prince bishopric · Germany and Central Europe
Imperial Abbey of Ochsenhausen
Origins
Founded around 1090 as a priory of the Black Forest abbey of Saint Blasien, Ochsenhausen became an independent abbey in 1391. In 1495 it was freed from outside advocates and recognised as an imperial abbey, with its abbot sitting among the Swabian prelates of the empire.
Rule and society
The abbot ruled several dozen villages, making Ochsenhausen one of the largest monastic territories in Swabia. Its peasants rose against the abbey in 1502 and again in the Peasants' War of 1525. In the 18th century the monks rebuilt their church and buildings in Baroque style, and Joseph Gabler built a celebrated organ for the church in the 1720s and 1730s.
Decline and legacy
In 1803 the abbey was secularised and given to Count Franz Georg von Metternich, father of the Austrian chancellor, as compensation for lands lost west of the Rhine. It passed to the Kingdom of Württemberg in 1806, and the Metternichs sold their rights there in 1825.
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- Imperial Abbey of Ochsenhausen was part of Holy Roman Empire1495 CE – 1803 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Imperial Abbey of Ochsenhausen. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-ochsenhausen
- MLA
- “Imperial Abbey of Ochsenhausen.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-ochsenhausen. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Imperial Abbey of Ochsenhausen.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-ochsenhausen.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Imperial Abbey of Ochsenhausen’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/imperial-abbey-of-ochsenhausen (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