The Abbey and Library of San Gall in Switzerland

Today is the feast of St Gall (‘Gallus’ in Latin, ‘Gallen’ in German), a disciple of the great monastic founder of the later 6th and early 7th century, St Columban. He was born in Ireland, educated under Columban at the abbey of Bangor, and accompanied his teacher to the continent, where he assisted him in the founding of the important abbeys at Annegray and Luxeuil. From there, they made their way to the area around the Swiss lakes of Zurich and Constance; when Columban went to Italy, Gall remained behind, and having preached and gathered a group of disciples who lived under Columban’s rule, died sometime around 645 AD.

A stained-glass window with a picture of St Gall, from one of the corridors of the abbey library, 1566. He is often depicted in the company of a bear, in reference to a legend that when he had come to Switzerland, in the area where the abbey stands now, as he was warming himself at a fire, he was charged at by a bear. The Saint rebuked the animal, which then went into the forest and brought back some wood for the fire, then became his pet for the rest of its days. (Image from Wikimedia Commons by Martin Thurnherr, CC BY-SA 4.0.)

The great Swiss abbey of San Gallen is named after him, since it was built over the site traditionally said to be that of his hermitage, about 70 years after his death. This abbey is the home of one of the most important libraries in the world; among other things, it houses several of the oldest manuscripts of Gregorian chant. Much of the collection is now free to consult via the website https://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en, which also includes links to the digital collections of numerous other Swiss libraries. Here are pictures of the abbey church and library taken by our Ambrosian expert Nicola de’ Grandi on a recent visit; there will be a follow-up post with some of the books on permanent display in the library.

The church as we see it today is the result of a rebuilding project begun in 1755 by the Prince-Abbot Cölestin Gugger von Staudach, and was completed in 1767. The same architect designed both the church and the library.

The frescos in the ceilings of both building were done by an artist named Josef Wannenmacher, and are framed by very complicated rococo stucco work. (I vaguely recall hearing during a visit to Switzerland many years ago that the formula for the pigments which makes some parts of the stucco green is now lost.)

The ceiling of the library is decorated with major events from the New Testament.

A portrait of the Prince Abbot.