Imperial Abbey of Elchingen

Origins

The abbey was founded on a hill above the Danube in the early 12th century by local nobles related to the Hohenstaufen and settled by Benedictine monks. The Free Imperial City of Ulm held its advocacy for long periods, and the abbey achieved full imperial status at the end of the 15th century.

Rule and society

The abbot governed several villages as a member of the Swabian Circle and of the Swabian bench of prelates. Disputes with Ulm, whose Protestant territory surrounded the abbey, were frequent. Elchingen remained Catholic and in the 18th century rebuilt its church in late Baroque and early neoclassical style.

Decline and legacy

The abbey was secularised in 1802 and given to Bavaria. On 14 October 1805 Marshal Ney defeated an Austrian force at the Battle of Elchingen during the Ulm campaign and was later made Duke of Elchingen. The abbey church survives in Oberelchingen.