The base model of the famous St. Gallen Globe has been online since late November 2022. On the website St. Gallen Globe 1576, interested visitors can explore the 16th-century terrestrial and celestial globes digitally. The St. Gallen Globe is one of Switzerland’s most significant cultural-historical artifacts. It combines the heavens and the Earth on the same spherical surface. Research in recent years has shown that the globe was designed by Tilemann Stella and completed around 1576. The original is owned by the Zurich Central Library and can be viewed in person today at the Swiss National Museum in Zurich. A faithful replica is housed in the St. Gallen Abbey Library. The newly developed online globe allows everyone to view, discover, and explore every detail of the 2.3-meter-tall instrument, regardless of location or time.

On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., a public workshop discussion on the virtual St. Gallen Globe will take place at the Zurich Central Library. The online application is being developed as part of a multi-year collaboration with the Knowledge Visualization research group at Zurich University of the Arts. This workshop discussion will explain the challenges that need to be overcome and the conceptual, design, and technical solutions being explored. A look ahead will highlight which future implementations are planned to build upon this base model.

Further information about the event can be found on the ZB website.