The best running trails in Eastern Switzerland

A very beautiful path directly along the Rhine.

The baroque monastery of St. Gallen is the glorious culmination of a thousand years of monastic culture, growing out of the hermitage of the missionary Irish monk Gallus, who retreated to the wild high valley of the Steinach in 612. A hundred years later, his hermitage became the starting point for a new monastic community under Abbot Otmar. In 747, a fully developed monastery adopted the rule of St. Benedict. A hundred years after Otmar, at the beginning of the 9th century, Abbot Gozbert ushered in the "golden age" of the abbey. In 1805, the monastery was dissolved by the newly founded canton. Since then, the monastery has housed the government and administration of the canton of St. Gallen, as well as the head and administration of the diocese of the same name, created in 1823.

Since 1983, the Collegiate Church and Cathedral of St. Gallen (actually Collegiate Church of St. Gallus and Otmar) and the entire Abbey District have been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The baroque new building of the Benedictine monastery church, built between 1755 and 1766, stands where Saint Gallus is said to be buried. From 720 onwards, Abbot Otmar organised the construction work around the crypt, and his successor Gozbert began the construction of the new monastery church from 820 onwards. The construction of the Collegiate Church in its present form - it is one of the last monumental sacred buildings of the late Baroque period - was planned by Gabriel Loser and Johann Caspar Bagnato. Its two 68-metre-high towers tower above the old town of St. Gallen.

The Evangelical Reformed Parish Church of St. Gallen is dedicated to the martyr Laurentius of Rome as its patron saint. For centuries, the church was the political, religious, and social center of the St. Gallen city republic and has had a lasting impact on the city's history. The first church on this site probably originated in the mid-12th century. St. Laurenzen received its present neo-Gothic appearance in 1845 according to the plans of Johann Georg Müller.

Beautiful place, very quiet

Cathedral, St. Gallen Several earlier structures preceded the monumental church. Originally, the chapel of Saint Gallus stood on this site, where the saint was buried around 640. Later buildings incorporated Gallus's tomb. Around 720 (the founding of the monastery), a stone church was built. By the 9th century, the church had already reached its present length. In the 15th century, a new choir in the Gothic style was constructed. In 1756, the monks embarked on the final phase of the church's reconstruction, which was completed in 1766. The renowned architect Johann Kaspar Bagnato played a significant role in the design, while Johann Michael Beer oversaw the construction. The patrons were Abbots Cölestin Gugger von Staudach and Beda Angehrn. After the dissolution of the monastery, the church became a cathedral (bishop's church) in 1824. The church underwent interior renovations from 1961 to 1967 and exterior renovations from 2000 to 2003. The church has an elongated, rectangular floor plan. Within this plan, a rotunda (round structure) is inserted, resembling a transept. On the eastern end, the striking twin-tower facade rises as a dominant feature, the emblem of the Diocese, City, and Canton of St. Gallen. The facade's sculptural decoration includes figures of Saints Maurice and Desiderius and a relief depicting the Coronation of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Trinity. The interior of the church is a three-aisled, free-pillared structure with a central dome (rotunda). High-quality stucco work, vault paintings, altars, and the choir stalls are among the highlights of the interior. The concept of harmoniously coordinated art forms is the work of Christian Wentzinger, sculptor and painter. Text / Source: City of St. Gallen, Town Hall, 9001 St. Gallen https://www.stadt.sg.ch/home/freizeit-tourismus/stgallen-entdecken/stiftsbezirk-unesco-weltkulturerbe.html

Stadtlounge (Red Square), St. Gallen Switzerland's first public living room spreads out in the open air in the Bleicheli quarter of St. Gallen. It is covered with red rubber granulate and illuminated by artful light bodies. The "Stadtlounge" by artist Pipilotti Rist and architect Carlos Martinez invites you to relax and marvel. The Bleicheli quarter of St. Gallen is a typical shopping and office area. The fact that people are still out and about here until late in the evening is thanks to the airy living room designed by multimedia artist Pipilotti Rist together with architect Carlos Martinez. The large Red Square is furnished with sofas, chairs, tables, loungers and a Porsche – which, like the floor, are covered with a brightly red carpet made of plastic granulate. During the day, children use the unusual urban landscape for playing, while employees of the surrounding shops take a break on the comfortable seating. In the evening, light bodies, which hang over the square like floating boulders, illuminate the scene and attract young and young-at-heart people into their glow. Text / Source: St.Gallen-Bodensee Tourismus, Bankgasse 9, St. Gallen / myswitzerland.com https://www.myswitzerland.com/de-ch/erlebnisse/stadtlounge-roter-platz/

A lovely walk along the water and through the park. I went for a swim in the lake afterward. A very quiet and tranquil morning.