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.
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]
The collegiate church has nine bells in the two towers come from different founders, most of whom worked in the Lake Constance area. The south tower contains the 7 smaller bells while the north tower contains the two bourdon bells.The larger of the two bourdons 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 Number | Bell Name | Casting year | Foundry, Casting location | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trinity (Bourdon Bell) | 1768 | Peter Ludwig I. Emperor | 8100kg |
| 2 | Sacred Heart | 1767 | Peter Ludwig I. Emperor | 5400kg |
| 3 | Mother of God | 1633 | Jean Girard, La Mothe (Lorraine) | 2750kg |
| 4 | Michael / Hail Mary | 1767 | Peter Ludwig I. Emperor | 1950kg |
| 5 | Gallus / Convent Bell | 1702 | Andreas Aporta, Feldkirch | 1700kg |
| 6 | Guardian Angel | 1766 | Johann Heinrich Ernst, Lindau | 1202kg |
| 7 | Holy Cross | 1772 | Johann Leonhard IV. Rosenlächer , Constance | 552kg |
| 8 | St. John | 1707 | JB Ernst /Andreas Aporta, Feldkirch | 492kg |
| 9 | Poor souls | 1616 | Hieronymus Gesus, Constance | 403kg |
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.
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.
St. Gallen is a Swiss city and the capital of the canton of St. Gallen. It evolved from the hermitage of Saint Gall, founded in the 7th century. Today, it is a large urban agglomeration and represents the center of eastern Switzerland. Its economy consists mainly of the service sector. The city is home to the University of St. Gallen, one of the best business schools in Europe.
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.
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.
Othmar, was a Medieval monk and priest. He served as the first abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall, a Benedictine monastery near where the city of St. Gallen, now in Switzerland, developed.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wilhelm I Count of Montfort was prince-abbot of Saint Gall from 1281 until 1301.
The Hofflügel, located in St. Gallen, Switzerland, is the episcopal residence of the Diocese of St. Gallen. The Baroque-style building was constructed in 1666–1667 as the residence of the Abbot of the Abbey of St. Gallen. As part of the Abbey district, the building was included in the UNESCO list of protected World Heritage Sites in 1983.
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Media related to Stiftskirche St. Gallus und Otmar at Wikimedia Commons
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