Kreuzbleiche

History: The name Kreuzbleiche reflects two important features of St.Gallen's town history. On the one hand, the linen cloths were spread out in front of the town wall for bleaching. Secondly, the town area stretched from the Rosenberg over the Freudenberg and St. Fiden to the Kreuzbleiche and was marked with crosses. Architecture: The 19th century saw a flurry of building activity. Residential and commercial buildings, schools and churches, a municipal theater, and underground buildings for the development of the newly created quarters were built. The connection of St. Gallen to the Swiss railroad network in 1856 led to an additional building boom. All this had a lasting effect on the cityscape: the previous settlement area - the old town and the suburbs - gradually offered too little space, so that by the end of the 19th century, the entire valley floor between Kreuzbleiche and St. Fiden was built over, followed by parts of the slopes to the north and south of the city. Despite the building boom, the Kreuzbleiche remains a large undeveloped area, mainly due to its military use: In the 1860s, the Brühl area in the east of the city became too small for military exercises and was therefore forced to move to the Kreuzbleiche. As early as 1865, there were plans for the construction of barracks, which were finally realized in 1875/76. This had to make way for the highway exit in 1980, but the former officers' building from 1901/02 still stands on the Kreuzbleiche. In contrast to the strictly classicist barracks, the building was constructed as an opulent hunting lodge with turrets, oriels and a playful roof and façade design. Today, the building houses a hotel and restaurant. The oldest depiction of St.Gallen from the 1540s illustrates the immense economic importance of the bleaching works and thus of textile production for St.Gallen. It shows in the foreground the area to the west of the old town at St. Leonhard (adjacent to the Kreuzbleiche), where a large number of cloths are laid out for bleaching. Current use: Today, the Kreuzbleiche is a green oasis that offers sports clubs and all sections of the population plenty of space to exercise. When there is enough snow in winter, the large area becomes a city trail where cross-country skiing enthusiasts can do their laps.