According to an old Latin mnemonic verse, the Zisterzienser preferred valleys, the Benedictines mountains, the Franciscans small towns and the Jesuits large towns for their monasteries: "Bernhardus valles, montes Benedictus amabat, / oppida Franciscus, magnas Ignatius urbes". The Benedictines of Königsmünster Abbey have certainly kept to this, for their monastery towers high above the Sauerland town of Meschede. From a bird's eye view, you can see that it is a real little monastery town: in the foreground, the high school and the monastery buildings, flanked by the House of Silence and the "Oasis," and further back, the workshops with a blacksmith's shop, carpenter's shop and farm. All this is embedded in a park-like garden. The Meschede monastery bakery supplies the monks of the abbey as well as their guests with meals and drinks - we have been purchasing the extremely juicy fruit bread from there for a long time, as well as crispy Printen or aromatic muesli bars. Father Werner's bakery also produces spicy shortbreads, fine English tea cakes and Linz cookies.