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the spring equinox
Ballon d'Alsace

At the spring equinox, if we observe it from the Ballon d’Alsace, the sun rises behind the Black Forest Belchen 70 km away

Anfang Mai / Beltene
Ballon d'Alsace
About 40 days after the spring equinox, beginning of the Celtic summer half-year, the sun rises in the east-northeast behind the summit of the Grand Ballon.
21.6 summer solstice
Ballon d'Alsace

At the summer solstice, the sun rises in the northeast above the Markstein, in the direction of the Petit Ballon

Anfang August / Lugnasad
Ballon d'Alsace
About 40 days after the summer solstice, the sun rises in the east-northeast, behind the summit of the Grand Ballon.
22.9. the autumn equinox
Ballon d'Alsace

At the autumnal equinox, if we observe it from the Ballon d’Alsace, the sun rises behind the summit of Schwarzwaldbelchen 70 km away.

Anfang November / Samhain
Ballon d'Alsace

About 40 days after the autumn equinox, beginning of the Celtic winter half-year. The three Celtic settlements Britzgyberg, Basel-Gasfabrik and Augusta Raurica are on the line of the sunrise.

21.12. Winter solstice
Ballon d'Alsace

The sun rises in the southeast behind the Tödi in the Glarus Alps, in between lies the Jura Belchen

Anfang Februar / Imbolc
Ballon d'Alsace
About 40 days after the winter solstice, middle of the Celtic winter half-year. The sun rises in east-southeast. The three Celtic settlements Britzgyberg, Basel-Gasfabrik and Augusta Raurica are on the line of the sunrise.

Where the camel settled

Monastery Niedermünster

Niedermünster - Where the camel settled

A small valley opens towards St. Nabor on the northeastern slope of the Odilienberg. Here Odilia first built a hostel for the sick pilgrims, because the way up the mountain was too difficult for them. A few years later, this hospice was turned into a monastery under the direction of St. Gundelinde, a niece of Odilia. The importance of the abbey declined in the 14th century. When the church and the abbey building burned down in 1542, they were not rebuilt. Today only the ruins of the monastery church have been preserved, but they still give a good idea of the once important complex.

Niedermünster owned a precious cross reliquary that came to the Jesuit church in Molsheim after the fire in 1542 and was kept there until the revolution. According to the founding legend of the monastery, Hugo von Tours had received the relic from Charlemagne, who in turn had received it from the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Hugo had the precious cruciform reliquary made for the relic, and to find a worthy place for it, he loaded it on a camel. When this stopped at the foot of the Odile mountain, he saw in it the sign of the founding of the monastery. The precious miraculous reliquary is now lost, only a large picture in the Jesuit church in Molsheim reminds us of this fantastic story.

The valley of Niedermünster lies away from all the hustle and bustle of the Hohenburg monastery. Apart from a lonely farm, it is uninhabited and exudes a very special magic. The ruins of the former abbey are unfortunately very dilapidated and a fence prevents access.