Moving to St. Gallen: via Lindau to the city of a thousand steps
Removal company Berlin
Across Lake Constance to the high valley: moving Berlin ↔ St. Gallen
Removal goods, properly declared
St. Gallen is the capital of the canton of the same name, a university city and, with its Abbey District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city lies in a high valley between the Rosenberg and the Freudenberg, and many routes lead up and down steps – not for nothing is it called the city of a thousand steps. A move from Berlin to St. Gallen also involves a customs border, because Switzerland is not part of the EU customs union. We start at Stromstraße 21 in Moabit, survey your flat, estimate the cubic metres and carrying distances and set the fixed price in writing for the roughly 773 kilometres.
At the border crossing in the Rhine Valley you declare your household goods as removal goods (Übersiedlungsgut): form 18.44, an inventory list and proof that you are moving your residence to St. Gallen. Customs clearance takes place during the opening hours of the customs offices for commercial goods, so usually on working days. You receive the fixed price including the toll on the Austrian A14, LSVA (Swiss heavy vehicle fee) and two drivers or an overnight stay after the survey; liability under the German Commercial Code (HGB), § 451e. The same applies to the return move to Berlin.
Fixed price for St. Gallen
Berlin ↔ St. Gallen: customs clearance, A14 toll, LSVA and drivers in the quote
For Berlin – St. Gallen we quote a guide price from €3,040; we set the fixed price in writing after the survey. Outward journey or return move to Berlin: we calculate by cubic metres, floor, customs clearance, the toll in Vorarlberg and LSVA in Switzerland. You can reach us by phone on 01625978461.
Quotes are available individually depending on effort, availability of dates and the scope of services required.
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Private move
Long-Distance Move
No-Parking Zone
Through Vorarlberg to eastern Switzerland
Spree, Lake Constance, Steinach – and back
Three countries in twelve hours: as far as Lindau the lorry rolls through Germany, then 17 km through Vorarlberg including the Pfänder tunnel, and via Lustenau it reaches the St. Gallen Rhine Valley. The last stage from St. Margrethen is the A1, which in St. Gallen has run beneath the city through the Rosenberg and Stephanshorn tunnels since 1987. So that nothing gets stuck at the border, you will have put together the customs list, form 18.44 and a tenancy agreement as proof of residence with us beforehand. Our team from Berlin (Stromstraße 21) drives with two drivers or includes an overnight stay; liability is under the HGB, and the fixed price also applies to the way back.
Packing service
Office move
Senior move
Furniture transport
What we commit to for the move to eastern Switzerland
For St. Gallen this means: a written fixed price, a customs list that stands up to inspection, and a schedule with driving times, the Swiss night-time driving ban and customs opening hours – plus enough time for steep access roads on the Rosenberg and for the steps that are part of everyday life in St. Gallen.
One team throughout
Complete customs list
Transparent amounts
Arrival on a working day
Buffer through storage
Parking space signposted
Part load to eastern Switzerland
With a part load you share the lorry with other consignments heading for Lake Constance and pay only for the space your belongings need – practical, for example, for a student room near the university. At the border your removal goods are still cleared individually. Whether a trip fits, including from St. Gallen to Berlin, we tell you after your enquiry.
Customer
review
St.
Gallen: papers, steps, dates
What eastern Switzerland requires, we clarify before the move to St. Gallen: the inventory list and form 18.44 for the removal goods, then registration in the city within 14 days – anyone who registers late risks a fine of up to 200 francs. Foreign nationals arriving from abroad follow the information sheets of the migration office. On a return move to Berlin, export with a list, giving notice and the citizens' office (Bürgeramt) are due. On top of that: parking restriction in Berlin, signage via the city police, furniture assembly and storage.
Registration deadline and documents
Hillside locations and narrow lanes
Price, toll, special cases
Rhine Valley, A1, registration deadline
Abbey District instead of the Spree bend: household goods across the customs border
The Abbey District with its cathedral and abbey library is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the city is home to the University of St. Gallen – and anyone moving here from Berlin crosses a customs border, because Switzerland is not part of the EU customs union. For your household goods to enter free of duty, customs needs three things:
- form 18.44 for removal goods, completed and signed by you,
- a list of your inventory in which furniture and valuables are itemised individually,
- proof that the centre of your life is moving to St. Gallen, such as a tenancy or employment agreement.
