Abbey of St Gall

On the way back from Austria we stopped in St Gallen and we were amazed with the beauty of the interior of the cathedral! Actually, all city is quite interesting but the bad weather made the visit very short

Abbey of St Gall

The Abbey of Saint Gall (German: Abtei St. Gallen) is a Roman Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland of a dissolved abbey (747-1805). The Carolingian-era monastery has existed since 719 and became an independent principality between 9th and 13th centuries, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It was founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his hermitage. The library at the Abbey is one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. The city of St. Gallen originated as an adjoining settlement of the abbey. Following the secularization of the abbey around 1800 the former Abbey church became a Cathedral in 1848. - in: wikipedia 

Abbey of St Gall

The Convent of St Gall, a perfect example of a great Carolingian monastery, was, from the 8th century to its secularization in 1805, one of the most important in Europe. Its library is one of the richest and oldest in the world and contains precious manuscripts such as the earliest-known architectural plan drawn on parchment. From 1755 to 1768, the conventual area was rebuilt in Baroque style. The cathedral and the library are the main features of this remarkable architectural complex, reflecting 12 centuries of continuous activity. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/268

Abbey of St Gall

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

Abbey Library of St Gall

The Abbey Library of Saint Gall was founded by Saint Othmar, the founder of the Abbey of St. Gall. During a fire in 937, the Abbey was destroyed, but the library remained intact.

The library collection is the oldest in Switzerland, and is one of earliest and most important monastic libraries in the world. It holds 2,100 manuscripts dating back to the 8th through the 15th centuries, 1,650 incunabula (printed before 1500), and old printed books. The library holds almost 160,000 volumes, and most are available for public use. Books published before 1900 are to be read in a special reading room. - in: wikipedia