Hemberg
Intro
The village of Hemberg is the last locality at the top of the Necker Valley. It consists of an upper and lower village, with both parts boasting their own church.
Hemberg with its two parts can be found on a hilltop, surrounded by vast meadows and pastureland. This vantage point affords a wonderful view over the Necker ravine towards Appenzell and into the Toggenburg hills.
The upper village lies on a knoll. It was built around the Catholic Church and consists mainly of simple wooden buildings with gabled roofs. Due to its elevated position, it is distinctly separate from the lower village, with its compact size and long alleyway, which extends over a saddle in the landscape and is where the reformed church stands. With the exception of the church, all the old buildings in this part of the village are timber structures on a masonry base, with rows of windows in brightly painted panel facades. These impressive late Baroque “Toggenburg houses” line the pretty main street that connects the two parts of the village. Thanks to their respective churches featuring striking towers, the skyline is characterised by two spires, a rare sight.
The former farming village experienced an economic boom and strong growth in the 18th and 19th centuries with the expansion of the Mousseline weaving mill. When cotton processing suffered a general decline, Hemberg’s population fell once more. Thanks to its pleasantly cool climate in summer, the village was able to counter this trend somewhat through tourism and was marketed as a climatic health resort.
ISOS
ISOS is the Federal Inventory of Swiss Heritage Sites of national importance. The inventory is maintained by the Federal Office of Culture (FOC) and lists the most significant settlements in Switzerland. Today, some 1,200 places are included in the inventory, from hamlets right through to cities. The inventory provides information on the development and identity of the settlements listed in it, thereby contributing to the preservation of architectural diversity in Switzerland and promoting both sustainable planning and a high-quality Baukultur.
