enabled the monastery to grow rapidly. The construction of the cloister was started in 1614. In 1619, three more monks arrived from the Carthusian monasteries in Mainz and Trier. In 1620, the first monk of Molsheim made his vows. In the same year, Prior Jean Leuken from Trier was murdered in front of his cell on February 14, 1619, and found by the monks with his skull split by an axe. The murderer then fled the town by climbing the ramparts, but lost some objects. Six days later, the soldiers sent to look for him found a certain Thomas Roettel, a "close relative" (probably a nephew) of the deceased, in Harthouse, near Haguenau. The latter had come two years earlier to study at the Jesuit college, and regularly attended the charterhouse under the pretext of visiting his uncle, but in reality to steal from the community's funds. He had been caught by the prior during his last theft and had hit him before fleeing. The trial was conducted by the municipality, more precisely by the court of mischief "Malefizgericht", which condemned Thomas to death with many tortures beforehand. The Carthusian monastery was canonically recognised in statu perfecto in 1662. Life of the Carthusian monastery Community growth Between 1623 and 1626, several additional monks joined the community, which also grew by five novices, including the first inhabitant of Molsheim, Jean-Jacques Fourmann. The Thirty Years' War showed the relevance of the establishment in a Catholic town. The Carthusian monks were not worried by the devastation caused by the fighting and looting. As a security measure, the archives and various precious goods were nevertheless sheltered in Benfeld and then in the Vosges until 1641. On May 9, 1623, the cornerstone of the chapter house was laid by master masons Lucas Vieph and Christophe Wambser; two years later, on October 26, 1625, the building was completed and consecrated. Louis Pergener was prior from 1651 to 1660 and greatly expanded the monastery, acquiring the "Berggasse" and several adjoining plots of land to integrate them into the premises. His successor, Martin Malburg, led the monastery until 1665; he was the first prior to be elected canonically by the monks and not appointed by the province. The charterhouse of Molsheim remained a relatively small community, which was dictated by the small size of the monastery, squeezed into a constrained urban space. The number of 25 monks seems