Abbey library of Saint Gall facts for kids
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| Location | St. Gallen |
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| Coordinates | 47°25′22″N 9°22′35″E / 47.4228°N 9.3764°E |
| Type | memory institution monastic library  |
| Heritage designation | class A Swiss cultural property of national significance |
| Member of | Kalliope |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Website | www |
The Abbey Library of Saint Gall (German: Stiftsbibliothek) is a very old and important library. It is located in St. Gallen, Switzerland. This library is part of a larger complex, the Abbey of St. Gall.
In 1983, the library and the Abbey were named a World Heritage Site. This means they are very special places that are important to the whole world. They show what a large Carolingian monastery was like. From the 700s until 1805, this Abbey was a major center for culture in Europe. The Abbey Library is also one of the oldest libraries of its kind in the world.
History and Architecture
The Abbey Library was started by Saint Othmar. He was also the person who founded the Abbey of St. Gall. In 937, a big fire destroyed the Abbey building. Luckily, the library was not harmed and stayed safe.
The beautiful main hall of the library was built much later. It was designed by an architect named Peter Thumb. He created it in a fancy style called Rococo. This work happened between 1758 and 1767. Above the main entrance door, you can see a message written in Greek: ΨΥΧΗΣ ΙΑΤΡΕΙΟΝ. This means "healing place for the soul."
What's Inside? (Collections)
The collection of books and documents at this library is the oldest in Switzerland. It is also one of the most important monastic libraries anywhere. The library has almost 160,000 volumes, which are like individual books. Most of these can be used by the public.
Besides many old printed books, the library also has:
- 1,650 incunabula: These are books that were printed before the year 1500.
- 2,100 manuscripts: These are handwritten documents. They date back from the 700s to the 1400s.
Some of the most famous manuscripts come from places like Ireland, and they show special writing styles from the Carolingian and Ottonian periods. These old books, called codices, are kept safe inside glass cases. Each case has a carved cherub (a type of angel) on top. These cherubs give you a hint about what's inside the case. For example, the case with astronomy books has a cherub looking through a telescope!
If you want to read books published before 1900, you need to use a special reading room. The library also keeps a very important manuscript called B of the Nibelungenlied.
To let more people see these amazing old documents, a special online library was created. It's called Codices Electronici Sangallenses. This project has grown and now includes documents from other libraries too. It's now known as e-codices. Today, you can view over 600 manuscripts from the Abbey Library of Saint Gall online!
The library is also home to something very unique: the mummy of Shep-en-Isis.
Important Manuscripts
Here are some of the famous manuscripts kept at the Abbey Library:
- Codex Sangallensis 18
- Codex Sangallensis 48
- Codex Sangallensis 878
See also
In Spanish: Biblioteca de la Abadía de San Gall para niños
- Codex Sangallensis (disambiguation), several codices
- List of World Heritage Sites in Europe
- de:Stiftsarchiv St. Gallen
