Princely abbeys and imperial abbeys of the Holy Roman Empire


Princely abbeys and Imperial abbeys were religious establishments within the Holy Roman Empire which enjoyed the status of imperial immediacy and therefore were answerable directly to the Emperor. The possession of imperial immediacy came with a unique form of territorial authority known as Landeshoheit, which carried with it nearly all the attributes of sovereignty.

Princely abbeys and imperial abbeys

The distinction between a princely abbey and an imperial abbey was related to the status of the abbot: while both prince-abbots and the more numerous imperial abbots sat on the ecclesiastical bench of the College of ruling princes of the Imperial Diet, prince-abbots cast an individual vote while imperial abbots cast only a curial vote alongside his or her fellow imperial abbots and abbesses. Eight princely abbeys and roughly 40 imperial abbeys survived up to the mass secularisation of 1802–03 when they were all secularized.
The head of an Imperial abbey was generally an Imperial abbot or Imperial abbess.. Collectively, Imperial abbots, provosts and priors were formally known as Reichsprälaten. A small number of the larger and most prestigious establishments had the rank of princely abbeys, and were headed by a prince-abbot or a prince-provost, with status comparable to that of Prince-Bishops. Most however were imperial prelates and as such participated in a single collective vote in the Imperial Diet as members of the Bench of Prelates, later divided into the Swabian College of Imperial Prelates and the Rhenish College of Imperial Prelates. Despite their difference of status within the Imperial Diet, both the Imperial Prelates and the Prince-Abbots exercised the same degree of authority over their principality.
Some abbeys, particularly in Switzerland, gained the status of princely abbeys during the Middle Ages or later but they either didn't have a territory over which they ruled or they lost that territory after a short while. This was the case with Kreuzlingen, Allerheiligen, Einsiedeln, Muri and Saint-Maurice abbeys. One major exception was the large and powerful Abbey of St. Gall which remained independent up to its dissolution during the Napoleonic period, despite the fact that, as a Swiss abbey, it had stopped taking part in the Imperial Diet and other institutions of the Holy Roman Empire once the independence of the Swiss Confederacy was recognized in 1648. Elsewhere, the Prince-Abbot of St. Blaise's Abbey in the Black Forest held that title, not on account of the status of the abbey, which was not immediate, but because it was conferred on him by the abbey's ownership of the immediate County of Bonndorf.

Lists of Imperial abbeys

List of Imperial abbeys with seat and voice at the Imperial Diet of 1792

The following list includes the Imperial abbeys which had seat and voice at the Imperial Diet of 1792. They, along with the two Teutonic Order commanderies whose commanders ranked as prelates, are listed according to their voting order on the two Benches of Prelates of the Diet. Not shown are the abbeys of Stablo, Kempten and Corvey, whose abbots had princely status and sat on the Ecclesiastical Bench of the College of Ruling Princes. For additional information on individual abbeys, see: List A: Imperial abbeys named in the Matrikel below this list.

Bench of Swabian Prelates

Bench of Rhineland Prelates

List A: Imperial abbeys named in the ''Matrikel''

The religious houses listed here as List A are those named in the Matrikel, or lists of those eligible to vote in the Imperial Diet, including those whose votes were collective rather than individual. Three of these lists survive and are accessible, from 1521, 1755 and 1792.
This list includes the Principalities, Imperial abbeys, Imperial colleges, Imperial provostries or priories and the single Imperial :wikt:charterhouse|charterhouse.
The word "Stift", meaning a collegiate foundation or canonry, possibly belonging to a variety of different orders or to none at all, and either with or without rules and vows, for either men or for women, has been left untranslated, except when it specifically refers to the chapter of a church.
Some of the imperial abbeys were dissolved during the Reformation; others were absorbed into other territories at various times in the general course of political life. Those in Alsace and Switzerland passed out of the Empire in 1648, when Alsace was ceded to France and Switzerland became independent. The great majority of these religious bodies however were secularized during the brief period that included the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and their aftermath, especially as a result of the German mediatization of February 1803. Any that survived lost their Imperial status when the Holy Roman Empire was wound up in 1806.

