Welcome @museum.de

Hello, and welcome to the Bible Gallery in our beautiful town of Meersburg. We‘re delighted you’ve decided to pay us a visit...

...and look forward to joining you on your journey through more than three thousand years of history.

The story of the Bible...

... the holy scripture of Jews and Christians, the "book of books".

The Bible Gallery is housed in a former Dominican convent called "Heiligkreuz", Holy Cross. You’re now standing in what used to be the nuns' common rooms, which were decorated with elaborate wall paintings.

The late Gothic frescoes depict Saint Catherine of Siena kneeling in prayer before a crucifix. Catherine lived in Italy in the 14th century and was also a member of the Dominican Order. She only learned to read as an adult, because she wanted to be able to study the Bible without an intermediary.

The wall painting on your right shows St. Christopher carrying the infant Jesus across a swollen river. The child, light as a feather at first, grows heavier and heavier as they move through the waters. But Christopher carries his burden safely to the opposite bank – proof of his strong faith.

All the Holy Cross Convent’s communal spaces are thought to have been decorated with such beautiful frescoes. When the building was renovated and the Bible Gallery was established here in the 1980s, these two were uncovered to serve as examples and extensively restored.

Why not join in the search for evidence! Discover the marks the Bible has left on our history, culture and everyday lives...

... and track down the Bible and the worlds in which it was, and is, lived experience – in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and the present day!
If you turn around now, you’ll see more evidence of bygone days – the circular well.