The ceiling frescoes depicting the first four ecumenical councils of the early Christian church — Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451) painted by Joseph Wannenmacher — are astonishing.
Built between 1758 and 1767 under the direction of master builder Peter Thumb, the hall has exquisite burnished woodwork and parquet floors that create an atmosphere of warmth and tranquillity.
The origins of the abbey date back to 612 when an Irish monk by the name of Gallus erected a hermitage on the site.
Another monk named Othmar extended the building around 719 and was appointed the first abbot of the Abbey of St. Gall.
He was canonised in 864.
By the 9th century, the monks had amassed a formidible collection of books and the abbey subsequently became one of the leading cultural centres of the Western world.
The library now houses around 170,000 works including a collection of original early mediaeval documents. There are 2100 manuscripts of which 400 date from before the year 1000.
The priceless, sumptuously-calligraphed and illustrated manuscripts are on display in glass cases. Among them is a manuscript of the 13th century Nibelungenlied, an epic poem written in high German.
I was intrigued by the 16th century globe which has a vast, empty space at the bottom where Australia and New Zealand are missing, not yet discovered, and the 9th century plan of the monastery showing the hospital, gardens, school, stables, work area, living quarters and cemetery.
Sheep and cattle were kept to provide skins for the parchment that books and manuscripts were written on. It took 200 sheep skins to provide enough parchment for an 800-word book so the animals were very much in demand.
The library has a unique way of organising books into topics. To find books on a subject of interest, you look at the little plaster cherubs or “putti” above the shelves. Books on astronomy can be found below the statue of an astronomer with a telescope while a poet, physician, botanist, singer, painter, gardener, composer, merchant and geographer guide readers to the topics they represent.
Only books less than 100 years old can be borrowed and only librarians have access to the hallowed shelves on the upstairs balcony.
It came as a surprise to find an Egyptian mummy and sarcophagus on display at a Swiss library. The well-preserved mummy is that of Schepenese, the daughter of an Egyptian priest who lived around 700-650BC. I studied her 2700-year-old face, with skin and teeth still intact and felt strangely drawn to her. I began asking her questions about the life she led so long ago . . . that’s when Claudia said, firmly, it vas time to move on.
As I left the library, I noticed the Greek inscription above the door. Translated it read “Pharmacy for the Soul”.
I tried to tell Claudia I had fallen under the spell of an ancient potion . . . but she vasn’t having any of that!
FACTBOX:
Justine Tyerman travelled courtesy of Switzerland Tourism: www.MySwitzerland.com
Swiss Travel Pass: www.MySwitzerland.com/rail
Swiss International Airlines: www.swiss.com/ch/en