Abbreviations

CoAReligious houseLocationFoundedImm.Lost imm.To...Description and statusCollege
Baindt AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Cistercian nunnery; reichsunmittelbar but remained subordinate to Salem Abbey. RASC
Berchtesgaden ProvostryBavaria Sec.Augustinian Canons. Fürstpropstei. RF from 1380 or 1559RF
Buchau AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Frauenstift. RA. RFRC
Burtscheid AbbeyNorth Rhine-Westphalia Sec.Benedictine monastery; from 1220/21 Cistercian nunnery. RFRC
Buxheim CharterhouseBavaria/03 Sec.Canons; Carthusians from 1402. RPSC and RC
ComburgBaden-Württemberg s before 15th century Med.Benedictine monastery, later Herrenstift. Mediatised by Württemberg 1587; secularised 1803. RASC
Corvey AbbeyNorth Rhine-Westphalia Sec.Benedictine monastery. RA; RF no later than 1582RF
Disentis AbbeySwitzerlandearly 8th century Hel.Benedictine monastery; secularised 1798; re-established 1803. RASC
Echternach AbbeyLuxembourg Sec.Benedictine monastery. Mediatised by Austria sometime after 1521 RA
Einsiedeln AbbeySwitzerland Switz.Benedictine monastery. Ceased to be part of the HRE in 1648; secularised 1798; re-established 1803. RA
Elchingen AbbeyBavaria Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
Ellwangen AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Benedictine monastery; Fürstpropstei. Possibly founded as early as 732. RFRF
Essen AbbeyNorth Rhine-Westphalia betw. 874 and 947 Sec.Frauenstift. RARC
Frauenchiemsee Abbey Bavaria Sec.Benedictine nunnery. RASC
Fraumünster AbbeySwitzerland Sec.Benedictine nunnery. RASC
Fürstenfeld AbbeyBavaria Uncertain Sec.Cistercian monastery. RASC
Fulda AbbeyHesse Sec.Benedictine monastery. RFRF
Gandersheim AbbeyLower Saxony Sec.Frauenstift. The abbey asserted Imperial immediacy but owned no reichsunmittelbar estates, and was claimed until 1709 by Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. RARC
Gengenbach AbbeyBaden-Württemberg–35 9th century Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
Gernrode AbbeySaxony-Anhalt Med.Frauenstift. De facto sovereignty lost to Anhalt in 1570. RARC
Göss AbbeyAustria Sec.Benedictine nunnery. RASC
Gutenzell AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Cistercian nunnery. RASC
Heggbach AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Beguines; Cistercian nunnery from 1248. RASC
Helmarshausen AbbeyHesse Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
Herford AbbeyNorth Rhine-Westphalia Sec.Frauenstift. Lutheran from 1533. RARC
Herrenalb AbbeyBaden-Württemberg/48 Med.Cistercian monastery. RASC
Hersfeld AbbeyHesse–42 Sec.Benedictine monastery. De facto mediatised to Hesse-Kassel from 1606. RARC
Irsee AbbeyBavaria Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
Kaisheim Abbey Bavaria Sec.Cistercian monastery. Immediacy was not recognised by the Wittelsbachs, who were the Vögte; a legal agreement was reached with their successors in 1656, confirming Reichsfreiheit. RASC and RC
Kaufungen AbbeyHesse Med.Benedictine nunnery. Given to the Hessische Ritterschaft 1532; still extant as a private foundation. RA
Kempten AbbeyBavaria Sec.Benedictine monastery; Fürststift from 1524. RA / RFRF
Klingenmünster AbbeyRhineland-Palatinate? Sec.Possibly founded in 636, definitely before 780. Benedictine abbey until 1490; then Herrenstift. RA / RPRC
Königsbronn AbbeyBaden-Württemberg probably 15th century Med.Cistercian monastery, taken over and made Protestant by Württemberg. It remained Protestant despite failed attempts to revert to Catholicism in 1630–32 and 1635–48; it was finally secularised in 1710. RA
