After the monastery was closed between 1527 and 1531, it soon flourished and developed into a centralized local state. With the new construction of the monastery complex between 1755 and 1767, visitors can still see it today, and the construction of the present monastery library reached its peak in 1758, when the abbots were able to pursue an independent policy from the Swiss Confederation. But it ended in 1803: on February 19, Napoleon Bonaparte established the canton of St. Gallen and the monastery was secularized.

The unique process of the bishop’s election

Today there is not a single monk living in the monastery district. However, at least one service is celebrated here almost every day, and many tourists come to it. The Cathedral is the seat of the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Gallen, founded in 1847. Incumbent Bishop Marcus Bachel was elected in a special procedure in the Catholic world in 2006: the right to vote is in the cathedral chapter, and individuals can bypass a list after submitting “less favorable” opportunity in selecting candidates. On the wall next to the Gallus altar to the right of the Chancellor you will find the oldest bell in Switzerland, the “Gallus Bell” which dates back to the 7th century and is said to have been taken with him by the monk on his voyage from Ireland to present-day Switzerland.

Even more views

In addition to the Math district, there is much to discover for those interested in the church: you will find it nearby. St. Lawrence Church, Gospel Revised Parish Church in St. Gallen. Its stone foundation may have been in the middle of the twelfth century. It is under federal monument protection and is considered a monument of national importance. The present-day neo-Gothic church was built in 1850 and restored in 1979 by the plans of Johann George Mueller of Mosnang. It can accommodate up to 1000 people.

In the district St. Mangan “Eglice Franchise” found a new house in the church of the same name since 1979. After the renovation, the church, first mentioned in a document in 896, belonged to the Evangelical Revised Parish. Adorns the face the size of a Brazilian woman “Open church“The former Neo-Gothic church in St. Leonhardt is only a few meters away.