Saint Gallen (Sankt Gallen)

Updated: Sep 14

A world famous abbey with a spectacular library that chronicles European language and culture since the 7th century CE - Abbey of St Gall 268

What and Why

During the early 7th century CE, the Irish monk Saint Gall (Latin: Gallus) and his disciple Saint Columbanus (Irish : Columbán) came to the site and established a hermitage and stayed there until his death in the mid-7th century CE. Saint Gall was much revered in the area and after his death people venerated him as a saint and prayed for his intercession in times of danger.

The hermitage continued after Saint Gall's death and people congregated at the site for worship until early 8th century CE when the local judge Waltraf passed the hermitage and collections of alms and donations over the years to Charles Martel (Latin: Karolus Martellus), grandfather of Charlemagne (Latin: Carolus Magnus, né Karolus Martellus (Latin)) and suggested a local pastor of the name Saint Othmar of Alammania (German : Alemmania) to build a proper monastery and administer it at the site.

Saint Othmar was then named as the founder and the first abbot of the abbey and he adopted a Carolingian style for the construction of the abbey. Saint Othmar also introduced the Benedictine rule (Latin : Regula Sancti Benedicti) to the region including the abbey and as a result the abbey became one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe.

In the early 9th century CE, the nearby Prince-Bishopric of Constance (Hochstift Konstanz) acquired the jurisdiction over the Abbey of Reichenau (Reichskloster Reichenau) of Reichenau and tried to do the same for the Abbey of Saint Gall. This almost evolved into a formal military invasion until the Emperor Louis I (né Louis Martel (French)), son of Charlemagne, declared in 813 CE the imperial immediacy (Reichsunmittelbarkeit) of the abbey, that this conflict ceased. The abbey became an imperial abbey (Reichsabtei) and literally became an independent state or principality on its own until the early 13th century CE when it was absorbed into the Holy Roman Empire (Latin: Sacrum Imperium Romanum). The population of the principality reached 77,000 at one point.

It was during this golden independent period that the abbey flourished and many religious scholars came to the abbey. A large number of manuscripts were brought and copies were made which made the abbey library one of the richest and most important mediaeval libraries in the world. Many of these manuscripts became cultural treasures which chronicles the cultural and language development during the time.

Even during the period under the Holy Roman Empire umbrella the abbey still retained a lot of independence and self-governance and it was not until the late 18th century CE that the abbey is fully associated into Switzerland (Schweiz).

Toponymy

Saint Gallen (Sankt Gallen) is built around the main landmark of the city, the Abbey of Saint Gall, which in turn was named after Saint Gall.

See

Abbey of Saint Gall (Abtei Sankt Gallen)

While the abbey started as early as the 8th century CE, but the original abbey Saint Othmar built was totally destroyed. The current cathedral complex was constructed in the mid-18th century CE. Technically the cathedral is not part of the abbey as it joined the Diocese of Saint Gallen (Latin : Diœcesis Sancti Galli) since the mid-19th century CE after the abbey principality was lost.

The interior of the Baroque-style cathedral is described as 'airy and heavenly' as it is almost totally naturally lit. The ceiling and rotunda frescoes are the extremely elaborate and are usually considered as the main decorative highlights of the cathedral. Almost everywhere and surface around the interior there are sculptures under a colour scheme of turquoise and beige, giving it a very heavenly feel.

The unassuming bell on the right side of the altar, was brought by Saint Gall during his

journey from Ireland (Irish: Éire) during the 8th century CE and was one of the oldest bells in Europe. The small bell is rung when it used to ward off evil spirits.

The tomb of Saint Gall is now located at the altar, but it is gated against public access.

