The Imperial Abbey of Kaisersheim (German:''Reichsstift Kaisersheim'' or ''Kloster Kaisersheim''), was a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery in Kaisersheim (now Kaisheim), Bavaria, Germany. As one of the 40-odd self-ruling imperial abbeys of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, Kaisersheim was a virtually independent state. Its abbot had seat and voice at the Imperial Diet where he sat on the Bench of the Prelates of Swabia. At the time of its secularisation in 1802, the Abbey covered 136 square kilometers and has 9,500-10,000 subjects.

History

The monastery was founded by Henry II, Count of Lechsgemünd (d. 1142) and his wife Liutgard, and was a daughter house of

Lucelle Abbey Lucelle Abbey or Lützel Abbey (french: Abbaye de Lucelle; german: Kloster Lützel) was a Cistercian monastery in the present village of Lucelle, in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace, France France (), officially the French Republ ...

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. Count Henry's initial gift of the land was made in 1133; the foundation charter was dated 21 September 1135. The first church was dedicated in 1183 by the

Bishop of Augsburg Diocese of Augsburg is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich.Counts of Lechsgemünd in 1327, their territories passed to the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

Counts of Graisbach, who were unwilling to honour the original terms. Although in 1346 the abbey succeeded in obtaining from the

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

a confirmation of the rights included in the charter, and was declared an Imperial abbey (german: Reichstift), the Wittelsbachs were not inclined to honour it. In 1505, the territory of Pfalz-Neuburg was created, which inherited the rights of the County of Graisbach, including territorial rights over Kaisheim. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the conversion of Otto Henry, Duke of Neuburg and Elector Palatine, to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

, led to fears the abbey would be dissolved, although this danger soon passed. Finally, in 1656 the then abbot George IV Müller reached agreement with Duke Philip of Pfalz-Neuburg that the abbey's

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pri ...

(german: Reichsfreiheit) would be respected.Also at this time the abbey took over responsibility for the noblewomen's collegiate foundation (''

Damenstift The term (; nl, sticht) is derived from the verb (to donate) and originally meant 'a donation'. Such donations usually comprised earning assets, originally landed estates with serfs defraying dues (originally often in kind) or with vassal tenan ...

'') at

Pielenhofen Abbey Pielenhofen Abbey (german: Kloster Pielenhofen) is a former Cistercian nunnery (founded in 1240), in Pielenhofen in the valley of the Naab, Bavaria, Germany. It was occupied until 2010 by the Visitandines, also known as the Salesian Sisters. The Di ...

, previously administered by the state, as a subpriory. This carried with it the obligation however to provide troops to the imperial army when required, and from this date onwards the abbey had to accommodate a small standing force of soldiers of some 80 men. The buildings underwent a major re-building in the 1720s in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style.

In 1802, the abbey was dissolved in the secularisation of Bavaria, and its assets taken by the Bavarian state. The premises were at first used for military purposes, later as accommodation for the displaced Bavarian

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

s. From 1816, the buildings have been used as a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

, and now house the ''Justizvollzugsanstalt Kaisheim''. The Kaiser's Hall and the library are of particular architectural interest. In the east wing, known as the Kaiser's wing, the ''Bayerisches Strafvollzugsmuseum'' ( en, Bavarian Museum of Punishment) has displayed the permanent exhibition ''Behind Bars'' since 1989.

Abbots of Kaisersheim

* Udalrich 1133-1155 * Konrad I 1155-1165 * Diethelm 1165-1174 * Albert 1174-1194 * Ebbo 1194-1210 * Konrad II 1210-1228 * Heinrich I 1228-1239 * Richard 1239-1251 * Wolvich 1251-1262 * Heinrich II 1262-1266 * Trutwin 1266-1287 * Heinrich III 1287-1302 * Johann I Chonold 1302-1320 * Ulrich I Zoller 1320-1339 * Ulrich II Nubling 1339-1360 * Johann II Zauer 1360-1379 * Johann III Molitor 1379-1400 * Johann IV Scherb 1400-1422 * Kraft von Hochstadt 1422-1427 * Leonhard Weinmayer 1427-1440 * Nikolaus Kolb 1440-1458 * Georg I 1458-1479 * Johann V Vister 1479-1490 * Georg II Kastner 1490-1509 * Konrad III Reutter 1509-1540 * Johann VI Zauer 1540-1575 * Ulrich III 1575-1586 * Georg III 1586-1589 * Domenicus 1589-1594 * Sebastian 1594-1608 * Johann VII 1608-1626 * Jakob 1626-1637 * Georg IV 1637-1667 * Benedikt 1667-1674 * Hieronymus 1675-1681 * Elias 1681-1696 * Judas Thaddäus 1696-1698 * Roger von Röltz 1698-1739 * Cölestin I Meermols 1739-1771 * Cölestin II Angelsbrucker 1771-1783 * Franz Xaver Müller 1783-1803

Notes and references

External links

*
Kaisheim town website: history of Kaisheim Abbey
*
Klöster in Bayern
*
Bayerisches Strafvollzugsmuseum Kaisheim
{{Authority control Monasteries in Bavaria Cistercian monasteries in Germany Imperial abbeys disestablished in 1802–03 Prisons in Bavaria 1130s establishments in Germany Religious organizations established in the 1130s Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Donau-Ries fr:Abbaye de Heggbach