Crowned by a filigreed spire and looking proudly back on 1000 years of history, the sandstone ²Ñü²Ô²õ³Ù±ð°ù was the church of the Diocese of Konstanz until 1821. Its interior is an architectural potpourri of Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and baroque styles. Standouts include the 15th-century Schnegg, an ornate spiral staircase in the northern transept, to the left of which a door leads to the 1000-year-old crypt. From the crypt’s polychrome chapel, you enter the sublime Gothic cloister.
On cloudless days, it’s worth ascending the tower for broad views over the city and the lake.
![SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 01: Library of the monastery St. Gallen, Switzerland. 2000 hand writings, 1635 incunable and almost 100.000 books. The library was built between 1758 and 1767 und richly decorated. (Photo by Imagno/Getty Images) [St. Gallen, Schweiz: Ehemaliges Benediktiner-Kloster. Stiftsbibliothek mit 2000 Handschriften, 1635 Wiegen- und Fruehdrucken (Inkunabeln) und schliesslich 100.000 Buechern, 1758-1767 erbaut und kunstvoll ausgestattet. Stift St. Gallen: 612 Zelle des hl. Gallus, eines Gefaehrten Columbans, 719 wird durch den hl. Otmar das Kloster errichtet, das 747 die Regel Benedikts annimmt, 1805 saekularisiert.]
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Abbeys, Architecture, Books, Interiors, Libraries, Photo tgg06/01](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2023-06/StiftsbibliothekStGallen.jpeg?fit=crop&ar=1%3A1&w=1200&auto=format&q=75)
