5 Best Sights in Eastern Switzerland, Switzerland

A pair of lions frames the doorway of the remarkable baroque building, which is the former drinking spot of the Tanners' Guild. A two-handled tanner's knife stretches between the lions. A restaurant now occupies the building.

Stein-am-Rhein's Rathaus (Town Hall) is flanked by tight rows of shingled, half-timber town houses, each rivaling the next for the ornateness of its oriels, the flamboyance of its frescoes. The elaborate decor usually illustrates the name of the house: Sonne (Sun), Ochsen (Ox), Weisser Adler (White Eagle), and so on. Most of the artwork dates from the 16th century. The Rathaus itself was built between 1539 and 1542, with the half-timber upper floors added in 1745; look for its fantastical dragon waterspouts, typical of the region.

With its spectacular Renaissance portico and oriel dating from 1653, this building is an embodiment of Schaffhausen's state of suspended animation. Framed over the door are the symbols of the tongs and hammer for the smiths, and that of a snake for doctors, who depended on the smiths for their tools and thus belonged to the guild.

This late-Gothic building had a Renaissance-style portico and oriel window added to it in 1608. Flanking the windows are three floors of exterior frescoes depicting historic and mythological figures, most from the Trojan War. Sadly, an advertising billboard has also been added to the building.