Kornelimünster AbbeyNorth Rhine-Westphalia by mid-9th centuryBenedictine monastery. RARC
Kreuzlingen AbbeySwitzerland Switz.Augustinian Canons. Dissolved by the cantonal government in 1848. RA
Lindau AbbeyBavariaFrauenstift, possibly later a Reichsfürstabtei; RA.SC
Lorsch AbbeyHesse Med.Benedictine monastery until 1248; thereafter Premonstratensian until dissolution in 1556. RASC
Malmedy AbbeyBelgium? Sec.Benedictine monastery, forming a single principality with Stavelot. RARF
Marchtal Abbey Baden-Württemberg before 776 Sec.Premonstratensian monastery. Refounded 1171. RASC
Marmoutier Abbey; also MaursmünsterAlsace 659Benedictine monastery. RASC
Maulbronn AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Cistercian monastery. Seized by Württemberg in 1504, secularised in 1534, alternated between Cistercianism and Protestantism until settled to the latter by Peace of Westphalia in 1648. RASC
Memleben AbbeySaxony-Anhalt uncertain, poss. late 10th century Med.Benedictine monastery. RARC
Michaelsberg Abbey North Rhine-Westphalia Med.Benedictine monastery. Secularised in 1803. RARC
Mönchrot Abbey, also Mönchroth, Münchenroth, Rot or Rot an der Rot AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Med.Premonstratensian monastery. RASC
Mondsee AbbeyAustriaBenedictine monastery. Imperial immediacy lost to the Bishopric of Regensburg 831–1142. RASC
Abbey of Münster im GregorientalAlsace Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
Murbach Abbey Alsace 792 Sec.Benedictine monastery. Effectively French since 1648, but anomalously remained legally part of the Empire; dissolved during the Revolution. RFRF
Muri AbbeySwitzerland Switz.Benedictine monastery. The abbey was never immediate, but the abbot was created Reichsfürst in 1701. RA
Neresheim AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Benedictine monastery. The abbey's status was the subject of litigation with the County of Oettingen until after 1760. RASC
NiedermünsterBavaria Sec.Frauenstift. Refounded 788, 948–55. RARC
Nordhausen chapterThuringia poss. mid-10th century Sec.Chapter of Nordhausen Cathedral. RA
ObermünsterBavaria early 9th centuryBenedictine nunnery, later Frauenstift. RA. RF from 1315RC
Oberschönenfeld AbbeyBavaria? Sec.Beguines until c 1211, then Cistercian nunnery, formalised from 1248. RA
Ochsenhausen AbbeyBaden-Württemberg SecBenedictine monastery. RASC
Odenheim Abbey Baden-Württemberg–03 SecBenedictine monastery; Herrenstift from 1496. RARC
Ottobeuren AbbeyBavaria, regranted 1710 Sec
Benedictine monastery. RASC
Petershausen AbbeyBaden-Württemberg early 13th century SecBenedictine monastery. RASC
Pfäfers AbbeySwitzerland Switz.Benedictine monastery. Ceased to be part of HRE in 1648. RA
Prüfening AbbeyBavaria Unknown Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
Prüm AbbeyRhineland-Palatinate Sec.Benedictine monastery. Annexed by France 1794. RFRF
Quedlinburg AbbeySaxony-AnhaltFrauenstift; Lutheran from 1540. RARC
Recklinghausen Abbey North Rhine-WestphaliaUnknownUnknownUnknownRA
Reichenau AbbeyBaden-WürttembergUnknown or 1548Benedictine monastery. RASC
Riddagshausen AbbeyBrunswick/46 Uncertain, early Med.Cistercian monastery. Mediatised on Reformation to Lutheran seminary; secularised 1809. RA
Roggenburg AbbeyBavaria–1485 Sec.Premonstratensian monastery. RASC
Rottenmünster AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Cistercian nunnery. Reopened 1898. RASC
Saalfeld AbbeyThuringia Unknown Sec.Benedictine monastery. RA
St Bartholomäus cathedral chapterHesse Unknown Sec.Chapter of the Kaiserdom in Frankfurt. RPRC
