Mont Sainte-Odile et sa source guérisseuse

Ottrott

Perched on a spur of pink Vosges sandstone at 764 m, Mont Sainte-Odile overlooks the plain of Alsace and has housed since the 7th century the monastery of Hohenbourg, founded according to tradition around 690 by Duke Etichon-Adalric for his daughter Odile, its first abbess; the convent's existence is attested in written sources from 738. The place enjoyed an intellectual golden age in the 12th century under the abbess Herrad of Landsberg, author of the celebrated Hortus deliciarum. Destroyed by fire in 1546, rebuilt in 1661 and confiscated at the Revolution, the sanctuary was bought back by the bishop of Strasbourg in 1853 and became once more the great Alsatian pilgrimage it has remained. Legend tells that Odile was born blind and rejected by her father, before regaining her sight at her baptism — which is why she is invoked for diseases of the eyes. A second tale explains the spring that flows below: Odile, wishing to quench the thirst of an exhausted traveller, is said to have struck the rock with her staff to make water gush forth, water which then cured the blindness of the traveller's child. Pilgrims still come today to bathe their eyelids and carry water away, before a small spring-house with basins built in 1722. The site also bears a long dry-stone enclosure known as the "mur païen" (pagan wall), whose date and purpose are still debated by archaeologists and play no part in the story of Odile.

Mont Sainte-Odile — Wikipédia ↗

Getting there : Road from Ottrott or Barr up to the convent's large car park (free access to the sanctuary, terrace and chapels). The Sainte-Odile spring can only be reached on foot: a waymarked path descends from the convent, 15 to 20 minutes each way, with a fairly steep climb back. Walking shoes recommended. Numerous ridge paths start from the site.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound