An original way to steal books from a locked room in an ancient monastery (11 photos)

The mystery of a locked room in which a murder or kidnapping takes place is a fertile topic for authors writing in the crime or mystical genre. But sometimes the casket opens not only easier, but very unexpectedly.





And ghosts or aliens are out of business.



I'm afraid that my burning passion has overpowered my conscience. This may sound selfish, but I felt like the books had been abandoned. They were covered in dust and pigeon droppings, and I felt like no one was touching them anymore. Besides, there was a sense of adventure in it, and I was very afraid of being discovered.





Mont Sainte-Odile in winter

In 2003, 32-year-old Stanislas Gosse admitted to stealing more than 1,000 antique and rare books from a locked private library in a monastery located 760 meters high in the Vosges Mountains in France. To accomplish this “feat,” he climbed through exterior walls and hidden staircases into a long-abandoned medieval passage with secret access behind library cabinets.



Monastery

Then he sneaked into the library, chose the “victims” (or “lucky ones”, depending on how you look at it) and left the same way. The guy was not a selfish professional thief hungry for money. All the volumes were found safe and sound in his tiny apartment. It was a local teacher who came across a map of secret passages in the city archives and could not resist the excitement.



Saint Odile of Alsace

Picturesque and remote, Mont Sainte-Odile is surrounded by 10 km of walls - the ruins of fortifications. The monastery dates back to the 7th century and is dedicated to Saint Odile of Alsace, who was born blind but miraculously regained her sight after the intervention of angels.



Section of an ancient protective wall

The buildings were destroyed and rebuilt several times, most recently in the 1600s and again in 1853. Neither the monks nor the building staff knew about the existence of secret passages until books began to disappear.



Of course, the theft of books did not go unnoticed. But since the room was locked and access to outsiders was excluded, for two whole years the method and manner of the abduction remained a mystery. It was only after the outside windows were blocked and the locks were changed that the police decided that there must be another entrance to the room.



Finally, the secret was revealed. This happened when a section of the bookcase swung open, revealing a secret passage. Rope ladders led to the roof and then to other rooms, most often open to visitors. It is assumed that the secret passages were originally built so that the heads of the monastery could eavesdrop on the conversations of the monks in the common room.



Having installed hidden cameras to catch the thief in the act, police arrested Goss, who was busily carrying a rope and three suitcases full of books.



The teacher was fined, sentenced to a suspended prison sentence and assigned a fine and community service - assistance in cataloging books in the Sainte-Odile library. Presumably, the last part of the punishment pleased the man, inspired by ancient knowledge, more than saddened him.