St. Blaise's in the Black ForestBaden-Württemberg Uncertain Sec.Benedictine monastery. The Prince-Abbot of St. Blaise's had princely status not because of the abbey itself but because the abbey had acquired the County of Bonndorf, which carried princely status with it from 1609
St. Emmeram's AbbeyBavaria Sec.Benedictine monastery. RARC
St. GallSwitzerland Sec. Benedictine monastery; later Fürstabtei. Swiss associate from 1451; secularised temporarily 1527–32. RA / RFSC
St George's at Isny in the AllgäuBaden-Württemberg Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
St. George's Abbey, Stein am RheinSwitzerland 9th century 15th century–26 Sec.Founded 9th century on the Hohentwiel; moved to Stein am Rhein c. 1007. RA
St. Giles' Abbey, Nuremberg BavariaUnknown Med."Schottenkloster"; Benedictine monastery from 1418. Absorbed by Nuremberg in 1525 as unable to document immediacy. RA
St. Ludger's AbbeyLower Saxony Unknown Sec.Benedictine monastery. RARC
St. Maximin's Abbey, TrierRhineland-Palatinate 4th century before early 12th century Med.Benedictine monastery. Mediatised to the Electorate of the Palatinate in the 16th century, but status not finalised until immediacy definitively surrendered to Trier in 1669. RARC
St. Peter's Abbey in the Black ForestBaden-Württemberg 1093 Sec.Benedictine monastery. RA
St. Ulrich's and St. Afra's AbbeyBavaria c. 10th century de jure
1643 de facto		 Sec.Benedictine monastery from 1006–12; probably refounded from a 5th- or 6th-century predecessor. The abbey was made immediate in 1577, but its status was challenged by the Bishop of Augsburg in litigation until 1643/44. RARC
Salem Abbey aka SalmansweilerBaden-Württemberg–52 Sec.Cistercian monastery. RASC
Schaffhausen AbbeySwitzerland Med.Benedictine monastery. RA
Schänis AbbeySwitzerland 9th century Med.Frauenstift. Frederick IV, King of Germany confirmed the abbatial rights in 1442, but the link with the Empire was broken; the abbess continued to bear the title of Princess of the Holy Roman Empire until secularisation to the canton of St. Gallen under the Act of Mediation in 1803. Suspended during the Protestant Reformation 1529–31. RASC
Schussenried AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Premonstratensian monastery. RASC
Schuttern AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Benedictine monastery. Not to be confused with Schottern Abbey in Austria, secularised in the 15th century. RASC
Selz AbbeyBaden, later Alsace Med.Benedictine monastery / nunnery. Secularised in 1803. RA
Söflingen Abbey Baden-Württemberg Sec.Poor Clares. RASC
Stablo or Stavelot Abbey Belgium? Sec.Benedictine monastery. Formed a single principality with Malmedy. RF.RF
Thorn AbbeyThe Netherlands Sec.Frauenstift. RA. RF from 1793.RC
Ursberg AbbeyBavaria–28 Sec.Premonstratensian monastery. Not to be confused with Urspring Abbey. RASC
Waldsassen AbbeyBavaria–32 Med.Cistercian monastery. Secularised to the Electorate of Bavaria in 1803; reopened as Cistercian nunnery 1863. RASC
Walkenried AbbeyLower Saxony Med.Cistercian monastery. RARC
Weingarten AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
Weissenau AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Premonstratensian monastery. RASC
Weissenburg AbbeyAlsace 7th centuryUnknown Med.Reichspropstei. Raised to Imperial city 1306, joined Décapole 1354, annexed by France 1697. RP / RF.RF
Werden AbbeyNorth Rhine-Westphalia Benedictine monastery. RARC
Wettenhausen AbbeyBavariaUnknown Sec.Augustinian Canons. Founded on the site of an earlier foundation, dated 982. RASC
Zwiefalten AbbeyBaden-Württemberg Sec.Benedictine monastery. RASC
CoAReligious houseLocationFoundedImm.Lost imm.To...Description and statusCollege

