The Abbey District of St.Gallen The Abbey District of St.Gallen with its magnificent Baroque cathedral is a unique historic ensemble of buildings and one of the most important cultural centres in Europe. The Abbey Library is the oldest in Switzerland and probably the most beautiful non-religious Baroque hall in the country. At the heart of its collection is a body of Carolingian and Ottonian manuscripts from the 8th to 11th centuries including the unique St.Gall monastery plan and the Evangelium longum (evangelistary). In 1983 the district and its cultural artefacts were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. www.stibi.ch
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES ON LAKE CONSTANCE
FASCINATING INSIGHTS
into the history of western civilization
Monastic Island of Reichenau The “Monastic Island of Reichenau” on Lake Constance was incorporated into the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites on 30 November 2000 as a cultural landscape that bears outstanding witness to the religious and cultural role of a large Benedictine monastery in the Middle Ages. The island’s well-preserved churches are superb examples of monastic architecture between the 9th and 11th centuries. Their carefully restored murals reveal the role played by Reichenau Island as a cultural centre of major significance for the history of European art during the 10th and 11th centuries. The monastery had a lasting impact on the island, its landscape and its economic structure, which can still be felt today. www.reichenau.de
Museum of Lake Dwellings in Unteruhldingen In 2011, UNESCO declared the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps a World Heritage Site. They include 111 selected sites in six countries: Slovenia, Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The dwellings date back to around 5000 to 500 B.C. The original settlements, mainly from the Stone and Bronze Ages, submerged under water or in marshes are a valuable and rare testimony to humanity. Excellently preserved from a time without written documentation, they enable us to recreate how people lived in those days. In the Museum of Lake Dwellings in Unteruhldingen, visitors can discover how farmers, fishermen and bronze casters lived 6000 years ago during the Stone Age and 3000 years ago during the Bronze Age. www.pfahlbauten.de
UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites on Lake Constance | Bodensee Magazine
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