Hersfeld Abbey
| Imperial Abbey of Hersfeld | ||||||||||
| Reichsabtei Hersfeld | ||||||||||
| Imperial Abbey of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||||
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 Hersfeld Abbey: church ruins
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| Capital | Hersfeld Abbey | |||||||||
| Government | Theocracy | |||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | Founded by Saint Boniface | 736–42 | ||||||||
| • | Granted Imperial immediacy by Charlemagne |
775 | ||||||||
| • | City of Hersfeld placed itself under Hessian protection |
1371 |
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| • | Forced union with Fulda | 1513–15 | ||||||||
| • | Abbot Krato swore allegiance to Lutheran Hesse |
1525 |
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| • | Otto, Prince of Hesse, elected lay administrator |
1606 |
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| • | Secularised to Hesse-Kassel by Peace of Westphalia |
1648 | ||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Germany
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Coat of arms
Hersfeld Abbey was an important Benedictine imperial abbey in the town of Bad Hersfeld in Hesse (formerly in Hesse-Nassau), Germany, at the confluence of the rivers Geisa, Haune and Fulda.
Hersfeld was founded by Saint Sturm, a disciple of Saint Boniface, in 736–742. Because its location rendered it vulnerable to attacks from the Saxons, however, he transferred it to Fulda. Some years later, in or about 769 after the defeat of the Saxons by the Franks, Lullus, archbishop of Mainz, re-founded the monastery at Hersfeld.
Charlemagne (who had recently succeeded to the Frankish royal crown) and other benefactors provided endowments, and in 775 gave it the status of a Reichsabtei "imperial abbey" (i.e., territorially independent prince-abbacy within the Empire).
Pope Stephen III granted it exemption from episcopal jurisdiction. It soon possessed 1050 hides of land and a community of 150 monks.
Lullus was buried in the church at his death in 786. The abbey buildings were extended between 831 and 850, and in 852 Lullus' grave was moved to the new basilica. During this ceremony Lullus' canonisation was formally announced by Rabanus Maurus. (The "Lullusfest", or "Feast of Saint Lullus", has been celebrated in Hersfeld since then, on 16 October and is the longest-established local festival in the German-speaking world).
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Wikipedia