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Summer Pavilion on the Water at Betlejem
The abbot’s octagonal pavilion combines its waterside setting with an elaborate painted interior.
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The pavilion at Betlejem served the abbot as a place for prayer and contemplation. Innocent Fritsch commissioned it in the middle of 1732. Built above a spring rich in sulphates, it combined a peaceful setting with a purpose different from the formal rooms of the main abbey.
Its plan is octagonal. The shape refers to Old Testament tents and medieval baptisteries, buildings used for baptism. Through the latter connection, water also becomes part of the architecture’s religious symbolism.
Inside are 24 paintings in three horizontal rows of eight panels. The decoration follows the building’s geometry, creating an ordered arrangement around its centre. The number of paintings and their grouping belong to a carefully planned scheme rather than a casual collection of individual canvases.
The paintings’ authorship is not entirely certain. The decoration is attributed to Georg Neunhertz, but Johann Franz Hoffmann may also have contributed, or even painted most of the scenes. This distinction matters: the artists’ names connect the pavilion with workshops serving the abbey, but do not justify assigning the entire interior to one painter without qualification.
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This waterside pavilion has eight sides. Abbot Innocent Fritsch commissioned it in 1732 as a quiet place for prayer. Beneath it is a spring whose water contains sulphates, a type of mineral compound.
The pavilion’s shape refers to ancient tents described in the Bible and to baptisteries. A baptistery was a special building where people were baptised. Water and architecture therefore share a religious theme here.
Inside are 24 paintings, arranged in three rows of eight. This layout fits the eight-sided room. Scholars attribute the decoration to Georg Neunhertz, although Johann Franz Hoffmann may also have worked on it. We do not always know exactly which artist created every old artwork. The history of these paintings still leaves room for that uncertainty.
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