Published on 28 March 2023

The cloister

View from a window of the covered walkway to the opposite side of the covered walkway. The ground is covered by a lawn. There is a rose bush in the corner with white flowers. It’s daytime and the sky is blue. The inner courtyard is sunny.
Medieval painting with Mary and Child Jesus in a garden. Mary is sitting on the ground dressed in a blue robe and reading a red book. She has long, loose hair and wears a big crown. Child Jesus stands at her side. There is a stand behind Mary and two rose bushes with birds on its branches. The background is a golden colour in the top part of the picture.

The cloister

St. George’s Abbey Museum includes a cloister and a garden. In earlier times, the cloister was the centre of the monastery. Today the cloister is a simple lawn. There is a rose bush in each of the four corners and a fountain in the middle. It is unknown what the garden of the cloister looked like in the Middle Ages. The present fountain dates from 1928 and the four rose bushes were probably planted at the same time.

People in the Middle Ages revered the rose. The rose bushes are a reminder of this today. White roses were considered a symbol of the purity of the Blessed Mother. Red roses were the symbol of Our Lady's suffering.