Historical Points
Overview
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Intro
Where spirituality and beauty unite. St.Gallen has a very special landmark: its sublime cathedral. It forms, with the world famous Abbey Library, a historic ensemble that is unrivalled, and which was declared UNESCO World Heritage in 1983. The famous Abbey Library sports the most beautiful secular Rococo interior in Switzerland. Dubbed a “pharmacy for the soul”, it is home to 170.000 books as well as 2.000 priceless medieval manuscripts.
Highlights in St. Gallen
Religious sitesOvernight at a monestary
Christmas Markets
History of St. Gallen
The city of St.Gallen was founded by the Irish monk Gallus in 612. In search of a suitable place for his hermit's cell, he stumbled and fell into a bush of thorns somewhere in a wild, narrow high-lying valley of what is now St.Gallen. He took that and his close encounter with a bear to be signs sent to him by God and decided to stay. One hundred years later, the very place where Gallus set up his hermitage became the site of an abbey which was to become the "writing room of Europe" in the Middle Ages and one of the most important cultural centres of the Occident. The town that gradually grew up around that abbey is St.Gallen.St.Gallen's history, the splendour of its abbey and the monuments that testify to civic pride and a prosperous economy in the Middle Ages, are evident at every turn in St.Gallen. The abbey district with its magnificent baroque cathedral forms a unique historical ensemble, which was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1983. Visitors to the abbey's rococo library can admire 170,000 medieval books and 2000 original manuscripts in changing temporary exhibitions.
Textiles in St. Gallen
The production of textiles played a significant role in St.Gallen as early as the Middle Ages. For centuries, cloth from St.Gallen was a lucrative export article, appreciated throughout Europe for its quality. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century, it was embroidery and fine lace that accounted for St.Gallen's fame. The textile museum provides a fascinating account of the town's "textile" history.St. Gallen and vicinity
The city’s central location in the Lake Constance region makes it an ideal base for a host of excursions to Lake Constance or to the mountains of the Appenzellerland for example to the mount Säntis (2,501 m/8,205 f) the most famous mountain in Eastern Switzerland.The rural St.Gallen area is as well a marvellous hiking and biking region, with lake and mountain panoramas always in view.
In 2012 St.Gallen will celebrate its 1400 year anniversary with various events.
The international Museum of the Reformation
This museum is a must-see for religious visitors that come to Geneva, Switzerland. It begins with an emphasis on the Bible and includes some of the oldest French and English Bibles. Unique objects, manuscripts, rare books, engravings and paintings illustrate the close ties of Geneva and John Calvin to the Reformation.more info
Overnight in a Monastery
Experience how it is to live in a monastery and overnight in one of the various abbeys and monasteries in Switzerland that offer simple accommodation. Some even offer their own mountain hut refuge to rent, like the convent of St.John in Muestairmore info
The pilgrimage way of St. James along Switzerland’s breathtaking mountain scenery.
Walk or cycle on St. James' footsteps, following his ways through the breathtaking mountain scenery of Switzerland to Santiago de Compostela. Take your time to visit some of the traditional pilgrims' stations.more info
Christmas markets.
The Christmas season will soon be here again.. as well as the traditional Christmas markets in Switzerland. Montreux is home to the largest one, Bremgarten (Aargau) to one of the biggest ones in terms of vendors. The highest one can be visited on Mt. Pilatus. Others can be found in Huttwil (Bern), Zürich or Basel.more info
Discover the surroundings
Contact
St.Gallen-Bodensee Tourismus
Bankgasse 9
9001
St. Gallen
Switzerland
Phone
+41 (0)71 227 37 37
Fax +41 (0)71 227 37 67
info@st.gallen-bodensee.ch
st.gallen-bodensee.ch
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