Yelp Review 2026 #80:…read more Abbey Library of Saint Gall or Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen is worth the hour train ride from Zürich. I had a day in St. Gallen so of course, I had to visit this library. The Abbey of St. Gall is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been for decades. The library is one of the oldest and has the greatest collection of old architectural "blueprints". I'm not too familiar with St. Gall but apparently, he was an Irish (who might actually be French) saint who died in Switzerland. He helped bring Christianity to Switzerland. He's also the patron saint of geese, poultry and Sweden. The library is beautiful inside. If you have Swiss Travel Pass, you get in for free. You would still need to get a ticket and a map from the gift shop by showing them your Swiss Travel Pass. There's a locker to the left of the gift shop as they don't allow bags of any size. You can take the elevator or take the stairs to get to the library and just follow the signs. You have to put on slippers right by the entrance of the library - they're huge so the best way to walk is by not walking but gliding like your skating or mopping the floor with your feet. You'll be in awe of the contrast between the bright white ceiling with murals and the brown wooden bookshelves. There's a mummy inside the library and you must not take pictures of it. When I was in Giza, my tour guide told me it's bad luck to take pictures of certain mummies - they're cursed. I'd rather not find out if it's true or not the hard way. Mummies aren't Instagrammable anyway.

It's a beautiful abbey library! I initially wasn't all that interested in visiting it since I've…read morealready seen similar ones in Melk & Dublin. However, I must say that the history of St. Gallus is very well-presented here. The exhibition in the vaulted cellar is very informative with digital screens in many different languages. I didn't know that Gallus (Gall) was a student at Bangor Abbey in Northern Ireland. He would eventually leave Ireland to follow Columbanus to become a missionary. This is where the story gets murky. They would end up in Merovingian France, and eventually flee to Bregenz after Columbanus is banished from that country for his beliefs. Gallus retreated to a more secluded life in the Steinach Valley either due to illness, or he just didn't want to continue on to Italy. There's also a bear in this story. Just read about the legend of Gallus and the bear. Visiting the library was a good experience. There are these padded shoes that you must slip into before walking on the wooden floors. Everyone kind of slides through the different parts of the library. It's an extensive collection of about 170,000 books and transcripts. The docent was gracious in giving us a brief tour. He told us we could take pictures, but not of the mummified body of Shep-en-Isis. That's a no-no. Good to know. Another interesting thing to see is the exhibition in the Abbey Archive. It houses the oldest monastery blueprint dating back to 820-830 AD in a controlled environment with a presentation that can be adjusted to the language of your choosing. The map is shown for less than a minute to limit its exposure to light. It's all included in the admission price. Just check it all out if you happen to be near St. Gallen. It's worth a stop.