St. Gallen has ancient roots dating back to Saint Gallus. Gallus was an Irish missionary and hermit who established himself by the river Steinach in 612. A monastery on the site was founded in c720 by Saint Othmar. It prospered in the 9th century and became a site of pilgrimage and a centre of trade, along with one of the first monastery schools north of the Alps. By the 10th century, a settlement had grown up around the abbey.  In 926, Magyar raiders attacked the abbey and surrounded the town. Saint Wiborada reportedly saw a vision of the impending attack and warned the monks and citizens to flee. They heeded her call, but she herself remained behind and was killed by the Magyar's. She later became the first woman formally canonized by the Vatican.  The oldest football club in Switzerland and second oldest in continental Europe, FC St. Gallen, play here. They play in the Swiss Super League. They were founded in 1879. They have had relatively little success and usually finish ...