St. Gallen Cathedral

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Exterior of the building in 2007 StiftskircheSt.Gallen.jpg
Exterior of the building in 2007

The Stiftskirche St. Gallus und Otmar (Collegiate Church of St. Gall and Otmar) is a Roman Catholic church in the city of St. Gallen, Switzerland. [1] Once part of the Abbey of St. Gall, it has been the cathedral of the Diocese of St. Gallen since 1847. [2] It is considered one of the last great sacred structures of the Baroque era, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Contents

History

The Cathedral stands on the spot where the itinerant Irish monk Gall built his hermitage in 612. Upon his death around 650, he was buried in the oratory within his cell. Today, his tomb is located beneath the high altar in the crypt, erected 837–39. [3]

For several decades after his death, Gall's disciples remained together at the cell he had built and followed the rule of St. Columban, combining prayer with work of the hands and reading with teaching. [4] In 719, St. Otmar, the brotherhood's first abbot, enlarged Gall's cell into the Abbey of St. Gall. [5] His remains are housed at the west end of the cathedral in the St.Otmar crypt, where former bishops of St.Gallen are also laid to rest. [3]

The first abbey church was built over Saint Gall's grave around 719, and underwent a number of subsequent modifications. [3]

Construction of the present church was initiated in 1755 by Prince-abbot Cölestin Gugger von Staudach. [6] Completed in 1767, the cathedral was designed by Peter Thumb, [7] who also designed the Abbey's famous library. Among its rich decorations are frescoes painted mostly by Josef Wannenmacher, and the most complete set of historic church bells in Switzerland. The south altar features a bell brought back by Saint Gall himself from Ireland, one of the three oldest surviving bells in Europe.

In 1805 the Canton of St.Gallen dissolved the abbey. After the dissolution of the monastery, the abbey church became a parish church, and with the establishment of the Diocese of St.Gallen in 1847, the cathedral. [8]

The interior was renovated and restored to its original state between 1962–67. [8]

Bells

The collegiate church has nine bells in the two towers come from different founders, most of whom worked in the Lake Constance area. The largest bell or bourdon is called the "Trinity Bell" and it shares the same note as the Great Bell of Bern Minster. Two more bells are housed in the two tower lanterns. From a music theory perspective, the overall chime does not correspond to any recognizable harmonic or melodic structure. 3 of the 9 bells also serve as clock bells; Gallus chimes every quarter hour while Mother of God and the bourdon Trinity in succession chime each the number of a full hour.

In Switzerland, the bells are always numbered from largest to smallest, Bell 1 is always the tenor or bourdon.

Bell NumberBell NameCasting yearFoundry, Casting locationWeight (kg)
1Trinity (Bourdon Bell)1768Peter Ludwig I. Emperor8100kg
2Sacred Heart1767Peter Ludwig I. Emperor5400kg
3Mother of God1633Jean Girard, La Mothe (Lorraine)2750kg
4Michael / Hail Mary1767Peter Ludwig I. Emperor1950kg
5Gallus / Convent Bell1702Andreas Aporta, Feldkirch1700kg
6Guardian Angel1766Johann Heinrich Ernst, Lindau1202kg
7Holy Cross1772Johann Leonhard IV. Rosenlächer , Constance552kg
8St. John1707JB Ernst /Andreas Aporta, Feldkirch492kg
9Poor souls1616Hieronymus Gesus, Constance403kg

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbey of Saint Gall</span> Church in St. Gallen, Switzerland

The Abbey of Saint Gall is a dissolved abbey (747–1805) in a Catholic religious complex in the city of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The Carolingian-era monastery existed from 719, founded by Saint Othmar on the spot where Saint Gall had erected his hermitage. It became an independent principality between 9th and 13th centuries, and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. The library of the Abbey is one of the oldest monastic libraries in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Gall</span> Irish disciple and saint

Gall according to hagiographic tradition was a disciple and one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent. However, he may have originally come from the border region between Lorraine and Alemannia and only met Columbanus at the monastery of Luxeuil in the Vosges. Gall is known as a representative of the Irish monastic tradition. The Abbey of Saint Gall in the city of Saint Gallen, Switzerland was built upon his original hermitage. Deicolus was the elder brother of Gall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Gallen</span> City in Switzerland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plan of Saint Gall</span> Medieval architectural drawing of a monastic compound