Abbey Library of Saint Gall (Sankt Gallen Stiftsbibliothek)

Abbey Library of Saint Gall (from internet)

The Abbey Library of Saint Gall (Stiftsbezirk Sankt Gallen) is not only the oldest monastic library in the world, it was regarded as one of the cultural centres of Europe, starting from its golden age. The collection of manuscripts date back practically without interruption more than 1,300 years to its origin from Saint Othmar. Due to the delicate nature of the artefacts inside the library, photography is absolutely forbidden and hence the picture above was taken from the internet. The only picture that I could take was the entrance to the library with the Greek inscription 'ΨΥΧΗΣ ΙΑΤΡΕΙΟΝ (PSUKHĒS IATREION)' meaning 'soul's hospital'. This inscription stems from the belief during the Middle Ages that a lack of knowledge is a disease in the mind.

The library is often regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. While the library dates back to the abbey's foundation, the current Baroque-style library was actually reconstructed during the mid-18th century CE. The library survived numerous attacks during its history, especially during the German mediatisation (deutsche Mediatisierung) which dissolved the abbey itself, but all collections remain intact until today.

The library consists of over 160,000 books or manuscripts covering pretty much every subjects plus various artefacts including a mummy. A large number of these manuscripts were painstaking hand-copied by the monks themselves, notably by Notker I, Notker II and Notker III. Many of these collections bear extremely significant cultural and language heritage. Amongst them:

The more important document in the library is Priscianus Caesariensis's I nstitutes of Grammar (Latin : Institutiones Grammaticae) which details the foundation of Latin grammar. The book was the standard textbook of Latin during the Middle Ages.
Manuscripts of various old poems written in Old Irish, the earliest form of the Gaelic languages.
Another very important document is the abbey's own but unrealised plan in Plan of Saint Gall (Sankt Galler Klosterplan), the only surviving major architectural drawing from the early Middle Ages.
The manuscripts documenting the use of the neume, the early version and basic elements of the Western musical notation.
A huge celestial globe that dates back to the 16th century CE.
An Egyptian mummy Shep-en-Isis is also on display in the library, identified as one of the best-preserved mummy ever discovered. The mummy dates back to 7th century BCE.
The four ceiling frescoes portray the first four big ecumenical councils, the early Christian conferences. They are namely the First Council of Nicaea (Greek: Σύνοδος τῆς Νικαίας , Sýnodos tês Nikaías) in 325 CE, the First Council of Constantinople (Latin : Concilium Constantinopolitanum) in 381 CE, the Council of Ephesus (Latin: Concilium Ephesinum) in 431 CE and the Council of Chalcedon (Latin : Concilium Chalcedonense) in 451 CE.

Gallusplatz

The small town outside the abbey provides a good side-show to the abbey with a good view of the side of the cathedral.

Eat and Drink

Sankt Galler Bratwurst

The whitish Sankt Galler Bratwurst is a sausage produced around the region, especially in Appenzell. The sausage is also sometimes called the OLMA Bratwurst after the agricultural show Ostschweizerische Land- und Milchwirtschaftliche Ausstellung (OLMA) where it was prepared and served. It is mainly made with veal, pork and most importantly fresh milk that gives its distinctive colour. The sausage is protected by the indication géographique protégée (IGP) label, meaning that to be called Sankt Galler Bratwurst it must be either manufactured, processed or prepared at their place of origin.

We went all the way to Restaurant Sonne in Appenzell to try this sausage and it did not disappoint. It is interesting to know that the name Appenzell derives from the Latin term 'abbatis cella' meaning 'cell / estates of the abbot', which came from the estates of the Saint Gall abbey when owners of the abbey estates tried to gain independence from the abbey when it was a principality, leading to the Appenzell Wars (Appenzellerkriege).

Stay

We stayed in Hotel One66, a very basic hotel but a very good one. The hotel almost looks like a cold-storage factory from the outside, but the rooms were good and comfortable. Most importantly the staff were all very friendly and professional. My wife left her mobile phone after we checked out and it took them no time to find and return the phone when we returned to search for it after one hour. Excellent stay and service.

Getting There and Around

The abbey area Gallusplatz itself is devoid of traffic and is accessible on foot. The abbey sits atop of a small hill and there are buses from the Saint Gallen city centre. We drove as we were on a road trip. The entrance fee to the complex is CHF 18Fr. The abbey deserves a day-trip.