Often hailed as Switzerland’s most beautiful town square (no mean feat!), the elongated Rathausplatz in Stein am Rhein often elicits little gasps of wonder because it's so darned ornate. The fresco-festooned Rathaus (town hall) soars above the 16th-century houses named after their elaborate murals, such as Sonne (Sun) and Der Weisse Adler (The White Eagle). Look up a level and you'll notice that many also sport intricately carved oriel windows and billowing flower boxes. It's pure fairy-tale stuff.
Rathausplatz
Shutterstock / Gaid Kornsilapa
![SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 01: Library of the monastery St. Gallen, Switzerland. 2000 hand writings, 1635 incunable and almost 100.000 books. The library was built between 1758 and 1767 und richly decorated. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [St. Gallen, Schweiz: Ehemaliges Benediktiner-Kloster. Stiftsbibliothek mit 2000 Handschriften, 1635 Wiegen- und Fruehdrucken (Inkunabeln) und schliesslich 100.000 Buechern, 1758-1767 erbaut und kunstvoll ausgestattet. Stift St. Gallen: 612 Zelle des hl. Gallus, eines Gefaehrten Columbans, 719 wird durch den hl. Otmar das Kloster errichtet, das 747 die Regel Benedikts annimmt, 1805 saekularisiert.]
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Abbeys, Architecture, Books, Interiors, Libraries, Photo tgg06/01](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2023-06/StiftsbibliothekStGallen.jpeg?auto=format,compress&q=72&fit=crop&ar=1:1)





