Princely Abbey of Fulda

The Abbey of Fulda , from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda , was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality centered on Fulda, in the present-day German state of Hesse.

The monastery was founded in 744 by Saint Sturm, a disciple of Saint Boniface. After Boniface was buried at Fulda, it became a prominent center of learning and culture in Germany, and a site of religious significance and pilgrimage through the 8th and 9th centuries. The Annals of Fulda, one of the most important sources for the history of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, were written there. In 1221 the abbey was granted an imperial estate to rule and the abbots were thereafter princes of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1356, Emperor Charles IV bestowed the title "Archchancellor of the Empress" on the prince-abbot. The growth in population around Fulda would result in its elevation to a prince-bishopric in the second half of the 18th century.

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