikado which finished sixth on the night. In 1984, following the bi ...

(born 1957), singer-songwriter * Susan Boos (born 1963), journalist * Michael Hengartner (born 1966), Swiss-Canadian biochemist and molecular biologist *

Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein, Count of Rietberg (Maximilian Nikolaus Maria; born 16 May 1969), known professionally as Max von Liechtenstein, is a Liechtensteiner prince and businessman. He is the second son of Hans-Adam II, Prince of L ...

(born 1969), CEO of the

LGT Group LGT Group is the largest royal family-owned private banking and asset management group in the world. LGT, originally known as The Liechtenstein Global Trust, is owned by the princely House of Liechtenstein through the Prince of Liechtenstein Fo ...

* Monika Fischer (born 1971), photographer of portrait projects *

(born 1971), politician *

Marco Zwyssig Marco Zwyssig (born 24 October 1971) is a Swiss former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is best remembered for his time at FC St. Gallen and FC Basel. He also played for the Switzerland national football team. Following h ...

(born 1971), footballer *

Aurelia Frick Aurelia Cäcilia Katharina Frick commonly known as Aurelia Frick (born 19 September 1975) is a Liechtensteiner politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Culture of Liechtenstein from 2009 to 2019. Early life and educa ...

(born 1975), Liechtensteiner politician * David Philip Hefti (born 1975), composer and conductor * Agung Wicaksono (born 1976), Indonesian technocrat and higher educator *

Dominik Meichtry Dominik Meichtry (born November 18, 1984) is a Swiss competitive swimmer specializing in the middle distance freestyle events. He currently holds six Swiss national records (long course and short course). Meichtry has won 31 individual Swiss ...

(born 1984), swimmer * Tranquillo Barnetta (born 1985), footballer *

Nevin Galmarini Nevin Galmarini (born 4 December 1986) is a Swiss snowboarder and Olympic Champion. In February 2018, Nevin Galmarini won a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea in the Parallel giant slalom. In 2009, he won the Swiss natio ...

(born 1986), snowboarder, Olympic winner *

Linda Fäh Linda Fäh (born 10 November 1987) is a Swiss singer, model and beauty pageant titleholder. She won the Miss Switzerland The Miss Switzerland or Miss Universe Switzerland (; ; ) is a national Beauty pageant in Switzerland. The pageant was ...

(born 1987), model and beauty pageant titleholder,

Miss Switzerland The Miss Switzerland or Miss Universe Switzerland (; ; ) is a national Beauty pageant in Switzerland. The pageant was founded in 1951, where the winners were sent to Miss Universe. History Began in 1951 the Miss Switzerland resulted Jacq ...

2009 *

Marwin Hitz Marwin Hitz (born 18 September 1987) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Swiss Super League club Basel and the Switzerland national team. Club career Early career Born in St. Gallen, Hitz was signed by his hometow ...

(born 1987), professional football player * Kevin Fiala (born 1996), ice hockey player

Notes

References

External links

* *
St. Gallen Symposium
* *
QuickTime Virtual Reality (QTVR) images of St. Gallen
* {{DEFAULTSORT:S Gallen Cities in Switzerland Cantonal capitals of Switzerland

Saint Gallen St. Gallen is a Swiss city and the capital of the canton of St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration (with around 167,000 inhabitants in 2019) and repr ...

States and territories established in 1401 Cultural property of national significance in the canton of St. Gallen States and territories disestablished in 1648