As mentioned above the Plan represents a
Benedictine monastery and it is possible to see the
Benedictine Rule being applied in the architectural design. One of the main aspects of the Rule was the
ascetic life of the monks who had to dedicate themselves to prayer, meditation and study, and not worry about worldly matters. For this purpose, the Benedictine Rule required a monastery which was self-sufficient, and which provided for the monks all the necessary facilities, food, and water. The Plan thus depicts 40 ground plans which include not only the properly monastic buildings (
basilica,
cloister, abbot's house and
cemetery) but also secular buildings for the use of
lay workers and visitors. Lynda Coon has identified five distinct "spatial-units": •
Sacred: basilica, round towers, hostel for visiting monks, abbot's house, cemetery and cloister complex. •
Lay: elite guest houses, servant quarters, hospice for pilgrims and the poor. • Educational:
novitiate and outer school for the
elite. • Medicinal: infirmary, physician's house,
bloodletting house, herb garden. • Agricultural and artisanal: workshops, animal pens, houses for agrarian workers and gardens. She has also identified a status differentiation in the structures which follow the
cardinal points. Accordingly, she argues that the northwest is reserved for the secular elite while the southwest is for the secular lower classes. Regarding the sacred spaces, the northeast and southeast is reserved for the monastic elite, and the far east and far south for what she calls "the liminal", that is to say in between lay and monastic. Alfons Zettler has recently identified another criterion that the authors of the Plan may have followed for the layout of the structures, which does not follow the cardinal points but is determined by a
clockwise direction starting and ending at the abbot's house. He argues that the basis of the organisation would have been a division of public/private and lay/monastic which is represented in the Plan by an increasing lay presence in each sector of the monastery when moving around the cloister clockwise from the infirmary.
The monk's cloister The monastic
cloister occupies the centre of the Plan. It is placed in the southeast aligning itself both with the sacred east and with the poor – the accommodation for
pilgrims and the poor is placed in the east just beneath the cloister – far from the worldly commodities and pleasures of the secular elite. The structure of the cloister is highly symbolic. Firstly, it is a closed space looking inwards to its own centre where a
savin tree is placed – – illustrating the ideal of a monk's experience removed from the world. Secondly, it is foursquare and four paths lead from its covered galleries to the centre – – symbolising
Jerusalem and its four rivers. The cloister is surrounded by two-storied buildings consisting of the
warming room and dormitory to the east – and – the
refectory, vestiary and kitchen to the south – , and – and the
cellar and
larder to the west – and . The monks, as well as the
abbot, had a private entrance to the basilica either through their dormitory or through the
portico of the cloister.
The abbot's house The
abbot's intermediary position between the clerical and lay worlds is seen in the position of his accommodation on the Plan. The abbot's quarters are located at the other side of the abbey church from the monk's cloister, to the north-east, aligning itself with the secular elite guest houses where the royalty, the emperor and the emperor's court would lodge. The abbot's house also looks over the infirmary and
novitiate to the east, the outer school and the house for elite guests to the west. The abbot's house faces outwards, its
porticoes opening to the outside world, in opposition with the monk's cloister porticoes which open to an enclosed green space. However, in order to comply with an ascetic way of life and to the Benedictine Rule, the abbot shares his bedroom and
privy with seven other monks, and his servant quarters are set apart. Finally, the abbot's residence has a privileged entry to the east-end of the basilica through a private passageway – – signalling his spiritual status as head of the monastery.
The basilica The monastery church or
basilica is
cruciform in shape and
doubled-apsed to the east and to the west. It measures c.91.44 meters from apse to apse, the
nave is c.12 meters in width and each
aisle is c.6 meters in width. In the west entrance there are two
towers dedicated to
St. Michael (northern tower) and
St. Gabriel (southern tower). The inscriptions on the towers –
ad universa super inspicienda – give them a surveillance function while no indication of bells is given. The entrance to the church is also the only entrance to the whole monastic complex and it is marked by a square
porch inscribed: (Here all the arriving crowd will find their entry). From here the visitors are directed to a semi-circular
atrium where they are separated to different parts of the monastery depending on their status – the elite is directed to the north gate and the pilgrims and lower-classes to the south gate – or to the church. The interior of the church is divided by
columns and railings which not only direct the lay visitors to their authorised spaces but also block their view of the sacred east where the
altar of
Saint Mary and
Saint Gall is placed. According to Horn and Born only one-sixth of the church is accessible to seculars while five-sixths of it is reserved for the sole use of the monks. Lay guests are only admitted in the side aisles of the church, the area around the
baptismal font – – and the
crypt – ; the only place in the church where monks and seculars mix to worship at the
tomb of Saint Gall. The
transept, the
presbytery, the
nave and the two
apses (dedicated to
Saint Peter to the west and
Saint Paul to the east) being solely for the ascetics' use. The northern and southern aisles of the basilica are furnished with four
altars each. The northern aisle houses the altars (from west to east) of
Saints Lucia and
Cecilia, of the
Holy Innocents, of
Saint Martin, and of
Saint Stephen. The altars on the southern aisle are dedicated (from west to east) to
Saints Agatha and
Agnes, to
Saint Sebastian, to
Saint Mauritius, and to
Saint Lawrence. The
nave opens to the
aisles through nine
arcades in each side, three of them "railed off" to prevent the entry of laymen. The main surface of the nave houses the
baptismal font, the
altar of
Saint John the Baptist and
Saint John the Evangelist, the altar of the
Holy Saviour at the Cross and the
ambo. The
transept is separated from the nave by further screens and railings, in its southern arm is the altar of
Saint Andrew and in its northern arm the altar of
Saints Philipp and James. From the transcript the monks and lay brothers access the
crypt. Finally, at the easternmost of the church is the
presbytery with the
high altar dedicated to
Saint Mary and
Saint Gall. ==Derivative works==