Abbey of St. Gallen (Fuerstabtei St. Gallen) description and photos - Switzerland: St. Gallen (Topic)

Abbey of St. Gallen (Fuerstabtei St. Gallen) description and photos - Switzerland: St. Gallen. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Fuerstabtei St. Gallen.

Photo & Description

St. Gallen Abbey has a long and fascinating history. During the Middle Ages, the city as such did not yet exist - there was the Abbey of St. Gall. Later, residential quarters began to appear around the monastery, and a city was formed, which received the name St. Gallen. The monastery was one of the largest Benedictine monasteries in Europe. In 1983, it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the comment “a perfect example of a large monastery of the Carolingian era.”

The abbey is located in honor of its founder, Saint Gall, a disciple of Saint Columban. The monastery was founded in 613. At the time when Otmar was the abbot, an art school arose in the monastery. Manuscripts written by St. Gallen monks (most of whom came from Britain and Ireland), highly valued throughout Europe.

During the reign of Abbot Waldo of Reichenau, a library was founded, which is considered to this day one of the richest in Europe. It contains numerous (about 160 thousand) medieval manuscripts

CX century between the monastery of St. Gall and the monastery of Reichenau was a political rivalry. By the 13th century, the disputes were settled in favor of St. Gallen, and its abbots were recognized as independent sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire. Later, the cultural and political significance of the monastery gradually declined, and in 1712 the Swiss army entered the abbey, forcibly taking with them most of the monastery's treasures. In 1755-1768. the buildings of the abbey were destroyed and new buildings and temples in the Baroque style were built in their place.

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Topic: Abbey of St. Gallen (Fuerstabtei St. Gallen) description and photos - Switzerland: St. Gallen.