Rot an der Rot Abbey

Imperial Abbey of Rot an der Rot
Reichsabtei Rot an der Rot
Imperial Abbey of the Holy Roman Empire
1497–1803
Coat of arms
View of the monastery
Capital		Rot an der Rot Abbey
Government		Theocracy
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Founded (by St Norbert?)	1126
•	Placed under Imperial     protection by Barbarossa	1179 1497
•	Exempted from     secular courts	1338
•	Granted Imp. immediacy     by Maximilian I	1497
•	Leopold of Austria     mortgaged high justice     to abbeya	1619
•	Looted repeated during     Thirty Years' Warb	1618–48
•	Mediatised to Wartenberg	1803
•	Mediatised to Württemberg	1806
Succeeded by County of Wartenberg
Today part of		Germany
a: The rights to deliver high justice for Tyrol were only effected during the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48). b: As well as being looted more than 200 times during the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), the abbey was also looted during the German Peasants' War (1525) and the Schmalkaldic War (1546).

Coat of arms

Rot an der Rot Abbey (also referred to as Roth, Münchroth, Münchenroth, Mönchroth or Mönchsroth) was a Premonstratensian monastery in Rot an der Rot in Upper Swabia, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was the first Premonstratensian monastery in the whole of Swabia. The imposing structure of the former monastery is situated on a hill between the valleys of the rivers Rot and Haslach. The monastery church, dedicated to St Verena, and the convent buildings are an important part of the Upper Swabian Baroque Route. Apart from the actual monastic buildings, a number of other structures have been preserved among which are the gates and the economy building.

Rot an der Rot was first mentioned as Rota in a donation by Adelbert von Wolfertschwenden around the year 1100. Together with the church and the inn, the village formed most likely the centre of a manor.

According to local tradition the monastery was founded under the name of Mönchroth in 1126 by Hemma von Wildenberg with active participation of Norbert of Xanten. Even though the foundation date is confirmed by an entry in the annals of Altenmarkt Abbey, also a Premonstratensian monastery, the personal involvement of Norbert of Xanten cannot be definitely ascertained. The first monks to settle at Rot an der Rot Abbey were French Premonstratensians. Presumably, from the time of its foundation the monastery was directly subordinate to the pope and not to a local or regional ecclesiastical chapter. Shortly after 1126, probably around 1140, a nunnery was added to Rot an der Rot Abbey, which was not unusual for the Premonstratensian order. By close proximity to a monastery the nuns were provided with protection and pastoral care. This nunnery continued to exist until the second half of the 14th century.