Only items that have already been in your use for half a year and will remain so are free of duty. Clearance takes place during the customs offices' business hours, so in practice on working days. For the return move from St. Gallen to Berlin the mirror image applies: an export list with both addresses, an import declaration in Germany, duty-free after one year of residence outside the EU (Regulation (EC) 1186/2009). You receive the fixed price after the survey, in both directions.
773 km: Nuremberg, Memmingen, Lindau, Pfänder tunnel, A1
Loading takes place in Berlin, then it is almost 380 km south on the A9 to Nuremberg. Westwards the A6 follows; after 77 km the lorry turns onto the A7 at the Feuchtwangen/Crailsheim interchange and follows it to Memmingen; through the Allgäu the A96 leads down to Lake Constance. After Lindau, Austria begins: around 17 km of the A14, the Pfänder tunnel runs under Bregenz's local mountain, and via Lustenau we reach the St. Gallen Rhine Valley. From St. Margrethen the A1 takes us up into the city, where it runs as an urban motorway with four exits beneath the Rosenberg. In total around 773 km, approx. 12 h by lorry with breaks, of which only around 27 km are in Switzerland.
In Vorarlberg the lorry pays a toll, in Switzerland LSVA. In Germany a speed limit of 80 km/h applies to lorries over 3.5 t (§ 18 para. 5 StVO), with a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours – hence two drivers taking turns or an overnight stay before the border with customs clearance in the morning. On a return move we drive the same route via Lake Constance back to Berlin.
Rosenberg, St. Georgen, Winkeln: arriving in St. Gallen
The main part of the city lies in a valley between the Rosenberg with Rotmonten to the north and the Freudenberg to the south; the Sitter cuts in to the south-west, and the Steinach flows to the north-east. Since the merger of 1918, St. Gallen has been divided into the districts West, Centrum and Ost, with quarters such as Winkeln and Lachen, St. Georgen and Riethüsli, St. Fiden and Neudorf. In the old town, the oriel windows of the former textile merchants stand out. For the lorry outside the building we notify the city police, who put up the signage for a fee.
After moving in, you have 14 days to register (Art. 6 of the Act on Settlement and Residence) – with your tenancy agreement, identity documents and proof of health insurance. Back in Berlin you register within two weeks at the citizens' office (Bürgeramt); we apply for the parking restriction there at the district office.
Guide prices for the move to St. Gallen
As an initial guide for your journey to eastern Switzerland and back – the price becomes fixed after the survey:
| Household | Cargo space | Guide price |
|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1 room | 10–15 m³ | from €350 |
| 2 rooms, kitchen, bathroom | 20–25 m³ | from €590 |
| 3 rooms, kitchen, bathroom | 30–40 m³ | from €890 |
| 4 rooms, kitchen, bathroom | 45–60 m³ | from €1,290 |
| Detached house | more than 60 m³ | quote after a survey |
For the 773 km to St. Gallen a guide price from €3,040 applies, for the outward and return journey. Toll, LSVA, customs clearance and a second driver are listed separately in the quote; it becomes binding after a free survey.
What the St. Gallen price depends on
The most important factor is the volume. On the way to St. Gallen there are also the 773 km, the toll on the A14, the LSVA, customs clearance and a second driver or overnight stay. Likewise the floor, lift and extras such as furniture assembly – and on hillsides with many steps, longer carrying distances too. Small quantities become cheaper with a part load.
Our services between the Spree and the Steinach
What we take care of for your journey to eastern Switzerland and back:
- Private move – from your Berlin neighbourhood to your St. Gallen quarter
- Company move – office and IT with their own customs list
- Furniture transport – individual pieces via Lindau and the Rhine Valley
- Part load – share cargo space towards Lake Constance
- Move with assembly – kitchens dismantled and reassembled too
- House clearance – Berlin flat cleared before moving out
Neighbouring routes in eastern Switzerland
The route to Chur is identical as far as Lindau; to Zurich we continue via St. Gallen. You can find all routes in the long-distance moves overview, and our regions in the locations overview.
Survey, planning, fixed price for St. Gallen
For the move to St. Gallen we survey your Berlin flat; for the return move from eastern Switzerland we do it by video. Together we fill in the inventory list and form 18.44 and clarify access and signage; then the fixed price is set, guide price from €3,040. Phone 01625978461 – free and without obligation.