The St.Mangen Church is the oldest church in the city of St. Gallen.
First some Facts: The church was built in 898 in honour of the monk Magnus. From 916-926, Wiborada was locked up here in an attached cell. Around 1418 the roofs were destroyed in the great town fire. In 1488, lightning struck the bell tower and it had to be rebuilt. In 1731, lightning struck the tower again, burning the roof and melting all the bells. In 1774 an earthquake caused extensive damage. The current church tower was erected in 1505. In 1839 the church was renovated and enlarged. However, the church has been renovated very, very often (…, 1839, 1876, 1877, 1898, 1913, 1920, 1926, 1946, 1979, 1982,…)
Now the exciting things:
- In the southern window on the tower there is a sculptural depiction with an inscription of the year (1568) and the initials W.F., a compass and a small bird. It is therefore assumed that Wolfgang Vögeli (a stonemason and master builder) was in charge of the tower’s construction. There is also a portrait of him on the oriel «zum langen Erker».
- The small window from Wiborada on the wall can still be seen today in the St.Mangen Church!
- There used to be a huge cemetery around the church (until around 1897). In 1859, St.Gallen was the last major Swiss town with a cemetery within the former town walls. In 1907, part of the cemetery became a small park and the «Gewerbeschulhaus» was also built on it (1911). In 2019, a total of 63 graves were uncovered between the beginning of April and the end of June, spread over four burial levels. Some of the graves dated back to the Middle Ages.
- In 1946 a special fragment of a sandstone slab (66×58 cm, around 890/920) was found.
More Information: wiborada.sg | ref.sgc.ch
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