Schlössli (Little Castle)

History:
The Zollikofer family, who already owned several castles outside the city, wanted to build an impressive residence within the city walls. The Schlössli served both social representation and business purposes: it housed ballrooms for social events and a warehouse on the first floor. After the death of Laurenz Zollikofer, the Schlössli remained in the family for a further generation, but then changed hands and belonged to various wealthy St.Gallen families, including the Hochreutener, Kunkler and Schlumpf families. In the 19th century, the town had the opportunity to acquire the Schlössli. Johannes Kaspar Straub offered to buy it from the school council for 17,000 guilders. However, the deal did not go through because the necessary funds were not raised - as the town had hoped - from voluntary contributions from wealthy and charitable townspeople. As a result, the Schlössli remained in private ownership.
Architecture:
The master builder of Zollikofer's Altenklingen Castle, Matthias Höbel from Kempten, was commissioned to build the Schlössli - hence the clear similarity between the two buildings. The reference to aristocratic castle architecture is unmistakable. The involvement of an external master builder led to objections, which were, however, rejected.
Current use:
Today, the restored building houses a restaurant with regional cuisine and several prestigious rooms. For a special culinary experience, groups of 6 or more can enjoy the Textilland pleasure menu. This combines almost forgotten culinary delights with anecdotes from the textile history of Eastern Switzerland from the 15th century to the modern high-tech textile world of today.