Textile Museum St. Gallen
A place where fabrics make history
Embroideries, sample books and even embroidered QR codes – the Textile Museum St. Gallen offers fascinating insights into one of Eastern Switzerland’s most important cultural traditions. The exhibition sheds light on what has shaped St. Gallen for centuries: the art of textiles.
From linen to embroidery
The history goes back to the early Middle Ages. Linen weaving, cotton processing and the famous St. Gallen embroidery turned the city into an international centre of textile craftsmanship. Even today, the museum displays precious historical exhibits – including Egyptian burial textiles with fine embroidery and splendid curtains once exported to America. A special highlight is the historic hand embroidery machine from around 1890, which is brought to life on selected afternoons. It gives visitors a vivid impression of the technology, skill and manual precision that once powered this flourishing industry.
Haute couture from Eastern Switzerland
But St. Gallen is not only about tradition – the present plays its part too. Leading fashion houses such as Dior, Gucci and Prada continue to rely on fabrics from Eastern Switzerland. What later graces the runways of Paris or New York is often on display in the museum beforehand.
Your visit can be enriched with guided tours by St. Gallen-Bodensee Tourism. And for those who wish to extend the experience: selected textile hotels in the region offer overnight stays in rooms furnished with fabrics and wallpapers from St. Gallen design studios.
The city as a museum
Even outside the museum walls, the textile legacy of St. Gallen is tangible. Along the Textile Trail, embroidered QR codes reveal architectural landmarks of the city’s industrial past – with names like “Oceanic”, “Washington” or “Wilson”, carrying echoes of a golden era into the present.