Abbey District of St.Gallen
It was one of the most important spiritual centres of Europe. And the spirit of the Benedictine monks can still be felt here today as you enter the Abbey District of St.Gallen. The magnificent buildings with the Baroque cathedral and the impressive collection of original manuscripts make the Abbey District a place of cultural tradition. It was rightly designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 1983.
1) Cathedral 2) Abbey Library / Vaulted Cellar 3) Exhibition hall 4) Government building 5) Monastery bistro
Cathedral
The magnificent Baroque cathedral with its two prominent towers has come to symbolise the city of St.Gallen. Together with the Abbey District and the Abbey Library, it forms a unique historical ensemble.
Abbey Library / Vaulted Cellar
The Abbey Library of St.Gallen is the oldest library in Switzerland and one of the largest and oldest monastery libraries in the world. The Rococo-style hall is thought to be one of the most beautiful in the country. The 170,000 books and 2,000 original documents from the Middle Ages bear witness to the development of European culture and include fundamental works of European intellectual history. The Vaulted Cellar contains, among other things, archaeological artefacts from the Carolingian St.Gallen cathedral which was built around 830.
Exhibition hall
The famous St.Gallen monastery plan from the 9th century will be on display for the first time in its original form on Saturday, 13 April 2019. The exhibit will be exhibited in the new exhibition hall in the St.Gallen Abbey District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The parchment is the earliest representation of a monastery district from the Middle Ages. It was probably created between 819 and 826 in the Reichenau monastery on Lake Constance and is owned by the St.Gallen Abbey Library. In addition, there are other treasures from the monastery archives and library to discover, such as the oldest book of profession from the Carolingian period of the monastery. It contains the vows taken by monks when they entered the monastery.
Monastery wall
A wall was built around the Catholic monastery in the second half of the 16th century to separate it from the reformed city. Today, only a small part of the original wall remains along the Zeughausgasse. The rest of the wall was destroyed in the middle of the 19th century when the armoury was constructed.
Karlstor (Charles' Gate)
Karlstor (Charles' Gate) is the only remaining medieval city gate in Switzerland. It was constructed in the years 1569 and 1570. Today, the prison of the cantonal police of St.Gallen can be found above the gate.
Discover the Abbey District of St.Gallen
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of the Abbey District of St.Gallen.