Werdenberg Things to Do

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If you look up from the street to the second floor you will recognize a little window which was called the “Soul-window”. This “Soul-window” was only opened when somebody in the house died; they believed the soul will escape trough this window.

This custom was practized among communities of the Walser.
The Walser are German-speaking people (more specifically, they speak Walser German dialects) that live in the alps of Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein and Austria. The Walser people are called for the Wallis (Valais), the uppermost Rhône River valley.
The Walser settled the upper part of the Wallis about 1000 years ago, coming from the Bernese Oberland. Because of linguistic differences among the Walser dialects, it is supposed that there were two independent immigration routes. From the upper Wallis, they began to spread south, west and east between the 12th and 13th centuries, which is known as the Walser migrations. © Wikipedia

Typical examples for still existing Walser communities are the villages Triesenberg and Planken in the near Principality of Liechtenstein.

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The Snake House with its baroque façade, named after the monsters painted under its eaves, grew out of an earlier building and was renovated in 1990.
A remarkable building with an exceptionally steeply pitched roof, dating from the mid of the 18th century.

Inside you find a historical and ethnological exhibition on the history of the region from prehistoric times until today.
The museum is open April to October, Tuesday to Sunday, 13:30…17:00

This building was erected in 1478 above the north-western city gate. From its northern corner the city wall runs to the derelict main gate and is for the most part well-preserved.

Today the house is used for the local Kindergarten.

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Set on a stone base, this wooden building was probably constructed in the early 17th century. The wall paintings were added around the middle of the 18th century.

Characteristic for some of the houses: The wooden blinds in front of the windows are sliding into the wall underneath the window.

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This solidly-built medieval house underwent major alterations in the 17th century. The remains of the town gateway, which was demolished in 1832, are still visible.

On the side of the house there is the following saying in an old german dialect:

"Dis Hus ist min und doch nit min,
wer vorher da, s’was auch nit sin,
Wer nah mir kumt muos auch hinus;
Sag lieber Fründ wem ist dis Hus?"

This translate approx. into:

"This house is mine, and it isn't mine,
the previous guy didn’t own it either,
the next one has to leave the house too,
so tell me, my friend, whose house is it?"

If any VTer with a history or language background knows more about this, or can translate it any better, please let me know, thank you.

Werdenberg’s charming houses are clustered together picturesquely below the castle. The little town is unique in that it has kept its medieval structure and style. It is not an open-air museum, however, but a living and working record of architectural history.

The castle and town were surrounded by a city wall, which has survived largely intact. The two outermost rows of houses were built right into the walls themselves. On the valley side the town wall is clearly visible, but that facing the lake is hidden in the row of houses.

The town is a settlement of wooden buildings urban in Character. Amongst the oldest buildings are those with open arches where the market was held. Most of the houses were erected in the 14th century and were altered in the following centuries. Archeological examination of the timbers has suggested that they were re-erected from elsewhere, and were reassembled appropriate to their new location in the row of houses.

Stroll trough the alleyways, and delight in the buildings’ facades and details lavished on them by their owners past and present, who have looked after them with great care. The smallest city of Switzerland has a grand total of 34 houses.

The following buildings merit special attention:

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A castle is a late medieval castle, with a tower, courtyard and surrounding buildings;. Staterooms, living quarters and pharmacy furnished in the mid-19th century; collection of arms; exhibition on the history of the Canton St.Gallen.
Museum open April to October, Tuesday to Sunday, 09:30…17:00

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It's the smallest city in Switzerland so you only need your own two feets to walk around :)