The tradition-rich rural town of Altstätten lies in the St. Gallen Rhine Valley very close to the Austrian border and at the foot of the Alpstein massif. The town prospered thanks to its markets and above all the textile trade.

From the 13th century, Altstätten was a market place and later important centre for the textile trade. Worth seeing are the Haus zur Reburg to the west of the Rathausplatz (town hall square), the triangular-shaped Engelplatz, the Webergasse with its harmonious groups of houses and Marktgasse with a long arcade on its north side. Four to five-storey commercial buildings from the baroque era give Obergasse its character. From here, 18th-century merchants delivered textiles to customers throughout Europe. The Obergasse is completed by «Zur Prestegg», a stately former merchant’s dwelling which today houses the History Museum. The museum was founded in 1895 – three years before the Swiss National Museum – and exhibits items from the daily lives of the upper middle class, including furniture, pictures, national costumes, porcelain, glass and pewter etc.

The extensive municipality stretches from the banks of the Rhine to the summit of the Hoher Kasten (in the Altstätter exclave Lienz) and boasts many natural splendours and recreational areas. The marshland of the Bannriet nature reserve is considered to be an amphibian spawning area of national importance. The former peat-cutting area gets its unmistakable character from the many trenches, the result of peat cutting.

The cogwheel section of the Appenzell Railway to Gais begins in Altstätten. The Altstätten SBB railway station is on the Rheintal line of the SBB and the two stations are linked by a bus service.

Highlights

• Historic centre Altstätten – grand baroque buildings and historic arcades along Marktgasse provide evidence of its former status.
• Museum in merchant’s palace «Zur Prestegg» – History Museum in two respects: founded in 1895 and devoted to regional history.
• Hoher Kasten – vantage and hiking mountain (1795m), panoramic view of the Appenzell region and into the Rhine Valley, Alpine garden with 192 species of Alpine plants. The Altstätten municipal area stretches to the summit.
• Cogwheel railway to Gais –scenic mountain section of the Appenzell Railway linking the Rhine Valley with the Appenzell region.