prince bishopric · Germany and Central Europe
Imperial Abbey of Buchau
Origins
Tradition credits the founding of the abbey around 770 to Adelindis, a noblewoman linked to the Carolingians, on an island in the Federsee in upper Swabia. It became a house of secular canonesses drawn only from the high nobility. Its status under the emperor was confirmed in the 14th century, and its abbess came to rank as a princess of the empire.
Rule and society
The princess-abbess sat on the Swabian bench of prelates in the Imperial Diet and governed villages around the lake and estates elsewhere. The canonesses took no permanent vows and could leave to marry. The neighbouring Free Imperial City of Buchau quarrelled with the abbey over rights for centuries. The house remained Catholic.
Decline and legacy
In 1803 the abbey was secularised and, with the town, granted to the princes of Thurn und Taxis as compensation for lost lands. In 1806 the territory passed to the Kingdom of Württemberg. The abbey church of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian survives in Bad Buchau.
Lineage
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- Imperial Abbey of Buchau was part of Holy Roman Empire1347 CE – 1803 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Imperial Abbey of Buchau. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-buchau
- MLA
- “Imperial Abbey of Buchau.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-buchau. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Imperial Abbey of Buchau.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-buchau.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Imperial Abbey of Buchau’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-buchau (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