Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey

On the eastern slope of the Mont Sainte-Odile the first abbess built a hospice called Niedermünster or Nieder-Hohenburg, which afterwards became a house for ladies of nobility until it was destroyed by lightning in 1572.

Devastated by fire several times, the abbey church was rebuilt in 1050 and consecrated by Pope Leo IX.

Herrade was the author of Hortus deliciarum, a collection of short treatises on theology, astronomy, philosophy, and other branches of learning, also containing some original Latin poems with musical accompaniment, and some beautiful drawings.

The route was not easy, however, involving climbing up exterior walls, a steep staircase and a secret chamber.

The disappearance of so many books over such a length of time confused the librarian, the monks and the police, with Gosse finally being caught by closed-circuit television cameras.