It's a beautiful cathedral! It's a fine example of Baroque architecture inside and outside. The…read morevaulted and arched ceilings are all encased with beautifully detailed frescoes featuring St. Gallus along with Biblical figures and cherubs. The color scheme of the ceiling and trim (aqua, coral, and gold) really highlights these paintings. The contrast with the white columns makes it look like a colorful tiered topping on a wedding cake. It may not be as ornate as the cathedrals in Italy, but it's most certainly elegant in style. The one common thing that I did notice in the cathedrals of Switzerland is that there is still a separation between the sacred part of the church (or chancel) and the rest of sanctuary. It's nice that they've kept that tradition, but it doesn't allow visitors to truly see everything. I would have loved to see the Bell of St. Gallen, but that whole area is gated by the tall screen. Maybe it's to protect all of these religious symbols. Can you tell that I'm not Catholic? The facade of the cathedral is just as beautiful with the clock towers and statues. It's the main focal point in St. Gallen as it should be. The city around it is very charming as well. Make sure you take a walk around the grounds and city while you're there. There's all kinds of medieval architecture to discover while you're there. Very enjoyable!

This church is a must if you are visting St.Gallen!!!read more

This church building is next door to the St. Gallen Abbey Cathedral complex. The first church on…read morethis site was most likely built around 1235 as a parish church. This church is oozing with church history of the Protestant Reformation in Switzerland. There was a great divide between the monastery next door and the reformed church during this time, and a 10 metre high wall was built to divide the reformed and catholic sections of town. The wall was torn down in 1818 when the monastery was dissolved. You can still see a section of the wall in town. In 1526 the church was cleaned of all catholic images. In 1845, the renovation of the church was planned, and thanks to Johann Georg Muller this reformed church has the unusual touches of medieval style, as it was his desire to preserve the building structure as much as possible. Unlike most reformed churches, this church stands apart and has colour and beauty within. There is a tower which you can climb during the warmer months, and prides itself in being taller than it's neighbouring cathedral tower. However, the cathedral does have two of them. Entrance is free of charge.

This week I was walking in the Altstadt of this great city and as I approached the city center,…read morewhere the UNESCO Cathedral and Stiftsbibliotek is located as well as the lesser visited, but also very beautiful, St. Lorenzen Reformiert Landeskirche. I was surprised to notice that there would be a lunchtime piano concert of Bach performed by a Swedish-German woman who tickeled the ivories with such grace and excellence that I was, for 30 minutes exactly in the middle of a hectic week, transported to another time and place of complete peace and tranquility. For those of you fellow city friends I recommend not only window shopping or having a good meal at mid-day, but also taking the time to notice the opportunities and cultural gifts that living in or visiting such a city provides!