Summer Exhibition 2019
Father to the Poor – Otmar and the Origins of the Abbey
Summer Exhibition in the baroque hall of the Abbey Library
12 March to 17 November 2019
Otmar, the second founder of the Abbey of St Gall, and the world of the 8th century are the focal themes for the 2019 Summer Exhibition in the baroque hall of the Abbey Library.
In 719, 1300 years ago, the local overlord Waltram placed Otmar, a native of Alemannia who had trained in Chur, in charge of the shrine at the grave of St Gall and appointed him abbot. Otmar breathed new life into the monastic community founded by Gall around 612, which was falling into oblivion. He established the Abbey of St Gall as a religious centre of growing significance.
During the 8th century monasteries began to play a
role as reference points for the social order. Otmar’s community
offered support and refuge to the Alemannic population around Lake
Constance. People expressed their gratitude with gifts of land, and the
abbey by the Steinach grew wealthy. Otmar drew on these economic
resources to engage the abbey in charitable works. He helped the poor
and set up one of the first known hospitals for lepers in Europe. By
introducing the Rule of Benedict around 747 he established an important
foundation for burgeoning religious life in the convent. When Franconia
and Alemannia began vying for power, Otmar was caught between the
fronts. He died as a prisoner on the island of Werd in the River Rhine
on 16 November 759.