imperial city · Germany and Central Europe
Free Imperial City of Buchau
Origins
Buchau grew on an island in the Federsee in upper Swabia beside the abbey of noble canonesses founded there in the 8th century. The townspeople gradually freed themselves from the abbess's lordship, and by 1320 the town counted as a free imperial city answerable only to the emperor.
Rule and society
A council governed a town of a few hundred households with almost no territory, living from fishing, farming and crafts. Relations with the Imperial Abbey of Buchau next door produced constant lawsuits. The town remained Catholic and sat on the Swabian bench of cities. From the late 16th century it was home to a notable Jewish community.
Decline and legacy
In 1803 the town was mediatised and given, together with the abbey, to the princes of Thurn und Taxis; in 1806 it passed to the Kingdom of Württemberg. Now Bad Buchau, it is a spa town known for the prehistoric lake settlements of the Federsee moor.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Free Imperial City of Buchau was part of Holy Roman Empire1320 CE – 1803 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Free Imperial City of Buchau. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-buchau
- MLA
- “Free Imperial City of Buchau.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-buchau. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Free Imperial City of Buchau.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-buchau.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Free Imperial City of Buchau’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/free-imperial-city-of-buchau (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