Between the seventh and eighteenth centuries, St Gallen itself was considered an abbey. A monk named Gall, originally from Ireland, is considered the founder. From 719 onwards. A decision was made to begin building the monastery itself.
The library of St Gallen Abbey is considered to be one of the oldest libraries in Europe. Europe. It is listed as a world heritage site due to its unique Its unique interior and its incredible collection of rare books and manuscripts from the Middle Ages. Middle Ages.
Upon entering, you can immediately see the inscription in Greek: "Pharmacy of the Soul". Here visitors will be asked to change their shoes or wear special flip-flops to avoid to avoid damaging the inlaid wooden floor. After that, one can enter the hall.
The Abbey Library is located in a separate building next to the cathedral. This building is in a pompous Baroque style designed by Peter Tambom. The halls, in which contain countless shelves of books, are in the Rococo style. The ceiling of the largest of them is decorated with frescoes depicting the theologians at the four Ecumenical Councils. ecumenical councils.
In addition to the usual halls filled with floor-to-ceiling shelving, there are special vaults containing many rare documents and manuscripts. documents and manuscripts that are almost never on display. on display. Photography is forbidden here.
The list of treasures of different cultures of this library is truly astounding - there is a lot of Irish manuscripts. a good number of Irish manuscripts, over a dozen manuscripts, from the seventh to eighth centuries, including a Latin gospel manuscript from 750. from the year 750. There are also specimens dating from before Christ.
