A baptismal font tells stories

"Saxa loquuntur": stones that speak

Stones not only reveal their origin, they also reveal secrets. And these are hidden not only in inscriptions, but also in images and reliefs, as on this Romanesque baptismal font.

In addition to the church tower, the octagonal Romanesque font from the 12th century is one of the few relics from the founding period of the monastery. In the baptistry, on the left side of the choir, we find the basin, made of reddish limestone – Hierlatz limestone – with white marbling. This is petrified sea anemones. Incidentally, the “Hierlatz” is the mountain ridge directly south of Hallstatt.

There are more secrets hidden in the depictions on the outer surfaces: in addition to the human portrait, there are four animals, important symbols in Christianity. The dove stands for spirituality, the Spirit of God. The goat for sin. The fish is a reminder of the origin of Christianity. And the fleeing serpent on one of the oblique, downward-facing surfaces is the symbol of evil, of original sin, from which man is cleansed by the sacrament of baptism.

The dove stands for reconciliation with God and is, from the 6th century AD, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Just as the dove always finds its way back to its nest, to its dovecote, so the Spirit of God will always bring each believer back to their origin. The Gospel of Matthew 3:16 states: "No sooner had Jesus been baptised and came out of the water than the heavens opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending upon him like a dove."

The billy goat (Latin: hircus, haedus) is generally considered to be an animal that is endowed with a particularly strong sex drive. According to ancient beliefs, the goat is the mount of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. He also plays an important role in the mysteries of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, ecstasy and fertility.

Pan, the Greek god of forests and meadows, with the lower body of a ram or goat, is especially revered by shepherds, but also feared. Because his gaze alone can drive anyone to madness.

In ancient times, the goat symbolises – without any moral evaluation – the procreative power and sexual instinct in nature. Later, through the anti-lust views of Christianity, the goat becomes the symbol of the devil and Luxuria, the personification of lust – one of the seven deadly sins. Christians depict the devil with the lower body of a goat, and under their influence, the original positive meaning of the goat is transformed into its opposite.

The fish, depicted on the baptismal font above the serpent, is one of the oldest symbols of Christianity. The religion is initially forbidden under the polytheism of the Romans. It is dangerous to subscribe to the monotheistic belief of Christianity, because it rejects the deification of the emperor. The refusal of Christians to make sacrifices to the emperor leads, among other things, to the persecution of Christians. Since many therefore do not practise their faith publicly, a secret code, a symbol in the form of a fish, is created in order for them to recognise one another. In ancient Greek, the word "fish" has five letters (IXΘYΣ: I-Ch-Th-Y-S) and each stands for a word associated with Jesus. IΗΣΟΎΣ-Jesus-ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ-Christos-ΘΕΟΎ-Theo-ΥΙΌΣ-Yos- ΣΩΤΉΡ-Soter ("Jesus Christ God's Son Redeemer").

After Emperor Constantine declares Christianity to be a "religio licita" or “permissible religion” with the so-called Milan Agreement of 313, the importance of the fish is forgotten over time. In its place, the cross becomes the religious symbol of Christianity.