St. Gallen

St. Gallen is a compact university city in eastern Switzerland, set between Lake Constance and the Appenzell Alps. Its UNESCO-listed Abbey District, with the baroque cathedral and world-famous Abbey Library, forms the historic heart of the city and one of Switzerland's most important cultural monuments.

The city grew around a 7th-century hermitage of the Irish monk Gallus and a later Benedictine abbey, becoming a major centre of learning, manuscript production and textile trade. Its well-preserved medieval old town is known for more than a hundred colourful oriel windows, particularly along streets such as Gallusstrasse and Spisergasse.

The Abbey Library holds around 170,000 volumes, including medieval manuscripts, and is often described as one of the most beautiful libraries in the world. Beyond the abbey, visitors explore the Textile Museum, art museums, and districts such as the lively old town, the Rotmonten area near the university, and Bruggen and St. Georgen.

St. Gallen is a centre for education, services, technology and textiles, home to the University of St. Gallen, a leading business school. Its compact centre, cafés, restaurants and regular events such as the OLMA trade fair and open-air festivals give the city a lively everyday character.

For both leisure and business travellers, St. Gallen offers a walkable historic core, strong cultural institutions and convenient rail links to Zurich, Lake Constance and the surrounding Appenzell countryside.