Schänis Abbey
| Imperial Abbey of Schänis | ||||||||||
| Reichskloster Schänis | ||||||||||
| Imperial Abbey of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||||
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| Capital | Schänis Abbey | |||||||||
| Government | Theocracy | |||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | Founded | 9th century | ||||||||
| • | Granted Imp. immediacy by Emperor Henry III |
1045 | ||||||||
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Vogtei transferred from Windegg to cantons of Glarus and Schwyz |
1438 |
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| • | Abbey's rights confirmed by King Frederick IV |
1442 |
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| • | Abbey suspended during Protestant Reformation |
1529–31 |
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Secularised by Napoleon's Act of Mediation |
19 February 1803 |
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| • | Dissolved by Great Council of St Gallen |
1811 |
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| Today part of |
 Switzerland
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Coat of arms
Schänis Abbey (German: Kloster Schänis) was founded in the 9th century. It was situated in the present town of Schänis in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland. It was a house of secular canonesses of the nobility (German: adliges Damenstift) and was dissolved in 1811.
According to the report of a monk from Reichenau Abbey the founder was believed to be Count Hunfried of Chur-Rhaetia, who was said to have promised Charlemagne to make the foundation for the worthy safekeeping of a precious reliquary cross containing a fragments of the True Cross, as well as an onyx vessel containing some of the Blood of Christ. Such evidence as is available does indicate that the abbey was founded at about that time, possibly as a daughter foundation of St. Stephan's Abbey in Strasbourg, but the foundation at Schänis soon fell into obscurity.
After many years Ulrich I, Count of Lenzburg, restored the abbey to prosperity and a sound economic footing by numerous gifts of property. Also, by exchanges of land and rights of patronage he created a stable and unified ecclesiastical and parochial structure in the foundation's immediate vicinity. It was presumably at this time that the dedication was altered from the "Holy Cross" to Saint Sebastian.
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Wikipedia