Herisau

Hermann Rorschach (1884–1922) was appointed associate director of the Herisau asylum in late 1915. Beginning in 1918, he showed inkblot cards to 288 patients and 117 control subjects at the hospital, publishing his results as Psychodiagnostik in 1921 — the foundational text of projective personality testing. He died of peritonitis on April 2, 1922, in Herisau, aged just 37, barely a year after his masterwork's publication.

Robert Walser (1878–1956), admired by Kafka and Hesse, was transferred to the Herisau psychiatric clinic in 1933, where he spent his last 23 years without writing. On Christmas Day 1956, he set out on a solitary walk; children found his body in the snow on the Wachtenegg. The Robert-Walser-Pfad (1986) is Switzerland's first literary trail — an 8 km loop connecting the Walser Fountain, the clinic, the cemetery, and the Museum Herisau.

The Grubenmann family from Teufen (6 km from Herisau) were celebrated 18th-century master builders. Hans Ulrich Grubenmann built the Rhine bridge at Schaffhausen (1755) with spans of 52 and 59 meters. Johannes built the Reichenau bridge (1757) with a 67-meter single span. Together they built the Wettingen bridge (1778) — believed to be the first true timber arch bridge. Both the Schaffhausen and Wettingen bridges were burned by French troops in 1799. Johannes also added the octagonal spire to Herisau's Reformed Church in 1741.

The last Ausserrhoden Landsgemeinde took place on April 27, 1997, in Hundwil. On September 28, 1997, a ballot vote abolished the tradition by 11,623 to 9,911. The assembly alternated between Hundwil (odd years) and Trogen (even years). Key moments in Ausserrhoden history: the 1403 Appenzell Wars (Rosenburg Castle burned), 1517–1518 (freedom purchased from St. Gallen Abbey), and the 1597 Landteilung when Appenzell split into Catholic Innerrhoden and Protestant Ausserrhoden.

According to Appenzell folklore, the Säntis (2,502 m) is named after a giant called Sämtis who once slept in the valley: the Schwendibach valley was his bed, the Meglisalp with its soft grass was his pillow, and where he pricked his elbows, the Seealpsee was formed. Near the summit, the Wildkirchli caves (about 1,500 m) housed hermit monks until 1853 and yielded Neanderthal flint tools dating to approximately 40,000 BC — the first evidence of Neanderthal presence in the Alps.

The Herisauer Bloch takes place on the Monday after Ash Wednesday. Men in traditional Appenzell dress pull a massive felled tree trunk through the streets starting at 4:30 AM. The origin lies with forest owners who thanked workers with a fir tree. At day's end, the trunk is auctioned in the village square for shingles or furniture said to bring good luck. The Bloch tradition survives only in the Appenzeller Hinterland.

Bartholomäus Lämmler (1809–1865), born in Herisau, pioneered Sennenstreifen — long, narrow panoramic paintings of alpine cattle drives on paper or wood, produced as colored woodcuts. He is one of the most important early figures in Appenzeller naive art (Bauernmalerei). The Appenzell tradition also includes Streichmusik (string music with Hackbrett dulcimer), the wordless Zäuerli yodel, and Talerschwingen (rolling a coin around a ceramic bowl).

Silvesterchläusen is celebrated on December 31 (Gregorian) and January 13 (Julian calendar, the "Alter Silvester"). Groups of men don elaborate costumes and masks, ring huge cowbells, and sing the Zäuerli — a slow, haunting wordless yodel. Three types exist: the Schöne (Beautiful), Schö-Wüeschte (Pretty-Ugly), and Wüeschte (Ugly). The tradition is documented since 1663 and is part of Switzerland's intangible cultural heritage. Herisau participates alongside Urnäsch, Hundwil, and other Hinterland communities.