St. Leonhardskirche, Church building in St. Gallen, Switzerland

St. Leonhardskirche is a Gothic Revival church west of St. Gallen's main station, designed by Berlin architect Johannes Vollmer and supervised by local architect Ferdinand Wachter. It was consecrated on 1 May 1887 after two years of construction. The building has a tall clock tower and pointed-arch windows, and it stands at the edge of the former suburb of Straubenzell.

Designed by Berlin architect Johannes Vollmer with local architect Ferdinand Wachter supervising, the church was consecrated on 1 May 1887 after two years of construction. It replaced a smaller church that had stood on the site since the 17th century. The parish sold it to a private owner in 2004 for 40,000 Swiss francs.

From 1997 the building hosted the ecumenical project Offene Kirche St. Leonhard, used for ecumenical services, blessings and musicals. In 2004 the parish sold it for 40,000 francs to Winterthur architect Giovanni Cerfeda, and the musical Sister Act was later staged inside. In the night of 30 to 31 August 2025 around 50 young activists occupied the unused church, calling it Achi (Autonome Chile), and left voluntarily the next morning.

The church stands west of St. Gallen's main station, at the edge of the former Straubenzell suburb; the street layout was later altered so St. Leonhardstrasse now runs past rather than up to the facade. The building has been privately owned since 2004 and is not a regular place of worship, so access depends on whatever event or use is currently scheduled. The roof was destroyed by fire on 20 December 2007 and the emergency cover stayed on until spring 2010.

On the night of 30–31 August 2025, around 50 young activists occupied the long-unused church, calling it Achi (Autonome Chile), to demand non-commercial self-organised free space. They left voluntarily the next morning after talks with city police and the owner; a planned brunch and press conference moved to the adjoining park.