Niedermunster abbaye, st Nicolas chappelle, Hohembourg Abbaye

The Abbey of Sainte-Marie de Niedermunster, located at an altitude of 511 meters, at the foot of Mont Sainte-Odile, was founded by Saint Odile around 700 to accommodate pilgrims who could not access the Abbey of Mont Sainte-Odile. Until the end of the 12th century, the abbeys of Hohenbourg (Mont Sainte-Odile) and Niedermunster jointly owned the same property, then operated separately from the 13th century onward. In 1542, the abbey became part of the domain of the Grand Chapter of Strasbourg Cathedral. After 1500, Niedermunster was abandoned and served as a stone quarry for various constructions: the fortifications of Benfeld, the Premonstratensian church of Mont Sainte-Odile, the bell tower of the church of Erstein, the Taufflieb bank in Barr, and other buildings until the 19th century. Today, only the ruins of the abbey church and a farmhouse with a barn, built in 1758 with reused stone, remain. The ruins of Niedermunster Abbey were acquired by the Bishopric of Strasbourg in 1895. The work of archaeologists, particularly that of Félix Wolff (1852–1925), an architect and curator of the Historic Monuments of Alsace, from 1902 to 1904, consolidated the ruins and uncovered interesting remains. During the excavations, numerous medieval burials, including several of former abbesses buried in the nave of the abbey church, were unearthed. The abbey has been listed as a historic monument since 1846.