Tröckneturm (Drying Tower)

History: The history of the Tröckneturm is closely intertwined with the nearby Waldegg Castle (built in 1475, rebuilt in 1901 after a fire, carefully renovated in 1997/98), to whose lands the large area with the castle ponds down to Schönenwegen and the Tröckneturm belonged. The stately estate was owned by the monastery of St.Gallen for almost 300 years and fell to the canton after the Helvetic Revolution. In 1825, the St.Gallen merchant Johann Jakob Täschler (1786-1830) bought the property at auction and built a factory annex to Waldegg Castle. He ran a red dye works there, which was in vogue at the time. It was also he who had a “Tröcknehaus” built in 1828 by the so-called “Alter Weiher” - today's Tröckneturm. Architecture: The building was a well thought-out construction: the overhanging roof allowed the cloths to be hung outside when the weather was fine. In bad weather, the cloths could be hung up and dried inside. Current use: In 2019, the town acquired the Burgweiher area and made it accessible to the public. The rights to use the Tröckneturm still belong to a foundation established in 1997. The Tröckneturm Foundation converted the unique textile-historical object into a meeting place. In the course of this, a documentation center on the history of the city of St.Gallen and the history of the most important branches of the St.Gallen textile industry was also established. The Tröckneturm can now be hired for social events. Since January 2023, the registry office has also been offering wedding ceremonies in the Tröckneturm at Burgweier.

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