Haus zur Waage

The architecture of the embroidery era changed not only the western suburbs and the embroidery quarter, but also the upper part of the historic centre.

History: Wendelin Heene (1855-1913), a native of northern Bohemia who built the scales in 1903/04 for the “Consum Verein”, was probably the most influential architect of his time in St.Gallen. Many of the most interesting large buildings between the early 1890s and 1913 were designed by him. Architecture: The Waage with its baroque-style oriel tower overcomes the small scale of the medieval alleyway. The building unites two properties, Zur Waage and Zur Goldenen Garbe. With its five high storeys - the uppermost hidden behind a stone balustrade - Wendelin Heene opened up a new architectural perspective for Multergasse, which experienced a boom as a shopping street after 1900. The pillar construction of the scales is covered with a sandstone shell. This is remarkable in its figurative and ornamental modeling. Pilasters grow organically out of the wall and end at the top in the ornamentation of a diamond frieze. The five larger-than-life, fully sculpted sandstone heads representing the five continents are outstanding - masterpieces by the Dutch stone sculptor Henri Gisbert Geene (1865-1950), who was also extremely productive in St.Gallen. Current use: For decades, the building housed the leading St.Gallen sports store “Sport Sonderegger”; some townspeople still call the building that today. The Zurich women's fashion company Feldpausch (now a label of the PKZ Group) later took over the location; the property underwent a complete renovation in 2011.