The Rorschacher Klosterbruch or St. Gallerkrieg was a war between the Abbey of Saint Gall, Zürich, Lucerne, Schwyz and Glarus against the city of St. Gallen and Appenzell in 1489 to 1490.
Background
Following the Appenzell victory in 1408 during the Appenzell Wars, the Abbey of St. Gall lost much of their power and wealth. By 1412 there were only two monks left at the Abbey, one of which elected the other as Abbot. As a result, over the following decades the abbots of St. Gall aggressively expanded their lands and influence in the region. In 1442 the town used a visit of Emperor Frederick III to throw off much of the Abbey's power over them. The leaders of the town swore loyalty to the Emperor. Then, in the same year when Kaspar von Landenberg was appointed Abbot over the Abbey, they declared that they could not swear loyalty to him because they already had to the Emperor. Under Kaspar, the Abbey spent money wastefully and was quickly deep in debt. To help rein in the abbot's spending and to further expand their independence, in 1451 the Abbey allied with Zurich, Lucerne, Schwiz and Glarus and forced Kaspar to appoint a cellarer, Ulrich Rösch. In 1454 the town also allied with the Swiss. Abbot Kaspar fought often with Ulrich and in 1458 appealed to the Pope to be rid of Ulrich. However, the decision was given to Cardinal Aeneas Sylvius, who sided with Ulrich and allowed Abbot Kaspar to retain the title, but turned day-to-day operations over to Ulrich. When Abbot Kaspar died in 1463, Ulrich appointed himself Abbot Ulrich VIII and began trying to force the town back under control of the Abbey. Over the next two decades, Abbot Ulrich continued expanding the power and land holdings of the Abbey. He repaired and expanded many of the monastery buildings. His ambitions often brought him into conflict with the town.
At the same time the leaders of the town had become wealthy from weaving and trading fabric. In the early 1460s, Ulrich Varnbüler was a rising star in the town. During the Burgundian Wars, he ably led the St. Gallen army and in the Battle of Grandson (1476) his troops were part of the advance units of the Confederation and took part in their famous attack. A large painting of Ulrich returning triumphantly to a hero's welcome in St. Gallen is still displayed in St. Gallen. After the war, Varnbüler often represented St. Gallen at the various parliaments of the Confederation. In December 1480, Varnbüler was offered the position of mayor for the first time. From that time on, he served in several leadership positions and was considered the city's intellectual and political leader. His position as mayor often brought him into conflict with Abbot Ulrich Rösch.
In late 1480, Abbot Ulrich Rösch began planning to move the abbey away from the city of St. Gallen to a new location near the village of Rorschach near Lake Constance. By moving he hoped to escape the independence and conflict in the city. Additionally, by moving closer to the important lake trade routes, he could make Rorschach into a major harbor and collect a fortune in taxes. In turn Mayor Varnbüler and the city feared that a new harbor on the lake would cause trade to bypass St. Gallen and Appenzell. They would then be forced to go through the Prince-Bishop's harbor to sell their fabric. Though the city of St. Gallen and Appenzell opposed the new monastery, after the approval of Pope Sixtus IV and protracted negotiations with Emperor Friedrich III the corner stone of the new Mariaberg Abbey was laid on 21 March 1487.
The battles
The city created secret council to plan their response to the new abbey. As construction progressed they held secret negotiations with the Appenzellers. At first they simply protested the Abbot's plan, but when that went nowhere, they began planning an attack on the abbey. They believed that the Swiss Confederation would not intervene due to tensions between them and the Swabian League. On 28 July 1489 a group of 1200 Appenzellers and 350 St. Galleners assembled at Grub (now part of Eggersriet) and marched on the Abbey. They had kept their planning so secret that they achieved total surprise. They quickly tore down the walls and burned everything they could find. After spending the night drinking and feasting on the abbot's supplies, they returned to their homes. The attack cost the Abbot the 13,000 gulden he had already spent on construction along with an additional 3,000 in furniture and supplies. The Abbey's vassals were supportive of the actions of the city and Appenzell and on 21 October 1489 signed the Waldkircher Bund with the rebels. Soon after signing the alliance, a small force began an unsuccessful siege of Rorschach Castle.