Excitement in St Moritz

On our second day in St Moritz, our sleepy, quiet road was transformed into a hub of bustle when an enormous cherry picker and associated vans and workmen descended on us. Blocking the road completely, the roar of its diesel engine competing with the voices of the workmen as chaos briefly descended on the street. There were workmen, drivers, photographers and even a videographer along with a lot of bemused tourists with raised iPhones capturing the sight.

Only later did we discover that the golden cockerel, removed earlier in the year for restoration, was about to be returned to the top of the church tower.

We’re not sure what was supposed to happen after it arrived but first the engine powering the lifting platform would not start. After many hours of toiling, the engine started but then the cage part would only move incredibly slowly. So tools were downed and everyone waited for the engineers to arrive. Early evening, after most people had left - the lift cage was fixed and two brave souls were hoisted 100m into the air. After 30 mins, they came back down and we thought that was it - that the machine would be moved in the morning and quiet would return.

That’s not what happened!

At 8am sharp, the engines were started again and three people got into the cage again and went to the top of the spire. Then it started to rain - a lot. They stayed up there for ages and eventually a helicopter appeared and took two pieces of the church spire away - while the workmen were still up there in the pouring rain.

Since then, the workmen have stopped for lunch, just returned and have gone back up again. This continued to happen for two days, up and down, up and down. Then, all of a sudden, we returned back from a walk and it had gone. Poof!

I contacted the tourist office to find out what happened. Back in January 2026, the gold rooster at the top was removed for repairs due to a loose holder and was cleaned up at the same time. It was returned at noon on 2 July 2026 to sit proudly at the top of the church once again.

The tourist office provided this handy link which explains the history of the rooster and the church.

Read the restoration story from the St Moritz municipality.