Abbey of Saint Gall

Cathedral of St Gall
The Cathedral of Saint Gall
Kathedrale St. Gallen
View of the former abbey
47°25′23″N 9°22′38″E / 47.42306°N 9.37722°E / 47.42306; 9.37722
Location	St. Gallen
Country	Switzerland
Denomination	Catholic
Website	Website of the Cathedral
History
Status	Active
Founded	8th century
Architecture
Functional status	Cathedral
Heritage designation	UNESCO World Heritage Site
Style	Baroque
Specifications
Number of domes	1
Number of spires	2
Spire height	68 m (223 ft)[1]
Administration
Diocese	Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Gallen
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Markus Büchel
UNESCO World Heritage Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Criteria	Cultural: ii, iv
Reference	268
Inscription	1983 (7th Session)

The Abbey of Saint Gall (German: Abtei St. Gallen) 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.^[2]

The city of St. Gallen originated as an adjoining settlement of the abbey. The abbey was secularized around 1800, and in 1848 its former church became St. Gallen Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Saint Gallen. Since 1983 the abbey precinct has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.