List B: ''Reichsmatrikel'' 1521

The Matrikel of 1521 included a number of religious houses which have not been identified:
Religious houseLocationDatesDescription and Imperial status
Beckenried AbbeySwitzerlandceased to be part of the HRE in 1648RA
Blankenburg Abbeynknknk
Brunnen AbbeyLandstrass, Carinthia nknk
Hynoltshusen Abbeynknkmonastery
Kitzingen Abbeynknkmonastery
RockenhausennknkRA
St. Johann nknknk

Inclusion in the 1521 Reichsmatrikel is not by itself conclusive evidence that a particular religious house was in fact an Imperial abbey, and the status of the following abbey listed in the Matrikel is questionable in the absence of further confirmation from other sources:
Religious houseLocationDatesDescription and Imperial status
St. John's Abbey in the Thurtal Switzerland fdd. before 1152; RU nk ; subordinated to St. Gall's Abbey 1555; ceased to be part of the HRE 1648 Benedictine monastery. Imperial status unknown

List C: Imperial abbeys not named in the ''Matrikel''

For a variety of reasons a quantity of religious houses that possessed, or claimed, the status of Imperial immediacy either did not attend the Imperial Diet, or were not listed in the surviving Matrikel. The following list is very far from complete, and possibly some of those listed may not in fact have been immediate.
Religious houseLocationDatesDescription and Imperial status--
Amorbach AbbeyBavaria--
Edelstetten AbbeyBavariafdd. 1126; more a charitable institution for daughters of the lower Swabian nobility than a monastery. Except for the abbesses, the women were free to leave after some time and get married. Imperial abbey status in 1783 only. Secularized in 1803 and given as a principality to Charles-Joseph, prince de Ligne. One year later, he sold his principality to Nikolaus II, Prince Esterházy.Augustinian monastery. RA
Engelberg AbbeySwitzerlandFounded in 1120 by Count Blessed Conrad of Seldenburen. Engelberg Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Engelberg, Canton of Obwalden, Switzerland. Initially, the abbey was placed under the immediate jurisdiction of the Holy See, which condition continued until the formation of the Swiss Congregation in 1602 when Engelberg united with the other monasteries of Switzerland and became subject to a president and general chapter. In 1873 a colony from Engelberg founded Conception Abbey, at Conception, Missouri in the United States; in 1882, Mount Angel Abbey was founded near what is now Mount Angel, Oregon, also in the United States. William Wordsworth wrote a poem about the abbey entitled "Engelberg, The Hill of Angels"Benedictine monastery. RA-
Munsterbilzen AbbeyBelgium--
Nienburg AbbeySaxony-Anhaltfdd 975; RA temp. Otto II; mediatised 1166 by the Archbishop of Magdeburg; secularised 1563 by the Prince of Anhalt-DessauBenedictine monastery. RARC-
Nivelles AbbeyBelgium--
Schöntal AbbeyBaden-Württembergfdd. 1157; RA from 1418 to 1495; secularised 1803Cistercian; RA--
Tegernsee AbbeyBavariafdd 760s; granted RA status by Otto II around 978 but unable to exercise effective Imperial immediacy; remained subordinate to Bavaria until secularization in 1803.Benedictine; RA--
Wiblingen AbbeyBaden-Württemberg, Ulmfdd. 1037; subordinate to Habsburg high jurisdiction from about 1500; gained more autonomy in 1701 but was unable to gain immediacy and remained part of Further Austria until secularization in 1806.Benedictine;--