Plants and fruits bring the Bible alive in Austria

AUSTRIA — A mobile exhibition is making its way around schools, churches and other venues in the Vienna area following the success of an event staged by the Austrian Bible Society at its Bible Centre. The exhibition, which presents plants, trees and fruits found in the Bible, has proved so popular that it is fully booked for the whole of this year.

Photo: Visitors to the exhibition staged by the Austrian BS [photo: Austrian BS WR404/14 AUT06DJ-24]

The project on which the mobile exhibition is based saw the Bible Centre, in the heart of Vienna’s museum district, transformed into a green oasis in February. Visitors including school and church groups arrived there in large numbers to see, and in some cases taste, a lush array of plants, trees and fruits. A series of colourful panels and other displays gave information about both their botanical characteristics and their biblical significance.

Olives, palms, figs & pomegranates

Preparations for the exhibition began last September, when staff at the University of Vienna’s Botanical Gardens selected 23 plants that appear in the Bible, including olives, palms, figs and pomegranates. A small team of horticultural students began to write texts for the information panels and an accompanying booklet, while Bible Society staff researched appropriate biblical texts. It became apparent at an early stage that there was potential to run the exhibition for longer than the three weeks originally planned, so preparations were also made for display elements which could be moved from place to place.

‘Biblical buffet’

Plants from the Botanical Gardens formed a striking background as visitors made their way round the exhibition. Thanks to extensive coverage in both the Christian and the secular media, almost 2,000 people visited the exhibition during the three-week period. The afternoons were largely devoted to school groups, while the evenings saw the arrival of church groups, particularly from Roman Catholic churches. Guided tours were led jointly by theology and horticulture students, and the school groups were also offered the opportunity to book a ‘biblical buffet’ consisting of foods such as grapes and almonds. Many visitors purchased a copy of the colourful booklet, and this is still selling well at the Bible Centre several months later.

As well as presenting biblical texts in an accessible way to people of all ages from many different backgrounds, this exhibition has brought considerable benefits for the Bible Society itself. It has added 300 people, mainly Catholics, to its list of potential supporters, and has seen many groups return to Bible Centre subsequently. It has also gained good publicity from forging links with the Botanical Gardens, a respected institution. Long-term collaboration between the partners is now becoming established, with staff at the Botanical Gardens informing visitors about the Bible Centre’s services and Bible Society staff sending visiting groups to the Botanical Gardens.