Contemporary witness in Walzenhausen is being restored

The stately manufacturer’s house in the hamlet of Güetli has been carefully restored in recent months. The house documents the history of the canton and community, as Konrad Keller-Künzler managed the municipal bank here with the community savings bank. At the same time he was a member of the Ausserrhoden government from 1919 to 1943.

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The stately building, located on the through road Walzenhausen – Berneck/Oberegg, bears witness to the heyday of the embroidery industry in the Vorderland to this day. Built in the first half of the 19th century, the house was purchased in 1906 by Konrad Keller (1876-1952). He also worked in the embroidery industry. He also ran a small farm, which he parted with when he entered politics.

Municipal governor, canton and government council

In 1910 he was elected head of the community (president). In 1911 he was elected to the Ausserrhoden cantonal council. In 1919 he resigned from these offices, after all he was elected to the cantonal government in 1919 by the Landsgemeinde. At first he headed the municipal administration, and from 1932 to 1942 he headed the economics office. From 1931 to 1949 he was also a member of the cantonal bank administration. He was also a member of the board of directors of St.Gallisch-Appenzellische Kraftwerke AG for a number of years.

Treasurer of the Municipal Savings Fund

From 1911, Keller also worked for a full 41 years as treasurer of the community savings bank. The municipal bank was run at his home, where he managed savings, made loans and kept accounts. Today the house includes not only two stylish apartments but also Raphaela Götz’s Götz Manufaktur GmbH.

Disadvantaged Front Country

For years, the Appenzeller Vorderland and with it Walzenhausen has not been represented in the canton government. People rightly feel disadvantaged in the eastern part of the canton. It was completely different between 1932 and 1943, when Walzenhausen had two government councillors, Konrad Keller and Peter Flisch. Werner Hohl, Ernst Vitzthum and Hans Ueli Hohl, who was the last Walzenhauser to belong to the Ausserrhoden government council from 1980 to 1994, followed later. The last member of the Vorderland government council was Köbi Frei, Heiden, whose tenure lasted from 2003 to 2019.

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