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Magnus of Füssen, otherwise Magnoald or Mang, was a missionary saint in southern Germany, also known as the Apostle of the Allgäu. He is believed to have been a contemporary either of Gall or of Boniface and is venerated as the founder of St. Mang's Abbey, Füssen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuotilo</span> Medieval composer and monk (died 915)

Tuotilo was a Frankish monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall. He was a composer, and according to Ekkehard IV a century later, also a poet, musician, painter and sculptor. Various trope melodies can be assigned to Tuotilo, but works of other mediums are attributed with less certainty. He was a student of Iso of St. Gallen and friends with the fellow monk Notker the Stammerer.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Thumb</span> Austrian architect

Peter Thumb was an Austrian architect and master builder whose family came from Bezau, Vorarlberg, in the westernmost part of Austria. He was active in Baden, the Black Forest, Alsace, Upper Swabia, on and around Lake Constance, and in Switzerland. He is best known for his Rococo architecture, mainly in Southern Germany. Outstanding examples of his work include the pilgrimage church at Birnau on Lake Constance and the monastery library at the Abbey of Saint Gall, Saint Gallen, Switzerland.

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Konrad von Gundelfingen was prince-abbot of the Princely Abbey of Kempten from 1284 until 1302. He was also anti-abbot of the Princely Abbey of Saint Gall from 1288 until 1291, appointed by King Rudolf I.

Craloh was abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Gall from 942 to 958. During his time in office, the first anti-abbot was elected.

Berchtold von Falkenstein was abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Gall from 1244 until 1272.

Kilian Germann was prince abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1529 to 1530.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otmar Kunz</span>

Otmar Kunz was abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1564 until 1577.

Joachim Opser was abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1577 until 1594.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernhard Müller (abbot)</span> Abbot of Saint Gall

Bernhard Müller was prince-abbot of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1594 until 1630. He was the son of Brosi Müller and Magdalena Lutz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallus Alt</span> St. Gallen prince-abbot (born 1610)

Gallus Jakob Alt was prince-abbot of Saint Gall from 1654 until 1687.

Bernard was abbot of the benedictine Abbey of Saint Gall from 883 until 890.

Heinrich von Ramstein was abbot of the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Gall from 1301 until 1318.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelm von Montfort</span> Prince-Abbot of St. Gall

Wilhelm I Count of Montfort was prince-abbot of Saint Gall from 1281 until 1301.

References

  1. "250 Jahre barocke Stiftskirche". Katholischer Konfessionsteil des Kantons St.Gallen. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  2. "Stiftsbezirk St. Gallen". UNESCO Weltkulturerbe. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "Kathedrale Informationen", Stiftsbezirk St. Gallen
  4. Butler, Alban (1808). Vies des pères, des martyrs, et des autres principaux saints : tirées des actes originaux et des monumens les plus authentiques, avec des notes historiques et critiques (in French). Chez Broulhiet, éditeur, rue Saint-Rome. pp. 261–265. OCLC   71811056.
  5. Übersetzer, Tremp, Ernst 1948- Mitwirkender Huber, Johannes Mitwirkender Schmuki, Karl 1952- Mitwirkender Horlent, Jenifer. The Abbey Library of Saint Gall the history, the baroque hall and the collections of the Abbey Library. pp. 9–10. ISBN   978-3-906616-82-7. OCLC   214366157.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. Wurzbach, Constantin “von” (1878). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich: enthaltend die Lebensskizzen der denkwürdigen Personen, welche 1750 bis 1850 im Kaiserstaate und in seinen Kronländern gelebt haben. Stadion - Stegmayer. 37 (in German). Zamarski. p. 256.
  7. Hitchcock, Henry Russell. Rococo Architecture in Southern Germany. Phaidon 1968, Chapter IV, "Peter Thumb". pp. 166-173]
  8. 1 2 "Kathedrale St. Gallen", Kathedral-Flyer


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