The Abbey of Saint Gall (German: Fürstabtei Sankt Gallen) was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It is located in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13 Century. It was founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his Hermitage. The library at the Abbey is one of the richest medieval libraries in the ...
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The Abbey of Saint Gall (German: Fürstabtei Sankt Gallen) was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. It is located in the city of St. Gallen in present-day Switzerland. The Abbey has existed since 719 and became an independent principality during the 13 Century. It was founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his Hermitage. The library at the Abbey is one of the richest medieval libraries in the world. Since 1983, it has been an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Around 613 an Irishman named Gallus, a disciple and companion of Saint Columbanus, established a hermitage on the site that would become the Abbey. He lived in his cell until his death in 646.
Following Gallus' death, Charles Martel appointed Othmar as a custodian of St Gall's relics. During the reign of Pepin the Short, in 719, Othmar founded the Abbey of St. Gall, where arts, letters and sciences flourished. Under Abbot Waldo of Reichenau (740–814) copying of manuscripts was...
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