Only a few kilometres from the Bodensee, the small town of Rheineck in the St. Gallen area lies on the «Alter Rhein». In summer, passenger boats ply the romantic old river to Rheineck. The historic town shows evidence of its prosperous past.

The old course of the Rhine forms the natural border between Switzerland and Austria. Because of its location on the waterway, Rheineck was once a trading centre on the north-south route. This fact and the later widespread textile industry brought prosperity, evidence of which is shown in the castle ruins above the attractive small town, the town hall (1555) and the imposing Löwenhof and Custerhof (both mid-18th century).

The ideal location and SBB express train station, small cogwheel railway to Walzenhausen and proximity to Altenrhein airfield make, Rheineck easy to reach and a departure point for excursions to the Rhine Valley, the Appenzell region, Bodensee and neighbouring Vorarlberg.

Gilded onion spires, bright colours, sweeping lines, uneven windows and garish ceramic columns: the hallmark of Friedensreich Hundertwasser’s architecture. As seen in Staad on Bodensee, a few kilometres from Rheineck, where the Altenrhein market hall with gallery and restaurant was built to his design.

A beautiful path through a nature reserve rich in flora and fauna leads along the Alter Rhein from Rheineck to Staad. In summer, a regular boat service also runs between Rorschach and Rheineck via Altenrhein, through the wild romantic river landscape.

The round tour on the Witzwanderweg (joke path) is also very popular: by boat to Rorschach, cogwheel railway to Heiden, on foot along the Witzwanderweg – devoted to typical dry Appenzell humour – to Walzenhausen and the second cogwheel railway back to Rheineck (or vice versa).

Highlights

• Schifffahrt Alter Rhein – scheduled boats run in summer from Rorschach, where the Alter Rhein enters the Bodensee, through the wild romantic, preserved river landscape to Rheineck.
• Hundertwasserhalle Staad/Altenrhein – gilded onion spires, bright colours and sweeping lines, the only building in Switzerland by artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
• Fliegermuseum Altenrhein – showing the development of the St. Gallen/Altenrhein airfield, the Dornier and FFA companies, aviation in Eastern Switzerland and the Swiss Air Force.