The Lapidarium houses the permanent exhibition “Gallus and his Monastery – 1400 years of Cultural History”.

The exhibition on Gallus and his monastery uses original manuscripts and objects to take you through 1,400 years of cultural history, from Gallus’ hermit cell to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site of the Abbey District. It showcases the contribution monasteries made to the cultural development of Europe, in writing, language, music, architecture, art and spirituality. A highlight is the Gospel Longum: its magnificent binding was created around 895 by the St.Gallen monk and artist Tuotilo. A series of multivision panels follows the path that led Gallus from Ireland to Lake Constance and here to the Steinachtal valley.

The later development of the royal abbey and its relationship to the city of St.Gallen are shown in a separate section.