Sankt Gallen
View of the abbey at Sankt Gallen, Switzerland.
Sankt Gallen
Switzerland
Also known as: Saint-Gall
Sankt Gallen, town, capital of Sankt Gallen canton, northeastern Switzerland, in the Steinach Valley, just south of Lake Constance (Bodensee). In 612 the Celtic missionary St. Gall founded a hermitage on the site. Disciples joined him, and c. 720 the foundation became a Benedictine abbey under Abbot Otmar. Until the 11th century, the abbey school was the most important educational institution north of the Alps, and in its scriptorium were laid the foundations of the...