Famous St. Gallen globe with new Internet features
Published: Tuesday, Aug 13th 2024, 10:40
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The famous St. Gallen globe with its sea monsters and legendary islands from the 16th century can now be viewed even better on the Internet: The free online version has been enhanced with animated content and numerous explanations.
For example, the history and functions of the globe are now explained in an entertaining way on the online globe and voyages of discovery undertaken at the time are explained. And thanks to a greatly increased resolution, the earth and sky as they were imagined in the 16th century from a Western European perspective can be explored down to the smallest detail.
Thanks to the relaunch of the online globe, research projects in which the public can help will also be possible next year, as the Zurich Central Library, the St. Gallen Abbey Library, the Swiss National Museum and the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) jointly announced on Tuesday.
The platform will be used to research the names of places and bodies of water on the maps. "This will contribute to the understanding of the beginnings of globalization and colonial history and make an important contribution to the discussion on the research of the European perception of overseas territories at that time," the press release states.
Dispute over the globe
The St. Gallen Globe is one of the most important cultural-historical objects in Switzerland. The cosmographer and librarian Tilemann Stella designed the globe. The 2.3-metre-high instrument, which combines heaven and earth on the same spherical surface, was completed around 1576.
The globe came into the possession of St. Gallen Prince-Abbot Bernhard Müller in 1595. In 1712, it was looted by Zurich troops during the Toggenburg War. Following a cultural property dispute in the 1990s, an agreement was finally reached: The canton of St. Gallen received a faithful replica in 2009, which is now in the St. Gallen Abbey Library. The original remained in Zurich and is on display at the National Museum Zurich.
When the replica was handed over, the Swiss National Museum, the Abbey Library and the Central Library agreed to continue researching the globe together. This gave rise to the online globe project, which was developed in collaboration with the Knowledge Visualization research group at ZHdK.
https://3dglobus.ch
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