The Economic and Architectural Vitality of the Embroidery Era

In Davidsbleiche — the embroidery district — linen fabrics used to be laid out to bleach; a grid of streets developed between them. Thanks to systematic urban planning, this grid is still visible in the layout of the buildings today. All these buildings were constructed over a period of just over 10 years, namely between 1902 and 1912/13, during the second major embroidery boom. The leading architects of the time worked here for St.Gallen embroidery firms. The site of the former Davidsbleiche had previously been largely undeveloped.

The square plot of land in St.Leonhardspark, located between the school building and St.Leonhard-Strasse, was designed around 1880 as part of the Davidbleiche neighborhood plan, modeled after English parks. The northern edge, which serves as the park’s entrance facing St.Leonhard-Strasse, is lined with a double row of pruned linden trees that form a green canopy.