Abbey of St. Gall
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| Convent of Saint Gall* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| State Party |  Switzerland |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iv |
| Reference | 268 |
| Region** | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1983 (7th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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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. The Abbey has existed since 613 and became an independent principality during the 13th Century. The library at the Abbey is considered one of the richest medieval libraries in the world[1]. Since 1983, it has been an UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site.
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[edit] 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[2].
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 Bishopric of Constance which had recently acquired jurisdiction over the Abbey of Reichenau on Lake Constance. It wasn't until King Louis the Pious (ruled 814-840) confirmed the independence of the Abbey, that this conflict ceased[2]. From this time until the 10th Century, the Abbey flourished. It was home to several famous scholars including; Notker of Liège, Notker the Stammerer, Notker Labeo and Hartker (who developed the Antiphonal liturgical books for the Abbey). During the 9th Century a new, larger church was built and the library was expanded. Manuscripts on a wide variety of topics were purchased by the Abbey and copies were made. Over 400 manuscripts from this time have survived and are still in the library today[2].
Between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey and the books had to be removed to Reichenau for safety. Not all the books were returned. In 937 the Abbey was nearly totally destroyed in a fire, however the library was undamaged.
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. As the Abbey became more involved in local politics, it entered a period of decline[2]. During the 14th Century "Humanists[2]" were allowed to carry off some of the rare texts. In the 16th Century the Abbey was raided by calvinist groups which scattered many of the old books[2]. In 1530, Abbot Diethelm began an restoration that stopped the decline and led to an expansion of the schools and library.
Under abbot Pius (1630–74) a printing press was started. In 1712 during the Toggenburg war, also called the second war of Villmergen, the Abbey of St. Gall was pillaged by the Swiss. Most of the books and manuscripts were taken by them to Zürich and Berne. For security, the Abbey was forced to request the protection of the townspeople of St. Gallen. Until the Reformation the townspeople had been serfs of the Abbey, but they had grown in power until they were protecting the Abbey.
Following the disturbances, the Abbey was still the largest religious city-state in Switzerland with over 77,000 inhabitants[3]. A final attempt to expand the Abbey resulted in the demolition of most of the medieval monastery. The new structures, including the cathedral, were designed in the late Baroque style and constructed between 1755 and 1768. The large and ornate new Abbey did not remain in a monastery for very long. In 1798 the Prince-Abbot's secular power was suppressed and the Abbey was secularized. The monks were driven out and moved into other abbeys. The Abbey became a separate See in 1846 with the Abbey church as its cathedral and a portion of the monastic buildings for the bishop.
[edit] Cultural treasures
The Abbey library of St. Gallen 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 2100 are handwritten. Nearly half of the handwritten books are from the Middle Ages and 400 are over 1000 years old[1]. Lately the Stiftsbibliothek has launched a project for the digitisation of the priceless manuscript collection, which currently (April 2008) contains 144[1] documents that are available on the Codices Electronici Sangallenses webpage. The library is open to the public and includes exhibitions as well as concerts and other events[4].
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".
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Codices Electronici Sangallenses-Description
- ^ a b c d e f
"Abbey of St. Gall" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia. - ^ Religious/Secular Land Holders in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- ^ St. Gall Library Website (limited English information)(German)
[edit] Resources
- Walter William Horn's Papers Regarding The Plan of St. Gall : production materials, 1967-1979(40 linear ft.) are housed in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives at Stanford University Libraries
[edit] External links
- "Abbey of St. Gall" in the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia.
- Stiftsbibliothek Sankt Gallen
- Codices Electronici Sangallenses — project for the digitisation of the medieval manuscripts at Sankt Gallen
- UNESCO World Heritage Listing for the Convent of St Gall
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