Abbey library of Saint Gall

Monastery library in St. Gallen, Switzerland

47°25′22″N 9°22′35″E / 47.4228°N 9.3764°E / 47.4228; 9.3764Typememory institution
monastic library

Heritage designationclass A Swiss cultural property of national significance

Member ofKalliope

CountrySwitzerland

Websitewww.stiftsbibliothek.ch

[edit on Wikidata]

The abbey library of Saint Gall (German: Stiftsbibliothek) is a significant medieval monastic library located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 1983, the library, as well as the Abbey of St. Gall, were designated a World Heritage Site, as "an outstanding example of a large Carolingian monastery and was, since the 8th century until its secularisation in 1805, one of the most important cultural centres in Europe".^[1] It is one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world.

History and architecture

The library was founded by Saint Othmar, founder of the Abbey of St. Gall. During a fire in 937, the Abbey was destroyed, but the library remained intact.^[2] The library hall, designed by the architect Peter Thumb in a Rococo style, was constructed between 1758 and 1767.^[3] A Greek inscription above the entrance door, ΨΥΧΗΣ ΙΑΤΡΕΙΟΝ (psukhēs iatreion), translates as "healing place for the soul".

Collections

The library collection is the oldest in Switzerland, and one of the earliest and most important monastic libraries in the world. The library holds almost 160,000 volumes, with most available for public use. In addition to older printed books, the collection includes 1650 incunabula (books printed before 1500), and 2100 manuscripts dating back to the 8th through 15th centuries; among the most notable of the latter are items of Irish, Carolingian, and Ottonian production. These codices are held inside glass cases, each of which is topped by a carved cherub offering a visual clue as to the contents of the shelves below; for instance, the case of astronomy-related materials bears a cherub observing the books through a telescope.^[4] Books published before 1900 are to be read in a special reading room.^[5] The manuscript B of the Nibelungenlied is kept here.

A virtual library has been created to provide broader access to the manuscripts: Codices Electronici Sangallenses. This project has been expanded to include codices from other libraries as well and is operating under the name e-codices. Currently, more than 600 manuscripts from the Abbey library of Saint Gall are available in digital format.

The library is home to the mummy of Shep-en-Isis.^[6]

Manuscripts

Notes

^ "Abbey of St. Gall". UNESCO World Heritage List. 2019. Retrieved 29 Jan 2019.
^ Murray, Stuart (2009). The Library: An Illustrated History. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing.
^ "Abbey library of St. Gallen /Stiftsbibliothek (Abbey Library) St. Gallen". 2017-01-19. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
^ "Where to Go". Berlitz: Switzerland Pocket Guide. Princeton, NJ: Berlitz Publishing Company. April 1999. pp. 40–41. ISBN 2-8315-7159-6.
^ Murray, Stuart (2009). The Library: An Illustrated History. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. p. 288.
^ "3D Face Reconstruction of Mysterious Egyptian Mummy 'Shep-en-Isis' Who Died 2,600 Years Ago Revealed". The Science Times. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

References

Beat Matthias von Scarpatetti: Die Handschriften der Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen. Codices 547–669. Hagiographica, Historica, Geographica 8.–18. Jahrhundert. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2003, ISBN 978-3-447-04716-6.
Beat Matthias von Scarpatetti: Die Handschriften der Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen. Codices 1726–1984 (14.–19. Jahrhundert). Beschreibendes Verzeichnis. Verlag am Klosterhof, St. Gallen 1983, ISBN 978-3-906616-02-5.
David H. Stam, ed. (2001). International Dictionary of Library Histories. Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1579582443.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Codices Sangallenses.

e-codices, St. Gallen, Stiffsbibliothek
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Abbey of St. Gall" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Stiftsbibliothek Sankt Gallen Archived 2013-07-22 at the Wayback Machine

World Heritage Sites in Switzerland

Lake Geneva region

Espace Mittelland

Eastern

Convent of St. Gall
Convent of St. Johann
Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes²
Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona

Ticino

Nationwide

¹ Shared with other region/s
² Shared with Italy
³ Shared with Austria, France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia
⁴ Shared with Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine

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