Bible garden

Bible garden in the Lower German Bible Center St. Jürgen in Barth

A Bible Garden or Biblical Garden is a themed garden that shows the plants mentioned in the Bible or found in the biblical world .

This is often supplemented by other elements from stories of the Bible or of biblical living environment . The aim of such a garden is usually not a purely botanical one, but to illustrate biblical content for visitors.

Origin and function of Bible gardens

The Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was created by a synagogue community

Most Bible gardens were created on the initiative of church congregations , more rarely synagogue congregations, groups from these congregations or individuals. However, there are also collections of biblical plants in botanical gardens , for example in Hamburg and Jerusalem . While the botanical gardens naturally initially focus on botanical interest, the Christian and Jewish Bible gardens primarily serve to convey and illustrate biblical content.

Bible gardens can be part of a larger garden or park, be private or public, or open to a closed group or community. They are used for recreation, prayer and education, and occasionally for training courses or for tourism marketing. Although there are two very different themes and groups of plants, the demarcation to the monastery garden is not always very clear. In some Bible gardens, symbolic plants whose names are related to people or stories from the Bible or Christian history are presented.

Bible gardens in Germany and worldwide

In Germany there are currently 160 Bible Gardens, several more in Austria and Switzerland as well as in many other European countries.

In Israel, the Bible path in the Botanical Garden in Jerusalem (Hebrew University, Givat Ram ) and the biblical plant park Neot Kedumim (east of Tel Aviv ) should be mentioned, which due to their location for the representation of the biblical flora , whose interpretation is not always unproblematic, to offer.

Bible gardens have a long tradition in the USA in particular.

Well-known Bible gardens and institutions with Bible gardens

literature

Frank Nigel Hepper: The Bible garden. Planting the Bible in your own garden . Schulte & Gerth, 1998.
Katrin Stückrath: Bible Gardens. Origin, shape, meaning, function and interdisciplinary perspectives . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-525-62419-7 .
Michael Zohary : Plants of the Bible . Calwer Verlag, Stuttgart 1986.
Wolfgang Zwickel : Fascination Bible Garden . Kiefel, 2000.

Web links

Commons : Bible Garden - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Network of Bible Gardeners

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↑ Recreation and reflection in 160 Bible Gardens , Idea , article from July 11, 2019.
↑ list with brief descriptions in the "Garden Group Flower Power" out directory
↑ Bible Gardens in Europe , bibelgarten.com
↑ Address: Yehuda Burla Str. 1. The Bible path is in the rear (northern) half of the botanical garden. 40 biblical plants are explained in detail on boards in English.
↑ Carl Heinz Brieskorn: Plants and plant products of the Bible from today's perspective. In: Würzburger medical historical reports 3, 1985, pp. 355–373.

[1] Recreation and reflection in 160 Bible Gardens , Idea , article from July 11, 2019.

[2] st with brief descriptions in the "Garden Group Flower Power" out directory

[3] Bible Gardens in Europe , bibelgarten.com

[4] Address: Yehuda Burla Str. 1. The Bible path is in the rear (northern) half of the botanical garden. 40 biblical plants are explained in detail on boards in English.

[5] Carl Heinz Brieskorn: Plants and plant products of the Bible from today's perspective. In: Würzburger medical historical reports 3, 1985, pp. 355–373.