Symbols in Monastery Jerichow

The Monastery in Jerichow (Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany) was built around the 12th century in the vicinity of the Elbe river. The monastery is one of the oldest Romanesque brick style buildings in the area. Once there was a castle there too, but it was destroyed. The building inside has been stripped of almost all symbols, but in the cellar some old symbols survived. The predominant symbol is the tree of life.

I can’t truly say in which period the artifacts with the symbols were made, but the ones in the cellar surely look like they have been there since the very beginning. Some of them have been partly destroyed. Maybe because of the heathen background, maybe it was religious or political vandalism during the different wars around the 16th century. It’s nearly impossible to say. Nevertheless, these symbols find their origin in the heathen world of our ancestors.

All pictures by J. De Cooman. You can reuse the pictures freely. Drop me a small note when you publish them.

Snake bites its own tail on the door to the main chapel.

Man-eater or a man being born from the mouth. Top of a pillar.

The other side of the pillar shows another man eating something. I have the feeling that the original figure has been chiseled away.

Partly destroyed capital of the ceiling.

Tree of life on a pillar.

Tree of life on a pillar.

A very old tree of life on all sides surrounded by leaves.

Tree of life and the wheel with 6 spokes.