Sankt Gallen Cathedral's frescoes, a photo from Sankt Gallen, East

Photographer's Note

Sankt Gallen Cathedral's frescoes

St Gallen’s giant Baroque cathedral is unmissable. Designed by one Peter Thumb from Bregenz, it was completed in 1767 after just twelve years’ construction work. Easiest access is through the west door on Gallusstrasse, although it’s worth making your way through the church and out into the enclosed Klosterhof, at the heart of the complex, where you can see the full height of the extraordinary soaring east facade, dating from the 1760s. The convex facade of the apse rises above the formal lawns of the abbey, and is flanked by the two huge, concave towers rising in three sections. To the left is the palace wing, still the residence of the Bishop of St Gallen.

Interior & Ceiling

The interior of the cathedral is vast, a broad, brightly lit white basilica with three naves and a central cupola. Although not especially high, the interior has a sense of huge depth and breadth thanks to its accomplished architecture: from the sandstone of the floor and wood of the pews, fanciful light-green stuccowork – characteristic of churches in the Konstanz region – draws your eye up the massive double-width pillars to the array of frescoes on the ceiling. The frescoes (1757–66) are almost entirely the work of one artist: Josef Wannenmacher, from Tomerdingen in southern Germany. Above the western end of the nave is a panel showing Mary sitting on a cloud surrounded by angels. The huge central cupola shows paradise, with the Holy Trinity in the centre surrounded by concentric rings of cloud on which are arrayed apostles and saints. Details throughout the rest of the cathedral are splendid: the lavish, mock-tasselled pulpit; the ornate choir screen; the richly carved walnut-wood confessionals; the intricate choir stalls; and, far away at the back of the choir, the high altar flanked by black marble columns with gold trim. The south altar features a bell brought by Gallus on his seventh-century journey from Ireland, one of the three oldest surviving bells in Europe.

St. Gallen

St. Gallen’s most famous landmark is its Baroque cathedral with the Abbey Library, which houses some 140,000 documents – in part hand-written and over a thousand years old. The library probably also has Switzerland’s most beautiful Rococo hall. The entire Abbey precinct was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1983.

The name and foundation of the town stem from the Irish missionary monk Gallus who founded a hermitage here around 612. From 747, the then St. Gallen monastery was already following Benedictine Rule, which required the contemplative study of books and accordingly also stipulated the presence of a library. In the Middle Ages, the town developed into an important hub of culture and education in Europe. Later, the St. Gallen embroideries attracted international recognition and brought prosperity to the town.

St. Gallen is a university town with a focus on the economic sciences. The home town of the renowned «Mummenschanz» theatre group offers a varied cultural offering with theatres and museums. In summer, the romantic art-nouveau Dreilinden-Weiher open-air pool with its splendid views over the town attracts visitors to swim. (Source: myswitzerland & wikipedia)

timecapturer, lakshmip1949, danos, jlbrthnn, Cricri, dip, Schnappilic, vasilpro, kordinator, adores ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (220577) 2012-02-02 1:08

Ciao George, great POV on fascinating interior, lovely symmetryc composition, splendid light, excellent perspective and wonderful colors, very well done my friend, ciao Silvio

snunney (130967) 2012-02-02 1:11

Hello George,
Another wonderful capture from inside this marvellously decorated cathedral. The ceiling frescoes are captured in all their glory with superb colours and clarity. The point of view looking through the succeeding arches gives the image great depth. Very well done.

carlo62 (81265) 2012-02-02 1:14

Bellissimo interno, bella luce e una prospettiva ottima.
Complimenti
Carlo

npecanhuk (79329) 2012-02-02 2:04

Hi George!
Magnificent interior!
Wonderful picture!
Sharpness, exposure, colors, vertical format, chosen pov, black & white borders and composition are all excellent!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

cavli (1876) 2012-02-02 2:11

Hello George,
very good indoor picture. very nice soft colors. I like your dof. very good sharp details. tfs
regards..

besnard (59196) 2012-02-02 2:13

Bonjour George
Superbe cet intérieur d'église richement décoré. Une prise qui nous permet de voir les détails de la voute.
Bravo et bonne journée.
Nicole

timecapturer (49288) 2012-02-02 2:28

Hi Gyorgy
this shot has that Wow! factor. Such a lot to look at and all so beautiful. You have captured the detailing and colours so perfectly. A glorious image!

Have a great day - Brian.

lakshmip1949 (19081) 2012-02-02 2:39

Hello George,

Another splendid capture of this interior and ceiling frescoes. Every detail is given importance and you have done a marvelous job with colors, texture, sharpness and depth.

