Otmar Kunz (born c. 1530 in

Wil Wil () is the capital of the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Wil is the third largest city in the Canton of St. Gallen, after the city of St. Gallen and Rapperswil-Jona, a twin city that merged in ...

; died 27 January 1577 in Wil) was

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of the Abbey of Saint Gall from 1564 until 1577.

Life

Otmar, the son of a baker, took his vows on 18 May 1547 and was elected abbot of Saint Gall on 20 December 1564.Werner Vogler: ''St. Gallen – Äbte: Otmar Kunz, 1564–1577.'' In: ''Helvetia Sacra.'' Abt. III: ''Die Orden mit Benediktinerregel.'' 2/1: ''Frühe Klöster, die Benediktiner und Benediktinerinnen in der Schweiz.'' Francke Verlag, Bern 1986, S. 1328 f. The papal confirmation of the election occurred upon request of

Melchior Lussy Melchior Lussy or Melchior Lussi (1529–1606) was a Swiss Catholic statesman who represented the Catholic Cantons of Switzerland, cantons of Switzerland in the Council of Trent. He was consecrated by Auxiliary bishop Jakob Eliner of Konstanz, assisted by the abbots of

Einsiedeln Einsiedeln () is a municipality and district in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland known for its monastery, the Benedictine Einsiedeln Abbey, established in the 10th century. History Early history There was no permanent settlement in the area p ...

and Ottobeuren.

Works

During Otmar's abbacy, the Abbey of Saint Gall renewed their alliance with France. His tenure was mostly characterised by a more severe separation of the catholic abbey and the protestant city. In the Rorschach treaty of the 13 September 1566 and the ruling of Wil on 20 September 1566 it was determined that a 31ft high wall be built between abbey and city. Cunstruction was largely completed by October 1567. The southern gate, the so-called ''Karlstor'', was completed in 1570 and enabled access to the abbey without ever entering city territory. Abbot Otmar appears repeatedly as a builder. In 1568, he had the abbey of St. Johann rebuilt after it had been destroyed by arson. Furthermore, he was also keen on the construction of infirmaries in Bruggen and

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

. A further focus of his abbacy was placed on the

counter-reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. Following the Konstanz ''synodus diocesana'' of 1567, Otmar established the ''Reformatio Sancti Galli''. In his decrees he admonished his subjects to go to confession and communion. While his reforms in the

Fürstenland Fürstenland or Alte Landschaft is the name of a historical territory of the Swiss canton of St. Gallen, corresponding to the modern districts of St. Gallen (without the city proper), Wil and Rorschach. It was a subject territory of the Abbey of S ...

were largely successful, his attempts at recatholicising the Toggenburg were less so. He had a number of his conventuals be educated in Paris by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. Otmar enriched the abbey library with several hundred books he bought in Paris, as well as newly produced liturgical manuscripts.

References

External links

Otmar Kunz
on the Website of the Stiftsarchiv St. Gallen.
Otmar Kunz
in the City Lexicon of Wil; Johannes Duft: ''Die Abtei St. Gallen''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunz, Otmar 1530 births 1577 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Wil Abbots of Saint Gall