This colourfully painted hall is dedicated to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the founder of the Cistercian Order – many of the frescoes portray scenes of his life. St. Bernard’s Hall is located in the Princes’ Wing, the northern part of the abbey, which does not actually belong to it.
The abbey in its current form was built as a measure of counter-reformation. An old Cistercian rule says that the order’s abbeys are not allowed any steeples as a token of the monks’ humility. For this reason, about half of the abbey was made into a wing for all the powerful visitors which could therefore be fitted with two enourmous steeples.
These two are now the emblem of the abbey.
St. Bernard’s Hall is still in regular use for concerts – be it classical music, folk or jazz –, lectures, and ceremonies. Naturally, it is part of our guided tours.