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Information about Abbey Of St. Gall

Reichsabtei Sankt Gallen
Imperial Abbey of St Gall
Abbey
←
1207 – 1798 →

Coat of arms

Enlarge picture
Location of Saint Gall Abbey
The Imperial Abbey shown in green and pink on this map of the lands of the canton of St Gallen
CapitalSt Gallen
GovernmentAbbey }}
Historical eraMiddle Ages
 - Abbey founded613
 - Gained Reichsfreiheit1207
 - Became Swiss protectorateAugust 17 1451
 - Pillaged by the Swiss1712
 - Secularised to Helvetic
    Rep. canton of Säntis		 
1798
 - Helv. Rep. collapsed; city
    and abbey joined Swiss
    canton of St. Gallen		 
 
1803
The Abbey of St. Gall (German: Sankt Gallen) was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It is located in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland.

History

The monastery was founded in 613 and named after Gallus, an Irishman. Saint Gallus was a disciple and companion of Saint Columbanus, and died there in 646.

Charles Martel appointed a certain Othmar as a custodian of St Gall's relics. During the reign of Pepin the Short Othmar founded the famous schools of St. Gall, where arts, letters and sciences flourished. Under Abbot Waldo of Reichenau (740-814) copying manuscripts was undertaken and a famous library was gathered. Numerous Anglo-Saxon and Irish monks came to copy manuscripts. At Charlemagne's request Pope Adrian I sent distinguished chanters from Rome, who propagated the use of the Gregorian chant.

In the subsequent century, St. Gall came into conflict with the nearby Abbey of Reichenau on Lake Constance. Between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey and the books had to be removed to Reichenau for safety. Most were later returned.

In the 13th century, the abbey and the town became an independent principality, over which the abbots ruled as territorial sovereigns ranking as Princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

Under abbot Pius (1630–74) a printing press was started. In 1712, a great change came to St. Gall with the pillage by the Swiss. Most of the books and manuscripts were taken by them to Zürich and Bern. After confusion and suppression and rearrangements St. Gall became the residence of the bishop and held the offices of the Canton, along with the remains of the library.

Little remains of the medieval monastery now. Most of existing structures, including the cathedral, were designed in the late Baroque style and constructed between 1755 and 1768.

Cultural treasures

The library at St. Gall is recognised to be one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. It is home to one of the most comprehensive collections of early medieval books in the German-speaking part of Europe. As of 2005, the library consists of over 160,000 books whereof 2200 are handwritten and 500 are over 1000 years old. Lately the Stiftsbibliothek has launched a project for the digitisation of the priceless manuscript collection.

The library also preserves a unique 9th-century document, known as the Plan of St. Gall, the only surviving major architectural drawing from the roughly 700-year period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the 13th century. The Plan drawn was never actually built, and was so named because it was kept at the famous medieval monastery library, where it remains to this day. The plan was an ideal of what a well-designed and well-supplied monastery should have, as envisioned by one of the synods held at Aachen for the reform of monasticism in the Frankish empire during the early years of emperor Louis the Pious (between 814 and 817).

In 1983, the Convent of St. Gall was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery".

Gallery


The interior of the Cathedral is one of the most important baroque monuments in Switzerland

Abbey Library of St. Gall

Abbey of St. Gall at night


External links

Coordinates:

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World Heritage Sites in Switzerland
Old City of Berne Convent of St. Gall Convent of St. Johann Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn Lavaux Vineyard Terraces Monte San Giorgio Castles, Wall and Ramparts of Bellinzone
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Säntis was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, consisting of the territory of St. Gallen, Appenzell and Rheintal. Its capital was St. Gallen.
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Imperial abbeys (German: Reichsabteien, also Reichsklöster and Reichsstifte) were religious houses within the Holy Roman Empire which for some period during their existence had the status of Reichsunmittelbarkeit
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The Canton of St. Gallen (German: Kanton St. Gallen   (help info ) ) is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland.
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St. Gallen ( Sankt Gallen   (help info ) ; French: Saint-Gall; Italian: San Gallo
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government is a body that has the power to make and the authority to enforce rules and laws within a civil, corporate, religious, academic, or other organization or group.[1]
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The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland. The Swiss Eidgenossenschaft, as the confederacy was called, was a loose federation of largely independent small states that existed from the late 13th century until 1798, when it was invaded by
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protectorate is a political entity (a sovereign state or less developed native polity, such as a tribal chiefstainship or feudal princely state) that formally agrees by treaty to enter into an unequal relationship with another, stronger state, called the protector
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The Old Swiss Confederacy was the precursor of modern-day Switzerland. The Swiss Eidgenossenschaft, as the confederacy was called, was a loose federation of largely independent small states that existed from the late 13th century until 1798, when it was invaded by
..... Click the link for more information.
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The German Mediatisation was the series of mediatisations and secularisations that occurred in Germany in 1795–1814, during the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the Napoleonic Era .
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Helvetic Republic was a state lasting for five years, from 1798 to 1803. Its name came from the Helvetii people.

During the French Revolutionary Wars, the revolutionary armies boiled eastward, enveloping Switzerland in their battles against Austria.
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Säntis was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, consisting of the territory of St. Gallen, Appenzell and Rheintal. Its capital was St. Gallen.
..... Click the link for more information.
Säntis was the name of a canton of the Helvetic Republic from 1798 to 1803, consisting of the territory of St. Gallen, Appenzell and Rheintal. Its capital was St. Gallen.
..... Click the link for more information.
8th century - 9th century - 10th century
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885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Helvetic Republic was a state lasting for five years, from 1798 to 1803. Its name came from the Helvetii people.

During the French Revolutionary Wars, the revolutionary armies boiled eastward, enveloping Switzerland in their battles against Austria.
..... Click the link for more information.
Act of Mediation was issued by Napoleon Bonaparte on 19 February 1803, abolishing the Helvetic Republic which had existed since the invasion of Switzerland by French troops in 1798. After the withdrawal of French troops in July 1802, the Republic collapsed (Stecklikrieg).
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The Canton of St. Gallen (German: Kanton St. Gallen   (help info ) ) is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland.
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The Canton of St. Gallen (German: Kanton St. Gallen   (help info ) ) is a canton of Switzerland. St. Gallen is located in the north east of Switzerland.
..... Click the link for more information.
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