Abbess of Gandersheim
| Imperial free secular foundation of Gandersheim | ||||||||||
| Kaiserlich freie weltliche Reichsstift Gandersheim | ||||||||||
| Imperial Abbey of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||||
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 Gandersheim Abbey church
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| Capital | Gandersheim Abbey | |||||||||
| Languages | Eastphalian | |||||||||
| Government | Principality | |||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | Founded by Liudolf, Duke of Saxony |
852 |
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| • | Placed under Imperial protection by Louis the Younger |
877 |
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| • | Granted Reichsfreiheit by Henry the Fowler |
919 |
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| • | Sovereignty confirmed by Pope Innocent III, raised to princely status |
22 June 1206 |
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Wolfenbüttel occupied by Schmalkaldic League |
1542 |
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| • | Surrendered reichsfreiheit to Wolfenbüttel |
1802 | ||||||||
| • | Occupied by France under Kingdom of Westphalia |
1807–13 |
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| Today part of |
 Germany
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Coat of arms
Gandersheim Abbey (German: Stift Gandersheim) is a former house of secular canonesses (Frauenstift) in the present town of Bad Gandersheim in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was founded in 852 by Duke Liudolf of Saxony, progenitor of the Liudolfing or Ottonian dynasty, whose rich endowments ensured its stability and prosperity.
The "Imperial free secular foundation of Gandersheim" (Kaiserlich freie weltliche Reichsstift Gandersheim), as it was officially known from the 13th century to its dissolution in 1810, was a community of the unmarried daughters of the high nobility, leading a godly life but not under monastic vows, which is the meaning of the word "secular" in the title.
In the collegiate church the original Romanesque church building is still visible, with Gothic extensions. It is a cruciform basilica with two towers on the westwork, consisting of a flat-roofed nave and two vaulted side-aisles. The transept has a square crossing with more or less square arms, with a square choir to the east. Beneath the crossing choir is a hall-crypt. The westwork consist of two towers and a connecting two-storey block; it originally had in addition a projecting entrance hall, also on two storeys, the "paradise". The present church building, which has been subject to restoration in the 19th and 20th centuries, was begun in about 1100 and dedicated in 1168. Remains of the previous building are incorporated into the present structure.
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Wikipedia