St.Gallen in the Past: The old paper mill | 1604

The old paper mill (Alte Papiermühle) at Kräzernstrasse 79 in St. Gallen is a monument to industrial history – and closely linked to St. Gallen Abbey Library Built in 1604 by Abbot Bernhard II, it supplied the abbey and the abbey library with high-quality paper for centuries. Powered by the waters of the Kräzernbach stream, it was a driving force behind written culture for almost three centuries.

The history of the St. Gallen paper mill began in 1604. Under Prince-Abbot Bernhard II Müller, master carpenter Hans Sterbinger constructed the main building and the watermill with its water wheel. The abbot’s coat of arms, carved in stone, still adorns the east façade today.

Until the 16th century, only two mills used the water from the Kräzernbach stream near Winkeln and the Bildweiher pond, which served as a reservoir: the Lower Kräzern Mill on the Sitter and the Upper Kräzern Mill in the hamlet of Kräzern. Directly above these, Prince-Abbot Bernhard Müller built the paper mill in 1604. This gave the monastery of St. Gallen its own production facility for paper – an extremely valuable commodity at the time.

The location along the old road from St.Gallen to Wil, between the Sitter and the Bildweiher, was no coincidence. The water was used in two ways: to soak fibres from plants or rags and create the pulp, and to power the waterwheels. A resident papermaker (in one documented case, a woman) produced different types of paper here: fine “post paper” with a watermark, as well as flow paper, cheap “schrenz” paper for sketches or notes, and cardboard. On the ground floor stood the vats of pulp; in the attic floors, sheets were hung to dry – hence the tall roof with dormers for ventilation. On the first floor lived the papermaker’s family, warmed by the heat from production. On the west side, in the still existing Ketthaus, the waterwheel drove the pulp stampers.

A lease letter of 1742 lists the variety of products. For deliveries beyond the obligatory quota, the abbey paid per ream (1000 sheets): writing paper 1 fl., post paper 1 fl. 12x, flow paper 30x, “regal” paper 5 fl., “medion” paper 2 fl., schrenz paper 30x, and cardboard 4 fl. Surplus products could be sold freely. Strict quality was required: the use of wastepaper was forbidden. The 19th-century history of the mill is described in detail in Peter Albertin’s “Baugeschichtliches Gutachten.”

For nearly 300 years, paper was made here by hand. With the invention of mechanical papermaking in England (1804), the use of cellulose from wood (1843), and the spread of rail transport, manual papermaking lost its importance. Like many others, the Kräzern mill shifted to cardboard production (1923), but this only delayed its decline. In 1943, the City of St.Gallen acquired the former paper mill and, starting in 1950, converted it into housing for people in need.

In 2016, the mill was given new life through a major renovation. With an investment of 3.8 million Swiss francs, the historic structure was preserved and made accessible to the public. Today, the former paper mill serves not only as an architectural monument but also as a community meeting point.

Alte Papiermühle St.Gallen (Stadtarchiv)

St. Gallen paper | St.Galler Papier

Between the late 16th and early 18th centuries, four paper mills were established in the St. Gallen area, whose products are known as St. Gallen paper – even though two of them were located on Appenzell soil.

What makes them special is that all St. Gallen papers bear the same main motif in their watermark: a standing bear, the heraldic animal of both the city of St. Gallen and Appenzell. In addition, there were distinctive markings, often combined with the coat of arms of the respective sovereign. In the case of the abbot’s paper, for example, the motif was complemented by the mastiff, the heraldic animal of Toggenburg.

The first verifiable watermark was the double-headed eagle with a bear on its chest. Today, these marks enable precise chronological classification: around 300 watermarks are documented in the St. Gallen archives and libraries and accessible online via the cantonal library.

The city of St. Gallen sourced paper for its chancellery from all four mills. St. Gallen papers can still be found today in council minutes, manuscripts, letters and book frontispieces. However, they were used less for actual book printing, as quantities were limited and cheaper paper from other regions was usually used.