Lakshmi

dale54 (17750) 2012-02-02 2:44

beautifull shot,beautifull work,george hello!wow!what a scene,simply amazing! tfs!have a great day! dr

dkmurphys (79209) 2012-02-02 3:44

Hi Gyorgy,
Really impressive interior. A ture artwork there very well taken and well composed.
Enjoy a fine day.

Daniel

ChrisJ (171220) 2012-02-02 4:18

Hello George,

A superb capture of the ornate frescoes adorning the ceiling of this cathedral. Good colour, sharpness & framing. I like the repeating vaulted arches. The fg pews add scale. Tfs!

JFS (32459) 2012-02-02 5:28

What a marvelous interior church! Your perfect shot gives a good idea of it, so well framed and so clear! An excellent work George!

Yiannis84 (2824) 2012-02-02 5:49

Hi Goerge..

Your picture has a very strong feeling!! Great POV, it gives amazing perspective..I like a lot how you re frame the scene..very well done

best regards..Yiannis

danos (110407) 2012-02-02 5:54

Hello George,
spectacular the interior view of the St. Gallen Cathedral's frescoes with the light and the colour management to are well captured.I like the created perspective as the clarity of the image.

Have a good afternoon,danos

Sergiom (117241) 2012-02-02 6:37

Bonjour George

Une très belle amplitude et une très belle profondeur qui nous donne l'impression d'être très petit devant tant de beauté.

Amicalement

Serge

jlbrthnn (76043) 2012-02-02 6:43

Hello George,
The decor is breathtaking finesse. What a magnificent work of art! The beautiful and impressive picture hints at the excitement of a real visit. The light, colors and sharpness are exceptional. Congratulations.
Have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

lousat (138599) 2012-02-02 9:04

Hi George,spectacular interior and the best point of view and sharpness to see so well the peintures and its colors,great details too,i like it! Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

Cricri (176) 2012-02-02 10:22

Hi George
Une magnifique décorations digne d'une oeuvre d'art, belle prise de la lumière intérieur, le cadrage est tout simplement superbe, très belle réalisation
Belle soirée
cricri

Bluejeans (64251) 2012-02-02 10:46

Ola George ,
Linda esta catedral tem uns frescos no teto fantásticos , boa sensação de altura , bom controle de luz , parabéns!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

dip (21408) 2012-02-02 10:57

Hi George,
wonderful interior photo of the Cathedral,very good point of view and framing,
spectacular details!
greetings,
Dimitris.

Schnappilic (9692) 2012-02-02 11:33

Hello György,

Impressive cathedral full of beautiful details. A real piece of art. It's magic!

All the best,

Ovidiu

brianmcc (6223) 2012-02-02 12:48

hi george,
what wonderful symmetry in this picture. your viewpoint is superb with a very thoughtful and considered composition and framing. the building is majestic and you have captured this feeling very well. excellent sharpness and detail.
regards,
brian

vasilpro (41801) 2012-02-02 14:15

Hello dear George,
Wonderful interior composition, beautiful and interesting architectural details, excellent POV, lovely light and colors, very good clarity, sharpness and contrast, very nice framework, TfS!
Greetings, Vasilis.

kordinator (8738) 2012-02-03 1:11

Hello György
Impressive interior photo of the Cathedral.
Very good point of view and framing.
Fantastic details and great depth of field.
My good friend lives in this city.
Nice composed and framing work.
Best regards
Saša

siamesa (28231) 2012-02-03 5:27

Bom dia George

This interior of the church is really marvelous with these beautiful and rich details. TFS
Abraços
maria

mkamionka (73344) 2012-02-03 7:42

Hi George,
excellent reportage from St Gallen.
It is a pleasure to follow, as always in your gallery.
The architecture is very impressive and rich. I like the vertical frame here to emphasize well the paintings above.
Great work, TFS
M

SWEETFREEDOM (24623) 2012-02-03 11:39

Hi George,
great p.o.v. excellent details and good light
regards
Alessandro

siudzi (34141) 2012-02-04 4:16

Hi George,

Wow! What a spectacular indoor shot! This frescoes look absolutely amazing as well as your perfectly taken composition. Like it very much.

Regards,
Malgorzata

adores (46979) 2012-02-05 16:28

Hi George!
The decoration of the church really deserves such pov! The paintings and the details are fantastic and well shown in your photo. Good light, colours and dof!

jjcordier (79299) 2012-02-10 23:53

George
L'intérieur baroque de cette cathédrale est absolument superbe et tu en as réalisé une excellente photo.
Amicalement
JJ