Abbey of St. Gall and St. Gallen

Sankt Gallen is a town in eastern Switzerland that grew up around the Abbey of St. Gall. St. Gall, formerly Gallus, was originally from Ireland. He was one of the companions of Columbanus on his 7th century mission. He is said to have left the mission to set up his hermitage here. The Abbey grew up around the hermitage, and the town grew up around the Abbey.
Most of these pictures are in and around the abbey. The 1st picture is the facade of the cathedral built on the location of the Abbey church looking across one of the exterior courtyards. The 2nd picture is the nave of the cathedral. The 3rd picture was a bit of a surprise. They call it the Corona Bible. It seems that during the pandemic, people took to copying sections of the scriptures. This text is a complications of lots of these comprising the entire Bible all in the original handwriting.
The next 3 pictures are taken around the abbey that is a large complex of buildings.
The 7th picture is in the abbey cellar which is a vaulted space. It has been set up as a museum of the history of the abbey. To the left is a model of the abbey church under construction.
The 8th picture is the famous library of St. Gall. This is one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world and was an important center of learning and collection of knowledge in the middle ages. And it is a stunningly beautiful place.
The last picture looks at a bit of the old town of St. Gallen.Read more