- Address: Klosterhof 6D, 9004 St. Gallen, Switzerland
- Phone: +41 71 227 34 16
- Fax: +41 71 227-34-18
- Official website: http://www.stibi.ch/
- E-mail: stibi@stibi.ch
- Working hours: 10.00 - 17.00
- Entrance fee: entrance for adults - 7 CHF, for privileged citizens - 5 CHF, for children free admission
Speaking about the significant cultural places of modern Switzerland , it is rare for anyone to remember the thought of the monastery of St. Gall. But this monastery is one of the most valuable objects located in the east of Switzerland . And it is in it is the oldest library, which collected in its collection invaluable works of different epochs and times, including works created before the beginning of our era. The history of the library of the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland has more than one hundred years, while carefully storing the memory of those days when everything was just beginning.
The monastery of St. Gall is a vivid example of the historical and architectural heritage of the past. Undoubtedly, this monastery is the main attraction of the small town of St. Gallen , located in the eastern part of Switzerland. It is noteworthy that the coat of arms of St. Gallen, depicting a bear in a gold collar, is closely connected with the monastery of St. Gall. Be sure to ask the guide to talk about this.
A bit of history
Turning to history, we learn that this monastery has been carrying on its annals since the beginning of the 7th century AD. The founder is considered to be the Irish monk-hermit of St. Gall (Gallus). Actually, hence the name of the monastery.
The history of the creation of the library of the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland
Today visitors are greeted by the stern, majestic and, perhaps, even slightly gloomy exterior of the monastery of St. Gall. But it is worth remembering that it stores in its walls the rarest and priceless treasures. The thing is that inside the monastery is the world's largest library. And if you turn to the research of historians, the library of the monastery of St. Gall is one of the largest, ancient and valuable collections of literature around the world.
Based on official documentation, historians have established that the library of St. Gall's monastery in Switzerland was founded in 820. At that time abbot Otmar was the abbot of the monastery. In the years of his management of the monastery, masters of art painting and drawing from neighboring Ireland and England were invited to the monastery, and later an art school opened at the monastery. Painting in the temples of the monastery and in the halls of the library has been preserved up to the present times.
What is the interest of the library of the monastery of St. Gall?
Despite the thousand-year history of wars, a fire in the middle of the 10th century, multiple transfers from one storage place to another priceless collection of works were not lost and carefully stored in the library. The manuscripts store the most important data on the history of Catholicism, information about the development of science, technology, the art and cultural achievements of the Middle Ages. For this reason, in the notable for St. Gallen in 1983, the monastery and the library of the monastery of St. Gall was awarded the honor of being included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Above the entrance to the building there is an inscription, which in Greek means "sanatorium of souls". And you understand what is at stake, just inside the library, just glancing at all this magnificence and appreciating the scale of the construction and enclosed works. And there really is a lot of work. We'll talk about this in more detail.
According to various sources, there are about 160-170 thousand copies of books in the library's funds, among them there are rare editions, there are about 500 titles and they are already more than 2 thousand years old. The collection of the library of St. Gall's monastery in Switzerland also includes about 2000 incunambulas and almost the same manuscripts of the VIII-XV centuries. There is even the most famous medieval manuscript "The Song of the Nibelungs", dating from the 12th-13th centuries.
The Swiss are also proud of the library created in 790 Latin-German dictionary, it's the oldest German book in this small town. Among other things, in the paper version of the library of the monastery, the only surviving architectural plan is the "plan of St. Gall.
Speaking about the interior decoration of the library of the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland, it is necessary to note the luxurious design of the interiors and the stunning preservation of painting on the ceilings and walls. The main hall, executed in the style of rococo, stands out for its extraordinary character and leaves an indelible impression on the visitors. In the western wing, tourists can visit the lapidarium, where invaluable archaeological finds and a huge collection of paintings are located on sturdy wooden shelves. You can see even Egyptian mummies in glass sarcophagi and a globe of the XVI century, reminding visitors about the discovery of Giordano Bruno heliocentric system.
At the end of the XX century, the most important manuscripts and manuscripts of books from the collection were digitized, and then a virtual library was created and opened for visitors to use. Thanks to this innovation, now everyone can get acquainted with the manuscripts, which were held in the hands of a few lucky ones.
The library of the monastery of St. Gall is open to all residents and tourists of St. Gallen. You can come and ask to read any book that interests you. However, visitors should pay attention to the fact that books until 1900 are issued for viewing in a special reading room for them.
How to visit?
The monastery of St. Gall in St. Gallen welcomes its visitors on weekdays from 9:00 to 18:00, on Saturday to 15:30, on Sunday from 12:00 to 19:00. The administration asks visitors to take into account that during the services of tourists the temple is not allowed. The library of the monastery of St. Gall is waiting for admirers of literature and art from 10:00 to 17:00, on Sunday - until 16:00. The ticket costs 7 Swiss francs for adult visitors, 5 francs for pensioners, students and teenagers. The entrance for children is still free.
To visit the library of the monastery of St. Gall in Switzerland, you can use the motor transport and navigate to the coordinates given in the beginning of the article for the GPS navigator. In addition to using motor vehicles, you can get to the library by rail from Zurich . As soon as you leave the station building and go out into the street, just across the road you will see the travel agency. This is the beginning of a full of impressions and discoveries in the distant medieval past of the library of the monastery of St. Gall.
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