Trip to the Abbey Library of St. Gallen

Thursday 23 October 2025

The Abbey Library of St. Gallen is one of the oldest and most important libraries in the world. Since 1983, it has been listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The Abbey Library hosts an extremely impressive collection of early medieval manuscripts. One of them, Codex Sangellensis 254, transmits the earliest surviving copy of Bede's Death Song. On our pre-conference trip, we will visit the vist the baroque Abbey Library, the Vaulted Cellar and the exhibition space in the Abbey Archives. Moreover, we will have a private viewing of a number of manuscripts containing Old English in the reading room of the Abbey Library.

Preliminary schedule:

13.30 Meet at St. Gallen main station

ca. 14.00-17.30 Tour of the Abbey Library, the Vaulted Cellar and the exhibition at the Abbey Archives

ca. 18.00 Drinks, dinner, transfer to Zurich