Andreas Züst was a legendary figure both within Switzerland and the European art world at large. He was a Renaissance man with an insatiable appetite for knowledge and he was a lover of books. His library represented all of these passions in some 12,000 volumes on topics such as the weather, geology, astronomy, physics, botany, the history of art, anthropology, polar expeditions, photography, painting, literature, music, kitsch, UFOs, Hell’s Angels, and the myriad other subjects that follow. To put it more broadly: these were books on most everything that constitutes the essence of our culture.

This collection—Züst’s great declaration of love for the book—is now housed at the Alpenhof and is open to anyone interested. The building, a former hotel, occupies a majestic location in Appenzell’s St. Anton (1110 meters above sea level), and serves as a hostel, cultural platform and meeting place for people from around the world.

One can become a patron of the library for an annual fee of one hundred Swiss francs. These supporters are able to check out books for up to one month at a time.

Opening hours library:
Friday 3–7 pm
Saturday 1–4 pm

Alpenhof
St.Antonstrasse 62
CH–9413 Oberegg
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