The story of Abbey of Saint Gall

Around 612, according to tradition, an Irish monk named Gallus set up a hermitage here. His disciples stayed on, and in 719 Saint Othmar founded a monastery on the spot. For many centuries it was one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe, and the city of St. Gallen itself began as a settlement beside it.

Under abbot Waldo, manuscripts were copied and a famous library was gathered, and at Charlemagne's request the Pope sent cantors from Rome to teach the monks Gregorian chant. Into the 10th century the abbey flourished, home to scholars such as Notker the Stammerer and Tuotilo, and over 400 manuscripts from that era still survive in its library. There were hard times too: between 924 and 933 the Magyars threatened the abbey, and on 26 April 937 a fire destroyed much of it, though the library was undamaged.

The abbey was dissolved in 1805, and since 1983 its precinct has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.