The exhibition of the four Ausserrhoden museums provides an insight into the development of the Appenzell region. Today it is a popular excursion destination and local recreation area.

For centuries, the Appenzellerland has been described as a charming hilly landscape full of charming villages and with a traditional population. From 1750 onwards, Appenzell Ausserrhoden was also an industrialized region that cultivated lively international trade relations in connection with the textile industry - and welcomed travellers and spa guests from all over Europe. Gais marks the beginning in 1749: as a whey spa, it attracts an international crowd of guests thanks to a miraculous cure. As soon as its attraction waned, Heiden developed from a tranquil village into a sophisticated climatic health resort with countless hotels. The standard-gauge Rorschach-Heiden mountain railroad makes it easy to get there without having to change trains. In addition to wealthy social classes, a more disadvantaged clientele also traveled to Appenzellerland: exhausted city children were accommodated in vacation colonies throughout the canton over the summer and overworked employees were sent to Gais for several weeks of exercise. In the 20th century, individual villages also tried to establish themselves as winter destinations. An entire tourist infrastructure with cable cars, ski lifts and spas was created, which were specifically advertised - above all the Schwägalp-Säntis aerial cableway, which was completed in 1935.

While overnight stays in Appenzell Ausserrhoden have been falling for several decades, day tourism has been steadily increasing: Appenzellerland has become a destination for excursions, mainly for Germans and Austrians, and a local recreation area for the whole of Eastern Switzerland. In short: Ausserrhoden tourism is characterized by a multifaceted history full of ups and downs and multiple reinventions. The aim of the joint exhibition of the five Ausserrhoden museums is to tell this story in excerpts and also to pose the question of the future.


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