Wil

Wil appears in its earliest written record, the Henau document of 6 August 754, which describes free farmer Rotbald donating his property to the Monastery of St. Gallen. As part of the lease, Rotbald was to deliver 30 barrels of beer annually, along with grain and pigs — one of the oldest documented beer levies in Switzerland. The Hofchilbi festival, revived in 1972, ceremonially commemorates this ancient beer tax.

The Hof zu Wil is one of the most significant secular Gothic buildings in Switzerland. At its core stands a residential tower from the late 12th century with herringbone-pattern masonry and ground-floor walls four metres thick. Fürstabt Ulrich Rösch gave the Hof its present form in 1481–1482, unifying all structures under a single hip roof. The Hof served for over 500 years as the most important court of the Prince-Abbey outside St. Gallen.

In 1647, during the final years of the Thirty Years’ War, the Swiss war council assembled in the Hof zu Wil to agree on the Defensionale von Wil — the first comprehensive military ordinance of the Swiss Confederation. It allowed the establishment of a war council that could immediately mobilize 12,000 men, with capacity for up to 36,000. The Defensionale is considered the foundation of Swiss armed neutrality, a principle that still defines Switzerland’s foreign policy today.

The Schnetztor, the upper city gate of Wil, was rebuilt under Fürstabt Ulrich Rösch (1463–1491) as a closed gate tower and later served as a prison. It remains the most prominent surviving element of Wil’s medieval fortifications. The earliest documented town wall dates to 1260, with medieval foundations still embedded in buildings’ basements, reaching approximately six metres high on the northern side.

The Stadtweier (town pond) was probably artificially created and first documented around 1370. In 1470, Fürstabt Ulrich Rösch created a second, upper pond to ensure the fish supply during Lent — reflecting the practical importance of fish ponds for medieval ecclesiastical communities. From the 15th century onward, contracts with professional fishermen are documented.

The Toggenburg War erupted in 1712 as a civil war between Catholic cantons allied with the Prince-Abbey and Protestant Zurich and Bern supporting Toggenburg rebels. On 21–22 May 1712, Zurich and Bern artillery bombarded Wil, a key Abbey outpost near the Toggenburg border. The town surrendered rapidly. The war ended with a decisive Protestant victory at the Battle of Villmergen on 25 July 1712, fundamentally shifting the balance of power within the Confederation.

The Dominican convent of St. Katharina was originally founded in 1228 in St. Gallen with an active scriptorium. Forced to leave during the Reformation, the nuns relocated to Wil in 1607. The monastery church was consecrated on 26 July 1607, featuring an elegant Baroque roof tower with an onion dome. The nuns took on girls’ education from 1809, running the well-known school Kathi for two centuries. The community continues contemplative Dominican life today.

The Wiler Turm, opened in 2006 on the partly forested Hofberg near Wil, is a striking 38-metre timber tower designed by engineer Julius Natterer. Built entirely of wood with X-shaped supports, its floor plan is an equilateral triangle with a 12-metre base. A 189-step double spiral staircase leads to a covered viewing platform at 34 metres, offering panoramic views from Lake Constance to the Alps.