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St Gall the monastery was founded in 719 and was named after the Irish saint St Gall who had lived as a hermit nearby. Its founder was designated abbot by the king of the Francs and the pope decreed that the monks would choose their abbot themselves without recourse to Rome. The monastery existed to 1805 when all monasteries in Switzerland were secularised. But the Bishop of St Gall is chosen to this day by the local governing body of the church and then mailed to Rome for confirmation but not approval.

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From its earliest days the monastery had two schools attached, one for future monks and one for the sons of the local nobility and rich merchants. On his visit, Pope Gregory IV (died 844) was so impressed by schools and pupils that he decreed a special holiday to be held for children, which is still an official holiday in town with a great procession in which only children may take part. Town and monastery were burnt down 926 by the Huns and 937 again by accident.

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In 947 the abbot was made a prince by the German emperor. His power was absolute, but waned over the centuries as the inhabitants of the city acquired more freedom and rights. When the abbey lost its hold on the county of Appenzell which had become a member of the Swiss Confederation in 1411, the abbot called on the citizens of town and county to help him regain Appenzell. Instead of which they joined the Swiss Confederation as well and bought their freedom from the German king.

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The town later joined the Reformed Church which made a Catholic island of the monastery at its midst. After the Napoleonic wars, St Gall regained its freedom and was then swallowed up in the new Swiss state. At that point it lost any political influence. It remains an important Catholic centre, though, especially as the Holy See has no influence over the choice of its bishop. St Gall is today the seat of the Swiss High Court for Administrative Law.

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St Gall became a centre for linen production in the 17th century. St Gall became at that point a byword for the highest quality linen that could be bought. When linen demand sank, St Gall was already established as a centre for embroidery that endures today. To commemorate St Gall embroidery, Swiss Postal Services issued the first embroidered stamp in the world. Its face value is five Francs and covered the charge for registered mail. It's one of the few modern stamps whose value has gone up by at least a factor 100 on its face value.

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The language spoken in town is Alemannic. The rest of Switzerland makes fun of the local dialect because it has lost vowel sounds as in bow or how and replaced it by an o as in stork. This language shift makes the use of certain words quite confusing for other Alemannic speakers. The most well known inhabitant was King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden who spent his exile years in town up to his death in 1837.

Besides the cathedral a visit to the monastery library is a must. The library owns over 600 books written and illustrated before the year 900. Apart from that, the town houses an excellent museum for embroidery whose exhibits show how well known pictures were adapted for embroidery. The town is also known as the city of bay windows. I was told there were 111 bay windows of historical significance.

For further information on the city of St Gall you may want to go to the official homepage of the city government sg.ch.

There are seventy large buildings established here with over 2,000 rooms of various sizes that can accommodate up to 20,000 persons. Tall street lamps and trees over a hundred years old lined along the road. The entrance to the City, Mountain Gate was marked with yellow roof tiles and red brick walls.

Mountain Gate, the entrance to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas

Inside the City, many cottages are engulfed with green trees. The air here is fresh, inspiring and refreshing. All the flowers, grasses, trees, peacocks, squirrels, deer and other animals create a peace and tranquility atmosphere. Just like a saying by Venerable Master, “Don't come to the mountain treasures and return empty-handed.”

A twenty feet high Thousand-Handed, Thousand-Eyed Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, with thousand hands in the front and back, each with a compassionate eye in its palm is a distinctive feature in the hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas. There are more than one thousand large and small Buddha images adorned the interior walls of the Jeweled Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas. Another interesting place is the corners of the Buddha Hall. It is adorned with four twenty-foot high Murals of Great Heavenly King. They are Heavenly King Virupaksha (“broad eyes”) of the West, Heavenly King Dhrtarastra (“one who upholds the country”) of the East, Heavenly King Virudhaka (“increasing”) of the South and Heavenly King Vaishravana (“widely learned”) of the North. When you walk into the Ordination Platform Hall, there are four sides covered with mirrors which resulting in endless reflections.

In the City, there are elementary and secondary schools for boys and girls teaching them to respect elders, parents and teachers. The establishment of a university also aims at educating students to become wise and virtuous leaders in the world. A course of Chinese brush calligraphy is also offered to members of the local community in the university. Besides that, there is also a big library providing students, teachers, and the residents of the City with lots of publication in English and Chinese. For the elders, a Tower of Blessings is a home for them. Virtuous elders are honored in the celebration of Respecting Elders Day each fall.

There are many interesting sites to visit at the City. You may experience yourself by spending your time at the City.