Gallus Tower (Schänis)
The Gallusturm is located in the St. Gall community of Schänis . The 15 meter high Romanesque tower is the only remaining part of the St. Gallus Chapel, which burned down in 1824. The tower, which is unique in Switzerland, has been classified as worthy of national protection (highest of the three levels) and is therefore a federal monument .
history
As a church (ecclesia), St. Gallus was first mentioned in a document in the 11th century. It mentions that Count Ulrich von Lenzburg bequeathed half of the church to Schänis Abbey. However, the authenticity of this document is doubted, especially the authenticity of the donation, which the church should have existed at that time, is less doubted. However, in the papal charter from 1178 only one St. Gallus chapel in Schänis is mentioned. However, this does not rule out the fact that it exercised parish rights until the 14th century. Because the collegiate church only got parish rights in the 12th century.
The chapel is believed to have been built around 1100 and its structure remained almost unchanged until 1824. After the turmoil of the Reformation in 1529, the reconciliation took place on July 5, 1533 . The suffragan bishop Stefan Tschudi consecrated an altar in honor of St. Gall , John the Baptist , Dorothea and Luzia . The chapel was already affected by the village fire of 1610. In 1676 the tower was re-covered with oak shingles. The ship was given a new tiled roof in 1746. In 1758 two new bells were purchased. In 1768 the tower was given a "decent dome" on which a gilded cross was placed. The oak shingles of the tower and the apsidal roof were painted with red oil paint. In 1812 the parish decided to sell the chapel for demolition. But that did not happen because the chapel burned down in the village fire of 1824. Although there was a reconstruction decision from 1827, which actually would have included the chapel, it was demolished except for the tower. As a result, the tower fell into disrepair until Pastor Fraefel initiated a rescue operation in 1889, in which the federal government also participated. The tower was renovated under the supervision of the architect August Hardegger . He received a conical tin roof. In 1945 another renovation took place.
Building
The tower has a slightly warped, almost square base with sides 3.30 to 3.70 meters long and a wall thickness of 0.85 meters. While the lower part is rectangular, the upper part appears round. However, this is not the case because only the corners are rounded in the upper part. The tower has two sound floors, each with four twin arcades. Above it is the tin roof from 1890. Inside it is hollow from top to bottom, but is reinforced with iron girders. However, these were set differently than the original wooden floors, the position of which can still be recognized by the wall holes. Before the maintenance renovation in 1889, the tower was plastered with stone. During the renovation in 1889, the masonry was cleaned out almost too intrusively, so that its layered structure of roughly hewn and irregularly large stones is visible. The sound openings have been heavily renovated and supplemented.
literature
- Bernhard Anderes: The district of Gaster (= The Art Monuments of the Canton of St. Gallen. Vol. 5, ZDB -ID 1081959-9 = The Art Monuments of Switzerland. Vol. 59). Birkhäuser, Basel 1970, pp. 254–257
Coordinates: 47 ° 9 '40.2 " N , 9 ° 2' 48.3" E ; CH1903: 721,931 / 224,605